Survey of virus diseases on some major vegetable crops in some ecological zones of Ghana

English

A survey of vegetable virus disease was conducted in four major ecological zones of Ghana covering parts of BrongAhafo, Central, Western and Northern regions. Farms located in important growing districts in each region were assessed for general virus incidence and severity on economically important vegetables including tomato, pepper, eggplant and okra. Thirty plants in each farm were scored for virus incidence and severity based on a 7-point scale where 0 represented no symptoms and 6 very severe infection. In most of the farms visited in Brong-Ahafo, Central and Western regions, virus infection was very severe on pepper, okra and egg-plant and moderately severe on tomato. Virus incidence and severity were, however, relatively low in the Northem Region. A few lines of pepper and egg-plant were observed to be resistant to viruses, and could be useful materials for breeding purposes. More research efforts are needed to develop effective control measures against the major virus diseases that threaten the survival of the vegetable industry in Ghana.

Lamptey, J. N.; Anno-Nyako, F. O.; Olympio, N. S.