The Virus Causing Infectious Chlorosis in Banana (Musa sp.): A Review

Abstract

Banana fruit crops are high in potassium, contain a high level of protein and dietary fiber which makes it world's most popular. The crop gives a maximum return to the farmers when good cultivation practices are followed, which include using diseasefree planting material. The crop is infected by several viruses viz., Banana bunchy top virus, Cucumber mosaic virus, Banana streak virus, Banana bract mosaic virus and Banana mild mosaic virus (Tripathi et al., 2016). Among these viruses, CMV causes a devastating effect on tissue culture banana plants. Various symptoms of CMV were reported under natural conditions like diamond-shaped discontinuous lesions, severe mosaic with extreme distortion and reduction of leaf lamina. KAU (2016) opined that infection due to CMV was observed in widely cultivated banana varieties in Kerala, such as Nendran, Palyankodan, Karpooravally and Poovan (Rasthali). Hence, virus indexing is a must to select healthy planting materials. Cucumber mosaic virus is transmitted through more than 60 species of aphids, including Aphis gossypii and Myzuspersicaeetc. The serological methods are widely used in the detection of Cucumber mosaic virus from the field.This review paper is focused on various aspects of novel detection methods of CMV infecting banana.