Viruses infecting Brassica crops in the Black Sea Region of Turkey

Abstract

In Turkey, cabbage is the most economically important member of the genus Brassica. Samsun, located in the Black Sea Region is the greatest cabbage producing area in Turkey. Surveys were done to determine the distribution of viruses in cabbage cultivated areas in 2012-2014. According to the results of field observations, characteristic virus symptoms were observed on some cabbage plants. The average percentages of symptoms-affected plants were recorded as 2-20% in the visited fields. A total of 535 leaf samples were collected from cabbage fields and tested for the presence of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV), and Beet western yellows virus (BWYV) by double-antibody sandwich Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) using virus-specific polyclonal antiserum. The ELISA results revealed that 8.1% and 6.9% of these samples were infected with TuMV and CaMV, respectively. The TuMV +CaMV mixed infection ratio was 2.1%. However, CMV, TYMV, and BWYV were not detected. This is the first comprehensive study of viruses on Brassica crops in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, the most important centre for cabbage production in Turkey.