Seed-borne plant virus diseases

Seeds provide an efficient means in disseminating plant virus and viroid diseases. The success of modern agriculture depends on pathogen free seed with high yielding character and in turn disease management. There is a serious scientific concern about the transmission of plant viruses sexually through seed and asexually through plant propagules. The present book provides the latest information along with the total list of seed transmitted virus and viroid diseases at global level including, the yield losses, diagnostic techniques, mechanism of seed transmission, epidemiology and virus disease management aspects. Additional information is also provided on the transmission of plant virus and virus-like diseases through vegetative propagules. It is also well known that seed transmitted viruses are introduced into new countries and continents during large-scale traffic movements through infected germplasm and plant propogules. The latest diagnostic molecular techniques in different virus-host combinations along with disease management measures have been included. The book shall be a good reference source and also a text book to the research scientists, teachers, students of plant pathology, agriculture, horticulture, life sciences, green house managers, professional entrepreneurs, persons involved in quarantines and seed companies. This book has several important features of seed transmitted virus diseases and is a good informative source and thus deserves a place in almost all university libraries, seed companies and research organizations.

Prof. K. S. Sastry, Ph.D., is a plant virologist at Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (India) Pvt. Ltd. , Channasandra Village, Bangalore 560 061 (India). He obtained his M.Sc. (Botany) and Ph.D. (Botany) with plant virology specialization in 1966 and 1973, respectively, from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (India). He joined Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as a scientist (Plant Virology) during the year 1971 and retired in 1999. He has served at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bangalore 560 089, Karnataka, and also at Directorate of Oil Seeds Research, Hyderabad 500 080, Andhra Pradesh. Prof. Sastry’s research has been primarily on epidemiology and management of virus and virus-like diseases of Horticultural and Oil Seed crops. He has done pioneer research on Begomoviruses of Tomato and Okra. He has research experience in molecular and biotechnological approaches for characterization and control of viral diseases of horticultural crop plants. Further, he has also published over 120 research papers both in national and international journals. He has also published “Compendium of the Plant Virus Research in India (1903-2008)” having 8652 plant virus references that is considered as one of the rich sources of information for Indian plant virus research.