Symptoms

• Mosaic mottling of leaves and stunting of plants are the characteristic symptoms of potato virus Y Mosaic symptoms are mild in early stages but later become severe.
• Infected leaves are deformed, small and leathery. Very few fruits are produced on infected plants.
• The important symptom produced by tobacco mosaic virus is conspicuous mottling of leaves.
• Leaves also develop blisters in advanced cases. Severely infected leaves become small and misshapen. Plants infected early remain stunted.
• PVY is easily sap transmitted.
• It is transmitted in the field through aphids, Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae and perpetuates on weed hosts like Solanum nigrum and S.xanthocarpum.
• TMV is transmitted by sap, contaminated implements and clothes, soil debris and hands of labour.
• It can perpetuate on many cultivated plants like cucurbits, legumes, pepper, tobacco, tomato and weed hosts. The virus survives in plant debris in soil.

Management

• Destroy all weeds and avoid planting cucumber, pepper, tobacco, tomato near brinjal seed beds and field.
• Wash hands with soap and water before working in seed beds.
• Prohibit smoking or chewing of tobacco who are handling brinjal seedlings.
• Spray insecticides like Dimethoate 2 ml/litre or Metasystox 1 ml/litre of water to control the insect vectors.