Plant Diseases Caused by Viruses

Abstract

Plant viruses have a huge impact on crop production throughout the world. Consequently, there has been a considerable effort and resources directed towards managing virus diseases. Crop failure due to debilitating viruses creates significant financial hardship and food insecurity in developing countries. Insect-transmitted viruses cross national boundaries into new geographic areas, resulting in negative social and economic impacts on subsistence agriculture. To be successful, virus management strategies must have the capacity to deal with these challenges. Furthermore, such strategies require a good understanding of how viruses spread between crops and across seasons. In addition, accurate diagnosis backed up by reliable detection techniques is the critical first step in virus disease management. Generally, virus management is guided by a number of principles....