Detection of Cucumber mosaic virus on Solanum lycopersicum L. and Capsicum annuum L. in the Western region of Cameroon

The Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is of major concern to large and small-scale growers of tomato and pepper in the Western region of Cameroon. It causes loss in quantity and quality of produce. Here, we described the detection of CMV and symptomatology in infected tomato and pepper grown in the Western region of Cameroon using a serological method. To detect CMV, 180 leaves of each species were tested. Leaves were collected from the surveyed fields were screened initially for the CMV using Double Antibody Sandwich Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA) using polyclonal antibodies of CMV. To draw up the list of the symptoms, 300 symptomatic leaves were collected, 150 leaves per species and DAS-ELISA was used to confirm the presence of CMV in the leaf sample. The proportion of infected leaves among the total sample determined. The prevalence of CMV on tomato and pepper were 37.22% and 78.33% respectively. In conclusion, CMV infects tomato and pepper in the West Region of Cameroon to a varying extent. Also, assessing only symptom on the two crops is not enough for the determination of the health status of both crops with respect to CMV. As a result of this study, there is a need to sensitize tomato and pepper farmers about CMV and to provide them with basic vector-management strategies.

Automated summary

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a major concern for tomato and pepper growers in the Western region of Cameroon, causing loss in both quantity and quality of produce. This study used a serological method to detect CMV and describe its symptoms in infected tomato and pepper plants. The prevalence of CMV was found to be 37.22% in tomatoes and 78.33% in peppers. The study concludes that it is important to educate farmers about CMV and provide them with basic vector-management strategies.