According to a report from the Provincial Delegation of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, to which fhalmería has had access, the Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV ) is present in around 5% of 80 % of zucchini farms, practically all of the farms where collecting has already began.
The Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus ( ToLCNDV ) keeps spreading and it is doing it at a rate of 5 % per month on farms in which extreme measures against the vector, i.e. the whitefly, are being taken according to a report by the Provincial Delegation of Agriculture , Fisheries and Rural Development. Thus, the number of affected plants, between 10% and 20 % of farms sampled, does not exceed 1 %; in this case, the crops had been recently planted. The affected area in the remaining 80%, which were already in harvest, is estimated at 5%. According to the regional government's report, the plantations where the vector could not be conveniently controlled were uprooted.
The presence of the new virus isn't very relevant in the Levante and zucchini crop areas, but it is present in all of the Western municipalities. The report states that the spatial distribution is homogeneous in this area and "the presence of the virus in farms is due to breaches of preventive measures and the existence of boundaries with summer crops that are usually an important source of this vector", whiteflies (B. tabaci ).
Given the suspicion about the possible influence of ToLCNDV in other crops, such as cucumber and tomato, the Administration's report also includes a survey in production areas of both crops to quantify the size of the potential problem. They took samples and photos in major companies.
Tomato crops, until mid-September, presented many symptoms of TYLCV, as well as an evolution of the virus within the farms. Among the causes, the text refers to " the favourable weather conditions that mitigate resistance effects, a possible mutation of the TYLCV or the joint action of the TYLCV and the New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV )" . In this regard, the report continues, "a high virulence makes us suspect the joint action of both viruses, something that is still analytically unconfirmed in the case of tomato".
These suspicions, according to the report, are based on the curly leaf discolorations seen on the plants that are milder than those known for TYLCV.
The most critical areas are located in the Levante, in el Paraje El 21 and La Palmera, where the virus' incidence is around 5% -10 %. Some 15 hectares, 8% of the plantations, have been uprooted. A virus, a priori TYLCV, has been detected in the rest of the province in all the farms and at higher levels than in previous years. On average, 1% -2 % of the farms' plants have been uprooted.
The cucumber, meanwhile, is the crop with the fewest problems with the new viruses and, according to the Administration's report only 10% of cucumber farms present symptoms consistent with the new virus.
Source: fhalmería