Identification of Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (ToLCV) Strain Causing ToLCV in Tomato and Chilli

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ) and Chilli (Capsicum annuum L. ) are the most important and widely grown vegetable crop in the world belonging to the family Solanaceae. Tomato is important source of vitamins A and C and Chillies are excellent source of Vitamin A, B, C and E. India is one of the major producers of chilli and tomato. Leaf curl is one of the most important diseases of chilli and tomato causes substantial losses every year. The Tomato Leaf Curl Virus Disease (ToLCVD) is characterized by the upward and downward curling and twisting of leaves followed by marked reduction in leaf size. The diseased plants looks pale and stunted due to shortening of inter nodal length with more lateral branches resulting in a bushy appearance of leaves and shortening of internodes with partial to complete sterility. The DNA extracted by CTAB method from the leaf sample. For identification of ToLCV disease of tomato and chilli primers were designed using NCBI tool by collecting sequences of ToLCV from different regions of India. DNA sample was amplified successively with designed primers using PCR cycles and the band appearance was observed on the gel electrophoresis. From the appearance of the band the disease identification and diagnosis of Tomato leaf curl virus ToLCV was done. In future work ToLCV disease could be confirmed using NESTED PCR.