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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is an important small-fruit crop, belonging to the family Rosaceae. In Himachal Pradesh, its cultivation under controlled environment is slowly gaining momentum but non-availability of good quality healthy planting material is a major obstacle in its commercial cultivation. Additionally, soil borne diseases, particular viruses transmitted by nematode vectors, cause severe production losses in strawberry culture. Use of soilless substrates can reduce the soil borne diseases besides improving the quality of the produce. The present studies were conducted at Horticultural Research & Training Station and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (HRTS & KVK) Kandaghat, Solan (H.P.) to evaluate different combinations of soilless media viz., perlite and cocopeat for preventing the spread of viruses transmitted through nematodes particularly Strawberry Latent Ringspot Virus (SLRSV), Tobacco Ringspot Virus (TRSV) and Raspberry Ringspot Virus (RRSV). Double antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA tests were performed to detect the presence of these nepoviruses in strawberry plants grown on soilless substrates. Results obtained in DAS-ELISA tests confirmed that plants grown under perlite were found to be free from viruses based on the O.D values measured at A405nm in Microscan plate reader MS 5608A whereas the plants raised in soil tested positive for SLRSV, TRSV and RRSV. These findings indicate that soilless substrates can be used for producing strawberry plants free from nematode transmitted viruses.