Occurrence and Impact of Papaya Ring Spot Virus in the Marathwada Region of Maharashtra, India

Papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) is a major challenge to global papaya cultivation, including in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. This study aimed to survey the prevalence of PRSV disease across three agroclimatic zones of Marathwada during, 2022. Infected plants exhibited various symptoms on leaves such as vein clearing, chlorosis, mosaic, blistering, leaf curling, puckering and shoestring appearance. Other symptoms such as, ringspots on leaves, fruits and stems, oily streaks on petioles and stems, malformed fruits, stunted growth of plants. Depending on the stage of infection, diseased plants produced few or no fruits. The survey revealed that, an average PRSV incidence ranging from 0.03% to 100%. Further analysis examined the influence of PRSV incidence on papaya cultivar, crop age and agroclimatic zones. Results indicated that older plants were more susceptible to PRSV than younger ones. Among the cultivars studied, the Red Lady cultivar demonstrated high susceptibility to the virus. However, there were no significant differences in the percent disease index (PDI) across the agroclimatic zones. These findings highlight the need for targeted management strategies, including the development of resistant cultivars and region wise disease control measures, to reduce the impact of PRSV on papaya production.