Tomato RNA Viruses in Burkina Faso.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of most widely consumed vegetables in the world and second most important vegetable crop in Burkina Faso. It is recognized today as contributing to the achievement of food security and the generating of incomes, both in urban and rural areas. Despite this importance, tomato crops were confronted with numerous constraints including RNA viruses are economically important biotic factors hindering profitable tomato production. The increased numbers of new RNA viruses and emergence of host resistance-breaking strains of known viruses are causing significant tomato yield losses. Knowledge and understanding of RNA virus biology and ecology are important for development of disease management strategies to combat these viruses in tomato production. This review highlights current knowledge on the main tomato RNA viruses in Burkina Faso, with particular focus on their characteristics, disease symptoms, yield losses, and modes of virus transmission and elimination. This information is presented to provide a basis for diagnostic and disease management strategies for these pathogens in tomatoes. A list is also included of tomato-affecting RNA viruses present in other countries that are threats to the tomato crop health.