Traditional to Molecular Diagnostic Technologies for Solanaceous Crop Viruses

Viral diseases are the primary biological constraint on sustainable solanaceous crop production worldwide. Their high diversity, complex transmission pathways, and frequent mixed infections pose substantial challenges for precise disease management. This review summarizes virus types and transmission mechanisms in major solanaceous crops (tomato, pepper, potato) and specialty crops (goji berry, eggplant, tobacco), focusing on pathways mediated by Bemisia tabaci and aphids, as well as mechanical and seed-borne transmission. We then review detection technologies: traditional methods lack sensitivity and specificity; molecular approaches have established a comprehensive system, in which conventional and multiplex RT-PCR suit bulk screening, RT-qPCR enables sensitive quantification, isothermal amplification (LAMP, RPA) supports rapid on-site diagnosis, and high-throughput sequencing (HTS) is irreplaceable for novel virus discovery. Current challenges include limited knowledge of viruses in specialty crops, insufficient field-ready tools, and weak strategies against recombinant strains. Future efforts should elucidate viral genetic variation and host–virus interactions, develop rapid field-deployable detection methods, and support early warning and integrated management of solanaceous crop viral diseases.