Seed transmission and effect of leaf crinkle disease on seed quality in urdbean ( Vigna mungo L. Hepper) under controlled environment

Leaf crinkle disease is one of the important diseases which causes considerable yield loss in urdbean ( Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper). Though the disease is considered to be caused by viral pathogen, its etiological agent has not been characterized yet. In the present study, rate of disease transmission has been studied using the seeds collected from mechanically inoculated plants under controlled insect-free environmental conditions. A high disease incidence ranging from 86.32 to 100% was observed in the plants grown from seeds collected from symptomatic plants grown in insect proof cages in the glasshouse at 50 DAS. The results also showed that weight of 100 seeds (seed index) collected from diseased plants of glasshouse was 3.52 g as compared to 4.76 g for healthy seeds. The reduction in seed weight was 26.05% in seeds obtained from diseased plants. Seed germination was 58% in the seeds collected from diseased plant as compared to 89% in the seeds collected from healthy plants. It is evident from the present study that the disease is highly seed transmissible and affects seed quality and germination. The outcome of this study would help in developing management strategies against the menace caused by this disease.