HAWAII COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE Hawaii Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources University of Hawaii at Manoa COMMODITY FACT SHEET PA-4(A) FRUIT

PAPAYA RINGSPOT (PRY): A SERIOUS DISEASE OF

M. S. Nishina, Extension Agent, mTAHR, Hawaii County W. T. Nishijima, Extension Specialist, Plant Pathology F. Zoo, Curator, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Hilo C. L. Chia, Extension Specialist, Horticulture R. F. L. Mau, Extension Specialist, Entomology D. O. Evans, Researeh Associate, Horticulture

INTRODUCTION column. PRY infection will reduce the size of fruits; newer fruits at the top of the column will be Papaya Ringspot Virus (PRV) causes a smaller than normal. deadly disease of papaya that severely reduces production and kills the plants. Stems PRY is found in some areas of Hawaii but not Symptoms include: in others. It is very important to suppress out­ • "Water-soaked" spots and streaks on breaks of PRY where it occurs and to keep it from green stems and leaf petioles (Figure 4). invading new areas. PRY has no chemical cure. Control is by InsectVectors prevention, primarily through sanitation. Sani­ Indicators are: tation includes controlling the vectors of • feeding on the younger papaya the disease and removing and destroying all plant tissues. plants infected with the disease, including • Aphids in quantity on other crops nearby. papaya plants and alternate host plants. All papaya growers, _including home gar­ Alternate Host Plants deners and commercial growers, need to be on The principal alternate hosts are cucurbits, guard against PRY. Anyone observing suspected such as: PRY symptoms should call the nearest Depart­ • Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris Thunb.) ment of Agriculture or Cooperative Extension • Cucumber (Cucumis sativa L.) Service office. ' • Pumpkin (Cyclanthera pedata) • Summer squash ( pepo L.) SYMPTOMS • Muskmelon (Cucumis melD L.) These crops and cucurbit weeds can be Leaves sources of PRY infection, especially when Reduced and poor growth at the top ofthe plant growing upwind of papaya plantings. (Figure 1). Early symptoms include: • New leaves mottled with yellow in mosaic CONTROL patterns between the leafveins. • New leaves also crinkled or bumpy rather Alternate Host Plants than flat; they may be deformed, with narrow, • Do not move papaya or cucurbit plant stringy leaf lobes consisting mostly of veins. material.into papaya-growing areas. • Do not move papaya or cucurbit transplants Froit from one area to another. Use seeds; seeds do not Symptoms include: carry PRY. • Ring-shaped spots on the fruits (Figures 2, • Do not grow cucurbits near papaya fields. 3). • Do not allow cucurbit weeds to grow near • Reduced fruit growth at the top of the fruit papaya fields.

1 • Do not grow crops on which aphids breed • Do not allow regrowth from the stumps. heavily. Spray stumps with glyphosate (Roundup) to discourage regrowth. TheAphidVector • Destroy alternate host plants. • If a diseased papaya plant is found, imme­ diately spray to kill aphids, then remove the tree. GettingHelp • Spray to kill aphids before rogueing alter­ If PRY infection is suspected, call the nearest nate host plants. office of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture or the nearest County Extension Office of the Sanitation University of Hawaii, College of Tropical • Cut down and kill infected papaya plants. Agriculture and Human Resources.

Figure 1. Papaya plant infected with PRV. Leaf Figure 3. Ringspots on mature fruit. growth is reduced, and the top of the leaf canopy appears open rather than full. Leaf petioles are drooping. Leaves are yellowed, with clearing between the veins and crinkled margins. Recent flowers have aborted, and the fruit column is not developing normally.

Figure 2. Ringspots on green fruit. Figure 4. Stem symptoms. Streaked parts of the stem appear to be water-soaked or oil-soaked. This may also occur on petioles.

2 DETAILED DISCUSSION aphids. Other aphids found to transmit PRY in Hawaii are the melon aphid, corn leaf aphid, PRY Occurrence potato aphid, and cowpea aphid. PRY is carried Papaya Ringspot Virus is the most severe on the piercing-sucking mouth-part of the aphid papaya disease and is often the limiting factor in after it feeds on an infected plant. Aphids papaya production throughout the world. It for­ usually move into papaya fields as a result of merly was called "papaya mosaic" or "papaya population pressure and wind direction. The mosaic virus." disease can spread quickly if there is a source of PRY is widespread throughout Oahu. On infected plants in or around the orchard. Hawaii, it is common in North and South Kona, PRY can also be spread by mechanical and outbreaks are frequent in the Hilo-Panaewa means, such as tools contaminated with sap of area. The important papaya production areas in infected plants, but this is not an important Puna are currently (1989) free of the disease, but method of transmission. Tools can be cleaned of its spread into the Puna orchards is a constant virus by dipping them in skim milk or chlorine threat. PRY was found in the Moloaa area of bleach solution (1 part chlorine bleach to 9 parts Kauai in 1985 and had previously been found in water). the Happy Valley area of MauL Both Kauai and There are three key facts about aphid trans­ Maui are presently declared free of PRY. The mission that affect the way PRY spreads and is virus has not been observed on Lanai or controlled. Molokai. 1. Aphids do not prefer to feed on papaya plants. Symptoms Once they have entered the papaya field, the Early leaf symptoms appear as stunting of aphids may feed on many papaya plants in a young leaves at the crown of the tree (Figure 1). short time as they search for a desirable host. By These symptoms include the upward curling of feeding for only a few seconds, an aphid can pick the leaf margins, with chlorotic mottling and up the virus or infect a plant. This means that the blistering of the leaf surface. A severe symptom disease can spread rapidly once infected aphids is "shoe-stringing" of the leaves, where the leaf enter a papaya field. blades are shrunken to little more than the width 2. The virus is short-lived (nonpersistent) in of the veins. Translucent water-soaked or oily­ the aphid. looking spots may occur on leaf petioles and on Mter the aphid has picked up the virus from young, green parts of the stem (Figure 4). Chlo­ an infected plant, it can transmit the virus for rotic lesions ranging in color from tan to yellow only a short time (1/2-hour to 1 hour). Because may also be present along leaf veins and on the aphids fly poorly, they are likely to move only a stem. short distance within that period. This means Initial fruit symptoms include slightly that if the area around a papaya field is kept raised, circular spots on the fruit surface. The clean of alternate host plants and infected spots are initially about 1 mm in diameter with papaya plants, the field will more likely be kept dark green outer rims and tan centers. In later virus-free. stages, these spots may become ringspots 4-8 mm 3. Aphids are slow and nonagressive flyers in diameter (Figures 2, 3). Fruits formed after but can be dispersed considerable distances by the plant is infected usually have ringspots and wind. may be distorted. Fruits that are maturing on the This means that sanitation in the immediate plant at the time of infection may not show vicinity of a papaya field does not guarantee symptoms. protection from PRY if aphids can be blown in The disease symptoms are generally more from nearby areas. Quarantines and sanitation pronounced during cool winter months and programs to protect entire regions are the best suppressed during warmer weather. Fertilizer defense. applications that green up diseased plants do not cure the virus. Control At present, there is no cure for PRY. The only Transmission control is prevention by early identification and PRY is transmitted by aphids, principally the elimination of infected trees in and around the green peach aphid. Aphids are usually found orchard. more abundantly on alternate hosts of PRY than The Hawaii Department of Agriculture Plant on papaya, which is not normally a host plant of Pest Control Branch has assigned personnel to

3 identify and destroy PRY-infected papaya trees of papaya seedlings increases the risk of intro­ and advise removal of alternate host plants. If ducing the virus into new areas and should be you suspect a tree is infected with the virus, avoided. Seeds do not harbor the virus and can be please call the experts. safely transported from one place to another. It is imperative that neither PRY-infected Direct seeding is the recommended method of papaya nor cucurbits be transported into "virus­ establishing new plantings, to minimize the risk free" commercial production areas such as the of PRY. Puna district. Alternate hosts of PRY should not be grown close to papaya orchards. Growers in The authors thank M. Isherwood and W. I. Kobayashi of the Puna who start an orchard by transplants should Hawaii Department of Agriculture and D. Ullman of grow their seedlings in the Puna area and not CTAHR for their cooperation and suggestions on this transport their plants from Hilo. Any transport publication.

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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Noel P. Kefford, Director and Dean, Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. An Equal Opportunity Employer providing programs and services to the citizens of Hawaii without regard to race, color, national origin, or sex. 12/89

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