Abstract

                                Bhendi Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus (BYVMV) incidencecaused by white fly is the main bottleneck forcultivation of the okra. The present investigation wascarried out in three major okra-growing districts ofTamil Nadu viz., Coimbatore, Dharmapuri andDindugul on whitefly incidence and occurence. A fieldsurvey on these districts revealed that the meanwhitefly population of 1.82 per plant was observedwhile the incidence of BYVMV in the Coimbatoredistrict was 13 per cent. The least mean populationwas observed in the Dharmapuri district with a meanof 0.48 whiteflies per plant and BYVMV incidence of15.75 %. In order to gain insight into whiteflygenotypes occurring on Okra (Abelmoschusesculentus L. (Moench), whitefly samples werecollected from 8 locations of Tamil Nadu, and theirmitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI)gene was molecularly characterized for speciesidentification. sequences results revealed that thewhitefly belongs to Asia I genotype. Thus, the presentstudy confirmed the presence of Asia 1 genotype in B.tabaci throughout Tamil Nadu okra growing regions.

Key words : Bemisia tabaci; Bhendi Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus;mtCOI; Okra