Tomato leaf curl virus diseases and their aleyrodid vector bemesia tabaci genn : a review article

الملخص EN

Tomato leaf curl virus diseases (TLCVD) have been among the most important problems facing tomato production worldwide, since the first quarter of the previous century till our present time (2005).

Such situation has thus attracted many investigators universally to study the disease and its causal agent from various angles.

As regard the aleyrodid vector, namely Bemesia tabaci Genn., this was studied critically especially as regards acquisition, feeding periods and transmission of the virus; as well as association between the virus and its vector.

Concerning control measures against the disease epidemics, the most ideal was to resort to an integrated approach; particularly the use of resistant tomato progenies, cultural practices and high yielding cultivars to counteract the disease effect.

However, chemical control, using insecticides against the vector, received very low priority within such control plan, mainly because of high cost and anticipated pollution effects.

The major objective of this review is to highlight recent progress on such highly economic problem of tomato production within the tropical of sub-tropical regions.