RAPID DETECTION OF COWPEA APHID-BORNE MOSAIC-VIRUS IN COWPEA SEEDS

Four cultivars of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L]. Walp.) were infected with cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) by natural infection in f ield plots. Seeds taken from these plants were tested for the presence of the virus by ELISA and symptom observation on the plantlets grown from the seeds. A biotin/ streptavidin ELISA technique was used and fo und to be more sensitive than a standard ELISA protocol for detecting CABMV infection in seed. There was a good correlation between the ELIS A detection of CABMV in tissue taken from single cowpea seeds and subs equent development of infected plants grown from the same seeds. The E LISA technique is reliable for selecting CABMV-free stocks of cowpea s eeds.