VIRAL DISEASES CAUSING THE GREATEST ECONOMIC-LOSSES TO THE TOMATO CROP .1. THE TOMATO SPOTTED WILT VIRUS - A REVIEW

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most important diseases affecting tomatoes, occasionally leading to losses of up to 100%. Bec ause of the importance of this virus disease, considerable research ha s been carried out in recent years on the viral particle, disease vect ors, transmission and control methods. This review presents an account of the current state of research on TSWV with special reference to to mato. Genetic resistance appears as the best solution to control this disease. It may be complemented with other strategies of control aimed to reduce inoculum amount or to avoid transmission, since these strat egies have been shown to be ineffective to stop the disease in themsel ves, Efforts should be made to study virus variability, since this wou ld help the development of TSWV resistant tomato varieties as well as the establishment of more precise diagnostic methods for TSWV.