Incidence of Viral Diseases on Pepper in Palestine: A Case Study on Potato Virus Y in the Northern Regions of the West Bank Using RT-PCR

A field survey was carried out in 2007/2008 to study the incidence of Potato virus Y (PVY) in hot pepper fields during several growing seasons in Tobas and Jenin districts. The highest PVY incidence was recorded in Tobas district. The incidence was much higher in the late spring growing season in both districts compared with the other seasons. Early spring was considered the second most serious growing season of pepper as the maximum viral infections were 40% and 32% in Al-Far a Valley and Kashda, respectively. In autumn and summer growing seasons, the viral infection was much lower in both districts compared with the other growing seasons. The population trend of the aphid vector in Tobas and Jenin districts showed that the population had a seasonal change throughout the year. Two peaks of aphid population were recorded. In Tobas district, one peak appeared between April and May and the other from September to October. In the case of Jenin district, the first peak appeared from May to June and the second was in September. On the other hand, the aphids started to appear in Tobas during March, which is at least one month prior to their appearance in Jenin district