Abstract
A mosaic disease of peppers causing stuntiness of the plant and severe malformation of the fruit appeared in epidemic form about three years ago in the Agricultural Experiment Sub-station at Isabela. Since then it has spread with great rapidity and intensify throughout that region and has also been found causing serious damage in other important vegetable sections of the island. Serrano and Riollano (6) estimated the crop losses due to mosaic for Isabela from 50 to 60 percent in the season of 1938 and stated that further plantings were, in their opinion, a risky proposition. The first report of pepper mosaic in Puerto Rico known to the writers is that made by Cook (2) in 1927-28. Since then, no effort has been made to study the disease and to determine the virus or viruses involved. In connection with a breeding program to develop a commercial variety of peppers resistant to mosaic, studies to determine the prevalence, distribution, properties of the virus and varietal susceptibility were undertaken. The experiments were conducted in the Agricultural Experiment Station at Rio Piedras during the years 1939-41.Downloads
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