Occurrence and molecular characterization of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus in cucurbit crops of KPK, Pakistan

Field survey of the cucurbit crops revealed a high incidence of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan. Among the seven districts surveyed, average percent incidence of CGMMV was recorded up to 58.1% in district Nowshera, followed by 51.1% in district Charsada, 40.5% in district Swabi and 37.3% in district Mardan. In Swat and Dir districts average incidence CGMMV was recorded upto 31.2% and 29.4%, respectively. Among the different crops highest incidence in plain areas of KPK was recorded in bottle gourd (59.3%) followed by 56.3% in Squash, 54.5% in Pumpkin, 45.5% in Melon, 41.7% in Cucumber and 29.9% in Sponge gourd. In Northern hilly areas highest incidence of CGMMV (52.9%) was observed in pumpkin, followed by 49.6% in bottle gourd, 47.3% in squash, 45.1% in Melon 42.3% in cucumber and 41.6% in sponge gourd. Little variability was observed in the coat protein amino acid sequence identities of CGMMV Pakistan isolate, when compared with other reported isolates.