Aplicación de la electroterapia para la eliminación del virus del mosaico del pepino (CMV) en plantas micropropagadas de banano (Musa spp.)

Abstract

Currently, the diseases and the lack of certified material for the company are causing a series of inconveniences to the banana crop, being constant the different biotic agents (bacteria, fungi or virus). In the cultivation of banana, the cucumber mosaic virus CMV (cucumber mosaic virus) has a worldwide distribution with characteristics in its symptoms that often goes unnoticed by the farmer, resulting in losses that are received between 40 60% The objective of this work was the use of electrotherapy for the sanitation of plants infected with CMV in banana, cv. 'Williams'. The infected banana trees were micropropagated and the regenerated plants were verified by the presence of the virus by the technique of RT-PCR and ELISA. Later they were acclimated in umbraculos and fulfilling the height that were processed and happened to the electrical current. The treatments evaluated consisted of exposing the explants to the voltage variables by time, in series of 10 V/25 min, 15 V/20 min, 20 V/15 min and 20 V/20 min. The results for the eradication of the CMV virus (cucumber mosaic virus) were 8% (sanitized explants) of the total explants, after the electrotherapy. Although the method only eliminated 8% of the infected plants, however, there was a notable increase in the height of the explants (3 to 4 cm) with respect to the control (without electrotherapy), which could be very useful for companies that devote to the massive multiplication of plants that are already in force and increase their vitality for in vitro processes. The study made the first report of the use of electrotherapy for the sanitation of banana plants in Ecuador. Although it is known as use in other countries with good results in crops of agricultural interest such as: Sugar cane, taro, and banana.