Abstract:
Okra enation leaf curl is a newly emerging disease in commercial okra cultivation felds in Northern Sri Lanka. The present study aimed to identify and characterize the causative begomovirus and associated satellites. Okra plants showing
the enation leaf curl disease symptoms were collected from Vavuniya and Jafna districts of Northern Province. The PCR
diagnostic and genome sequencing revealed that the symptomatic okra plants are associated with begomovirus, betasatellite, and alphasatellite complex. The begomovirus isolates shared 98.2–99.7% nucleotide identity with Okra enation leaf
curl virus. The betasatellites showed 96–98.8% nucleotide identity with Bhendi yellow vein mosaic betasatellite which is
usually associated with Bhendi yellow vein mosaic disease. Two distinct alphasatellite species, Okra leaf curl alphasatellite
and Bhendi yellow vein mosaic alphasatellite, were identifed in leaf samples with enation leaf curl disease. The disease
was transmitted by whitefies from diseased plants to healthy plants. Hybrid varieties were more susceptible to the disease
compared to cultivated varieties.
