Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) Infection in Several Varieties and Ages of Tomato Plants (Lycopersicum esculentum, Mill.)

Disease caused by Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) is an important disease in tomato plants, and is transmitted through both natural and artificial wounds. TMV attacking tomato plants can cause qualitatively and quantitatively lower production. The decline in production by TMV attack can reach    60 %. This research was conducted at the greenhouse of the Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sriwijaya, Indralaya, Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, from January to June 2016. The purpose of this study was to assess TMV attack on different varieties and ages of tomato plants. This study was conducted using a factorial in Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (FRCBD), with the first factor, namely plant varieties, and the second factor, age stage of plants, repeated 3 times. The results showed that the most susceptible tomato was “Permata”, with the fastest incubation period and moderate disease severity. Age 8 weeks, when inoculation took place, was the most vulnerable time, with the highest disease severity. A combination of the tomato variety of Permata and an age stage of 8 weeks at the time of inoculation had the highest disease incidence.