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Targeted RT-PCR Survey of Ten Economically Important Tomato Viruses in Major Tomato-Producing Regions of Korea
Si-Hong Kim15†
,
Ho-Min Kang23†
,
Jeong-Eun Sim2
,
Yun-Ha Lee2
,
Han-Kyeol Park3
,
Jae-Kyung Kim4
,
Ju-Yeon Ahn5
,
Byeong-Jun Jeon6*
1Smart Farm Research Center, KIST Gangneung, Institute of National Products, Gangneung 25451, Korea
2Kangwon National University, Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
3Department of Horticultural Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
4Department of Smartfarm, Department of Smartfarm, Chungbuk Provincial University, Okcheon 29046, Korea
5Gyeonggido Agriculture Research & Extension Services, Hwaseong 18388, Korea
6Department of Plant Science, College of Life Science, Kangwon National University, Gangneung 25457, Korea
*Corresponding Author
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Abstract

Tomato production in Korea faces significant threats from various viral diseases; however, comprehensive epidemiological data analyzing the occurrence patterns of major tomato viruses across different cultivars and regions are scarce. This study investigates the prevalence of ten economically important tomato viruses in commercial production: tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), tobacco mosaic virus (tomato strain; ToMV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), pepper mottle virus (PepMoV), southern tomato virus (STV), tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV), pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), and tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). During the 2024 growing season, 342 leaf samples were collected from the commercial tomato cultivars ‘Daphnis’, ‘TY Ored’, and ‘Pink Star’ in key tomato-producing regions of Korea, in this case Damyang, Gimcheon, Mieyang, Buyeo, and Chuncheon. Virus detection was performed using virus-specific primers under standardized RT-PCR conditions. The results showed that TSWV (14.0%), CMV (11.7%), TYLCV (9.1%), and ToCV (3.2%) were detected at relatively high frequencies, while ToMV, PepMoV, STV, and TBSV were found at low incidence rates. Notably, PepMV and ToBRFV were not detected in any of the analyzed samples. Among the cultivars, ‘Daphnis’ had the highest overall infection rate (37.7%), followed by ‘Pink Star’ (31.9%) and ‘TY Ored’ (15.5%). Mixed infections involving two or more viruses were most commonly observed in ‘Daphnis’, whereas they were rare in ‘TY Ored’. Regionally, higher infection rates were recorded in Mieyang and Damyang, likely linked to differences in cropping systems and vector pressure levels. These findings indicate that TSWV, CMV, and TYLCV are significant viral threats to tomato production in Korea, with infection patterns varying considerably by cultivar and region. This study provides essential baseline epidemiological data through an integrated assessment of multiple tomato viruses using a consistent molecular diagnostic protocol across major production areas. The findings here provide practical guidance for resistant cultivar selection, targeted vector control, and early-stage virus diagnostics in tomato production systems.

Keywords
cultivar susceptibility
mixed infection
plant disease epidemiology
RT-PCR diagnosis
virus incidence
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Information
  • Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
  • Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
  • Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
  • Received Date : 2026-01-06
  • Revised Date : 2026-03-19
  • Accepted Date : 2026-04-27
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7235/HORT.20260014
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