Abstract
Causal viruses of cucurbits and sweet peppers in the fields were quickly detected by ELISA. Diagnosis of watermelon (WMV) and cucumber mosaic viruses (CMV) in cucurbits was made using antiγ-globulins coated on the same polystyrene microtitre plate. Double infection of the two viruses occurred at high frequencies in cucurbits grown in July whereas single infection of WMV was increasingly detected in the crops collected from August to November. ELISA was sensitive in detecting CMV in sweet peppers, while sap inoculations of indicator plants failed to detect CMV in the plants due to hot temperature in mid-summer or inhibitory effects of virus inhibitors in the crude sap.
