In 1996 and 1997, whitefly-transmitted geminivirus symptoms were observed in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants in the Lower basin of San Francisco Valley, located in the states of Pernambuco and Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. One thousand three hundred and sixty-eight leaf samples of tomato and 194 pepper leaf samples showing similar symptoms to those caused by geminivirus were randomly collected from October 1996 to December 1998 in 104 and 16 fields, respectively, from 12 counties of that region and two neighboring counties. The incidence of symptomatic plants was estimated from 5 to 100% in tomato and 10 to 20% in sweet pepper fields. For geminivirus detection, dot or squash-blots were hybridized with heterologous probes. For tomato, the probe consisted of full-length DNA-A components of Bean golden mosaic virus (BGMV) from Brazil and Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV) from Guatemala, while for sweet pepper it consisted of a fragment of the DNA-A component of an isolate from tomato found in the Federal District. Out of 1,562 collected samples, 908 (58.1%) tested positive for geminivirus, 823 (60.2%) on tomato and 85 (43.8%) on sweet pepper. The presence of infected plants was detected in all 120 fields with an incidence varying from 20% to 100%, indicating a broad dissemination of geminivirus in these crops in the Lower Basin of San Francisco Valley.
