Abstract:
Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is the most serious and destructive virus that affects papaya worldwide curtailing its production. PRSV has significant negative effects on the plant's development, fruit set and morphology. In an effort to contribute to the management of the diseased caused by the virusin Puerto Rico, its incidence and occurrence was studied in papaya. The occurrence of PRSV associated with geographical elevation was determined with the generation of a predictive model, a Generalized Linear Model. The model's parameter estimation, discriminatory ability and significance of geographical elevation as a predictor variable were also assessed. The virus was found to be highly incident and most likely to occur at low elevations (0-200m), where most of papaya farms are located. The model created had good parameter estimation and was able to discriminate true PRSV positive and negative samples from all the samples. Geographical elevation proved to be a significant variable for predicting the occurrence of PRSV. The results from this study have implications for disease management in Puerto Rico. |
