Plant Viruses Affecting Major Vegetable Crops of the Families Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae in Jordan: A Review

Abstract

Odeh, W.H., M.A. Sweiss, F.W. Haj Ahmad and L. Irshaid. 2026. Plant Viruses Affecting Major Vegetable Crops of the Families Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae in Jordan: A Review. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 44(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001367 Jordan is a country that has limited water resources and agricultural land. Food security is currently one of the major issues that is getting special attention to overcome hunger. Among the one million hectares that are used for crop production, 40,000 hectares are used for vegetable crops of the family Solanaceae (potato, tomato, pepper and eggplant) and Cucurbitaceae (squash, cucumber, watermelon and melon) and considered the most important vegetables cultivated in Jordan, and their production is affected by different diseases. Viruses among other pathogens infect vegetables and seriously affect both the quantity and quality of these crops. During the past few decades, many surveys were conducted in Jordan to investigate the occurrence of different viruses that attack important vegetable crops using different biological, serological, and molecular techniques. Many viral pathogens were identified and reported to threaten the production of these crops, and consequently food security in Jordan. The results obtained from these surveys could be used to develop effective strategies for controlling the viruses of economic importance and ensuring the sustainability of the production of important vegetable crops to meet the demands of the growing Jordanian population. Keywords: Jordan, virus diseases, vegetable crop, Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae