Are phytoplasmas the etiological agent of yellow leaf disease of Areca catechu in India?

Phytoplasmas are fastidious, pleomorphic wall less bacteria known to cause diseases of several hundreds of crop plants all over the worldwide and are transmitted by sap-feeding insects. It was reported by conventional disease detection methods, that the etiological agent of yellow leaf disease of areca in India was a phytoplasma. However, these studies did not confirm the presence of this agent conclusively. Hence, the study was initiated to verify the possible presence of phytoplasma in yellow leaf affected areca samples using nested PCR assay. The results suggest no phytoplasma association with this disease of areca palms in examined samples from India.