Immunological detection of the Weligama coconut leaf wilt disease associated phytoplasma: Development and validation of a polyclonal antibody based indirect ELISA.

Weligama coconut leaf wilt disease (WCLWD) causes heavy losses in the coconut cultivations of southern Sri Lanka. The in-house developed and validated indirect ELISA was based on specific polyclonal antibodies raised in female New Zealand White rabbits, against partially purified WCLWD associated phytoplasma. This ELISA has the potential to distinguish secA PCR confirmed, WCLWD associated phytoplasma positive palms from phytoplasma free palms at high accuracy (93%) and sensitivity (92.