Chamran Hemmati - Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Plant Protection Research Group, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Majeed Askari Seyahooei - Plant Protection Research Department, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Mehrnoosh Nikooei - Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Seyed Saeid Modarees Najafabadi - Plant Protection Research Department, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Azadeh Goodarzi - Plant Protection Research Department, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Mohsen Amiri Mazraie - Plant Protection Research Department, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Mohammad Mehdi Faghihi - Plant Protection Research Department, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Despite successful lime witches'-broom (LWB) phytoplasma transmission by Hishimonus phycitis to the lime trees and Bakraee seedlings, there is no published document regarding LWB transmission by H. phycitis to lime seedlings. To study the possibility of vector-based transmission to lime seedlings, the feral leafhoppers were collected in LWB-infected lime orchards and caged on one-year old Mexican lime seedlings. Six months after inoculation, ۵۰% of inoculated seedlings showed typical symptoms of LWB and were strongly positive in PCR assays. To our knowledge, this is the first report of transmission of Ca. P. aurantifolia to Mexican lime seedlings by H. phycitis under greenhouse condition.

Hishimonus phycitis, Mexican lime seedlings, ۱۶SrII phytoplasma, LWB disease