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Title: SOIL-BORNE WHEAT MOSAIC VIRUS

Author
item Cadle-Davidson, Lance
item Gray, Stewart

Submitted to: The Plant Health Instructor
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/26/2006
Publication Date: 5/21/2006
Citation: Cadle Davidson, L.E., Gray, S.M. 2006. Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10:1094/PHI-I-2006-0424-01.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus is widely distributed in most temperate wheat growing regions of the world. It can cause significant yield loss although due to the transient symptoms that disappear as temperatures increase, the disease is often mistaken for a nutrient deficiency. The virus has many interesting attributes including transmission by Polymyxa graminis, a slime mold that parasitizes plants. Virus is internalized by the zoospores of this organism that swim in water trapped between soil particles. It is these zoospores that deliver virus to new plant hosts. The vector can also produce resting spores that remain viable in the soil for several decades. Virus within the resting spores also remains viable. In this way the virus can survive for extended periods of time in the absence of a plant host. This manuscript was developed as a Disease Lesson for the American Phytopathological Society’s On-Line Education Center. These lessons are designed for use by high school and college teachers in the classroom setting, but they are also available to the general agricultural community as a resource for information about diseases that may be affecting their crops. The lessons are designed to be used by biology students or people with a background in agriculture and provide helpful information, including pictures and diagrams, to assist in understanding of the disease and methods to manage the problem.