Pea seed-borne mosaic virus: Stability and Wind-Mediated Contact Transmission in Field Pea

Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) stability in sap and its contact transmission between field pea plants were investigated in glasshouse experiments. When infective leaf sap was kept at room temperature and inoculated to plants in the absence of abrasive, it was still highly infective after 6 h and low levels of infectivity remained after 30 h. PSbMV was transmitted from infected to healthy plants by direct contact when leaves were rubbed against each other. It was also transmitted when intertwining healthy and PSbMV-infected plants were blown by a fan to simulate wind. When air was blown on plants kept at 14 to 20 degrees C, contact transmission of PSbMV occurred consistently and the extent of transmission was enhanced when plants were dusted with diatomaceous earth prior to blowing. In contrast, when plants were kept at 20 to 30 degrees C, blowing rarely resulted in transmission. No passive contact transmission occurred when healthy and infected plants were allowed to intertwine together. This study demonstrates that PSbMV has the potential to be transmitted by contact when wind-mediated wounding occurs in the field. This may play an important role in the epidemiology of the virus in field pea crops, especially in situations where contact transmission expands initial crop infection foci before aphid arrival.