ARS | Publication request: BEET MOSAIC VIRUS

Submitted to: Compendium of the Beet Diseases and Insects
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: March 17, 2009
Publication Date: May 21, 2009
Citation: Wintermantel, W.M. 2009. BEET MOSAIC VIRUS. In: Compendium of the Beet Diseases and Pests. 2nd Ed., R.M. Harveson and L.E. Hanson, eds., APS Press St. Paul, MN. pp 53-54.

Interpretive Summary: Beet mosaic virus (BtMV) is one of the most widely distributed sugar beet viruses and is believed to be present in all major sugar-beet-producing regions of the world. Its extensive distribution suggests the presence of other host plants that are widespread. The disease is most important where crops of two growing seasons overlap or where climatic conditions allow the overwintering of infected plants. If young plants are infected, the BtMV can cause losses of up to 10%. Co-infection involving BtMV and Beet yellows virus (BYV) can lead to severe stunting in sugarbeet, leading to significant yield reductions. BtMV is a foliar pathogen that causes a mottling/mosaic disease on sugarbeet, similar to mosaics on other plants. Initial symptoms appear as chlorotic spots on young leaves. The spots are more or less circular, often with sharply defined margins. BtMV is transmitted by many species of aphids in a nonpersistent manner. Acquisition and inoculation thresholds are reached within seconds during feeding, with no latent period. Viruliferous aphids retain the virus for one to a few hours. BtMV is also readily transmitted by sap inoculation, however aphid transmission is the predominant means of dispersal in the field. The elimination of overlapping crops along with the destruction of wild and “weed” beets in the vicinity of recently planted beet fields will reduce BtMV incidence to a minimum.

Technical Abstract: APS’s Compendium of Beet Disease and Insects. APS Press.