Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394083
Research Project: Mitigating High Consequence Domestic, Exotic, and Emerging Diseases of Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals

Location: Subtropical Plant Pathology Research

Title: First report of chili pepper mild mottle virus in Calibrochoa in the United States

Author
item GROTH-HELMS, DEBI - Agdia
item JUSZCZAK, SAMANTHA - Agdia
item Adkins, Scott

Submitted to: New Disease Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/7/2022
Publication Date: 9/18/2022
Citation: Groth-Helms, D., Juszczak, S., Adkins, S.T. 2022. First report of chili pepper mild mottle virus in Calibrochoa in the United States. New Disease Reports. 46:(1). Article e12120. https://doi.org/10.1002/ndr2.12120.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ndr2.12120

Interpretive Summary: This is the first report of chili pepper mild mottle virus infecting Calibrachoa in the United States. Descriptions of the symptoms caused and diagnostic methods used are included. This report provides a timely account of this recently described tobamovirus and its potential to cause economic losses in greenhouse-grown ornamental crops to growers, Extension personnel, and local and Federal regulatory and research scientists.

Technical Abstract: Beginning in January 2022, Calibrachoa plants with various viral disease symptoms including chlorosis, purple mottling, and tip necrosis of leaves, and color-break of flowers, were observed from multiple commercial growers in the United States. Initial serological tests indicated the presence of a tobamovirus. Several sets of degenerate tobamovirus primers amplified products of the expected size by RT-PCR from each of four Calibrachoa samples. Nucleotide sequences of these amplicons were 99-100% identical to each other and also 99-100% identical to the corresponding region of chili pepper mild mottle virus, a recently described tobamovirus from pepper in South America. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this virus in Calibrachoa or any other greenhouse-grown ornamental crop.