September 14 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: ABC rural news [edited]
<http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1741001.htm>

The destructive wheat streak mosaic virus is rapidly spreading across Western Australia.

Western Australia's Department of Agriculture banned wheat imports from the eastern states earlier this year to try to stop the disease entering the state. That ban was lifted when it was discovered after the virus was found in a commercial crop.

Department spokesman Roger Jones says for the first time, the virus is now being found in crops across the wheat belt.

"It is a very serious disease if there's widespread infection with the virus in young plants, young wheat plants," he said. "It causes stunting, the plants don't then grow and the yield is very, very low, and what they do yield if they're infected that early is just shrivelled grain. So that's a scenario that's very serious."

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Wheat develops symptoms of the disease wheat streak mosaic when infected by wheat streak mosaic virus (genus: _Tritimovirus_, family: _Potyviridae_, WSMV), which can also infect barley, maize, oats and rye and some pasture and weed grasses. The virus is transmitted by the eriophyid wheat curl mite (_Aceria tosichella_). WSMV causes severe disease in some winter wheat crops in the Great Plains of North America, with average losses of 3 percent. There is one report (Argentina, 20040922.2614) from South America. It occurs throughout the Mediterranean Basin at low incidence and is reported from Eastern Europe.

This report appears to confirm the expansion of the range of this virus within Western Australia, though no specific geographic information is provided. If any local plant pathologists have that information then ProMED-mail would welcome a submission. This report follows a 1st report for Western Australia dated 10 May 2006 (20060514.1364). Disease pictures and links can be found in that posting. It is quite likely that the virus has been there for some time in crop or other wild grass hosts.

Map: <http://www.eastravel.co.uk/australia/map008.htm>
- Mod.JAD]

[see also in the archive:
Wheat streak mosaic virus - Australia (WA): 1st Report 20060514.1364
2005
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Wheat streak mosaic - Australia (NSW) 20051029.3159
2004
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Wheat streak mosaic virus - Argentina: 1st report 20040922.2614
2003
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Wheat streak mosaic - Australia (12) 20030603.1354 Wheat streak mosaic, first report - Australia (Canberra) 20030417.0941]