VIEW ARTICLE

The Range of Symbiosis of Barley and Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus. Roland G. Timian, Research Plant Pathologist, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Fargo, North Dakota 58102; Phytopathology 64:342-345. Accepted for publication 13 September 1973. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-342.

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) apparently depends on a single plant species, Hordeum vulgare L., for survival in nature. Within that species, only some of the cultivars were able to serve as a host in which the virus could survive indefinitely. Twenty strains of BSMV were tested on four cultivars of barley. The interaction between barley and BSMV fell into three categories: (i) very susceptible, in which little or no seed was produced; (ii) resistant, in which the plants did not become infected with the virus or, if infected, seed transmission was low or absent; and (iii) tolerant, in which some strains of BSMV were apparently able to survive indefinitely in barley. All commercially grown barley cultivars tested fell into the latter category. Some strains of BSMV were unable to survive in any of the barley cultivars, while others were able to survive only in the “tolerant” cultivars.