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First Report of Pea Enation Mosaic Virus Affecting Lentil (Lens culinaris) in Syria

Symptoms suggestive of virus infection in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) fields in Dara'a in southern Syria have been observed, in epidemic proportions, almost annually since 1994. A similar epidemic was observed on many lentil genotypes at the ICARDA farm, near Aleppo, as well as in other locations in northern Syria during 1998. Symptoms included growth reduction and rolling of leaves, accompanied by mottling with tip wilting or necrosis. Field symptoms were reproduced on lentil cv. Syrian Local upon mechanical inoculation of plants with inoculum from symptomatic field plants. Transmission tests showed that the disease agent can be transmitted from lentil to lentil, pea (Pisum sativum L.), and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) plants by the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris) in a persistent manner. More than 500 symptomatic lentil plants were collected and tested for the presence of 14 different viruses by the tissue-blot immunoassay (TBIA) (2). Around 80% of the samples reacted only with antiserum to pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), a Dutch isolate (E1540) provided by L. Bos, Wageningen, The Netherlands (1). Surveys conducted during the 1997/1998 growing season showed that PEMV was widely distributed in the major lentil-growing areas of Syria: some lentil fields had more than 50% virus incidence. This is the first record of PEMV naturally infecting lentil in Syria.

References: (1) K. Mahmood and D. Peters. Neth. J. Plant Pathol. 79:138, 1973. (2) K. M. Makkouk and A. Comeau. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 100:71, 1994.