Host range and symptomatology of Subterranean clover mottle virus in alternative pasture, forage and crop legumes

Fifty one plant species from 25 different genera in seven families were challenged with Subterranean clover mottle virus (SCMoV) by inoculation with infective sap. These included 39 legume species and 12 species belonging to the families Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cruciferae, Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae. Twenty one new host species belonging to eight different legume genera were found for SCMoV, nine of which were alternative annual pasture or forage species and 12 were crop legumes. Of these, seven pasture or forage species and six crop species were infected systemically. Two Chenopodium spp. were also hosts. The host status of eight previously tested legume species was also re-examined. The implications of these results for paddocks sown with alternative pasture or forage crop legumes, and for plant improvement programs evaluating such species for commercial use, are discussed.