Soybean golden mosaic virus

Pathogen and disease type. Begomovirus glycinepallidi is a viral pathogen classified within the Geminiviridae family. It is a plant-infecting virus that causes systemic mosaic disease. The virus relies on a specific biological vector to travel between host plants, making it a highly specialized agricultural threat.

Host range. The primary agricultural host is soybean (Glycine max). However, the virus also affects various leguminous weeds and wild vegetation. These alternative hosts serve as crucial survival reservoirs, allowing the virus to persist in the landscape even when the main soybean crop is harvested or absent.

Symptoms and signs of infection. Infected plants typically exhibit brilliant golden or yellow mosaic patterns on the leaves. Secondary symptoms include severe leaf crinkling, stunted plant growth, shortened internodes, and poor pod development. In advanced stages, the foliage may appear chlorotic, leading to diminished photosynthetic capacity.

Conditions for development and spread. The virus is transmitted in a persistent circulative manner by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. The spread is highly dependent on environmental conditions, particularly high temperatures and low humidity, which stimulate whitefly outbreaks. Once the vector population peaks, the virus can spread rapidly throughout the field.

Management and prevention strategies. Controlling this disease requires managing the vector population. Key strategies include:

• Applying systemic insecticides to control whitefly populations;
• Using integrated pest management (IPM) to monitor insect activity;
• Implementing fallow periods and crop rotation to disrupt the virus cycle;
• Destroying host weeds that serve as virus reservoirs.