The incidence of barley yellow dwarf viruses in wheat in Victoria

Abstract

Wheat crops from all major wheat-growing districts throughout Victoria were sampled during September 1984. Examination of pooled samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with an antiserum to a mixture of two barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) types ('V1') showed that 10 out of 26 crops were infected with BYDV and 3 out of 26 had a BYDV incidence greater than 10%. The overall loss in yield likely to result from BYDV was estimated at 2% with a far greater loss in some crops. Frozen-stored samples from four crops with high levels of BYDV were retested after one year with isolate-specific antisera. The results indicated that in these crops, PAV-related isolates were the most common, followed by RPV-related isolates.