Description
Oat mosaic virus (OMV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Potyviridae. A soil-borne virus with flexuous, rod-shaped particles about 600-750 nm long and 12-14 nm wide. It is mechanically transmissible but with difficulty, Host range is restricted to Avena species. It is transmitted by the fungus Polymyxa graminis, and occurs in the USA, UK, and possibly New Zealand. Oat mosaic virus causes a disease of autumn-sown oats. The field symptoms vary with the oat cultivar, virus strain, level of infestation of the soil and with environmental conditions. The mottling symptoms are most evident in the first flush of growth in the spring and tend to be masked with further growth and warmer weather. Stunting is the principal symptom seen late in the season. On heavily infested soil, yields may be reduced 25 to 50% in tolerant cultivars and most plants of very susceptible cultivars produce no grain