Effects of Antiviral Compounds on Symptoms and Infectivity of Cowpea Chlorotic Mottle Virus. L. J. C. Mancino, Graduate Student, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003. G. N. Agrios, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003. Plant Dis. 68:219-222. Accepted for publication 6 September 1983. Copyright 1984 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-219.

Symptoms of cowpea plants infected with cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) were suppressed when plants were sprayed with ribavirin, amantadine, formycin, and methisazone but not when sprayed with MBC. 2-Thiouracil sprays increased or decreased symptoms, depending on time of application. 2-Thiouracil, formycin, and methisazone also caused phytotoxicity on sprayed plants. Ribavirin reduced and 2-thiouracil increased the infectivity of CCMV in some treatments, whereas the other compounds had little or no effect. Some ribavirin and formycin treatments of soybean plants reduced CCMV local lesion numbers significantly. All other applications of the antiviral compounds caused some but statistically nonsignificant reductions in local lesion formation. Ribavirin and amantadine did not significantly alter detectable viral antigen concentrations in sap from treated, infected cowpea plants as determined by ELISA.