A Mild Strain of Tomato Aspermy Virus Isolated from Tomato in Maryland. Joseph O. Kuti, Former Graduate Student, Department of Botany, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059. Harold E. Moline, Research Plant Pathologist, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, HSI, ARS, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705. Plant Dis. 68:959-961. Accepted for publication 25 April 1984. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1984. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-959.

A virus 30 nm in diameter and serologically related to the tomato aspermy virus (TAV) type strain was isolated from volunteer tomato plants in Prince George's County, MD. The isolate has been designated TAV-M. Spinacia oleracea 'Bounty' (spinach) was a suitable propagative host, yielding 1–5 mg of virus per 100 g of leaf tissue 12–14 days after inoculation. Chenopodium quinoa was a reliable assay host, producing necrotic local lesions 6–9 days after inoculation. The longevity in vitro of TAV-M was between 30 and 48 hr at 25 C, the thermal inactivation point was between 60 and 65 C, and the dilution end point was between 10^–4 and 10^–5 in Bounty spinach. TAV-M did not produce enations typical of TAV or fruit aspermy in tomato plants but temporarily inhibited growth and caused a mild leaf mottle of inoculated seedlings. Arachis hypogaea (peanut) and Zea mays (corn) were infected by TAV-M without showing symptoms.