Use of Symptomatology and Virus Concentration for Evaluating Resistance to Wheat Soilborne Mosaic Virus. R. M. Hunger, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078. J. L. Sherwood, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078. Plant Dis. 69:848-850. Accepted for publication 21 May 1985. Copyright 1985 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-848.

Visual assessment of symptoms, virus detection by electron microscopy, and virus concentration were compared for evaluating the resistance of 12 hard red winter wheat cultivars to wheat soilborne mosaic virus. Results showed that visual assessment used in conjunction with virus concentration are the best indicators of resistance. Symptomatic seedlings that developed after inoculation with root washings from infected source plants stored for 0, 2, 4, and 8 wk ranged from 45.3 to 96.4% compared with 6.2 to 28.8% when root washings were used from source plants stored for 24 wk.