A Disease of Wheat Caused by Indian Peanut Clump Virus (IPCV). P. Delfosse, Crop Protection Division, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Asia Center, Patancheru 502 324, A P, India . A. S. Reddy, P. S. Devi, A. K. Murthy, S. V. Wesley. R A. Naidu and D. V. R. Reddy, Crop Protection Division, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Asia Center, Patancheru 502 324, A P, India. Plant Dis. 79.1074. Accepted for publication 7 August 1995. Copyright 1995 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-79-1074D.

During the 1994-95 post-rainy season, wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Sonalika) was grown under irrigation in two fields infested with the Hyderabad isolate of Indian peanut clump virus (H-IPCV). The crop was sown in the last week of November. Wheat plants were scored at regular intervals. Very few seedlings, when 1 week old, showed the presence of H-IPCV as tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and none showed any overt symptoms. Three weeks after emergence, a large number of plants were infected. All infected plants had symptoms of severe stunting, dark green leaves, and mosaic symptoms on the youngest leaves, and tested positive for H-IPCV antigens. From infected wheat leaf samples, typical IPCV particles could be trapped and fully decorated when a polyclonal antiserum to H-IPCV was used in immunosorbent electron microscopy. Typical field symptoms of IPCV could be reproduced in wheat when H-IPCV isolated from peanut was sap-inoculated onto roots of the cereal in glasshouse experiments. Results clearly showed that H-IPCV can infect wheat under natural conditions. Since wheat is widely grown in many IPCV-infested soils in the states of Rajasthan and Punjab, surveys will be conducted to assess the economic importance of IPCV on wheat. This is the first report to show that IPCV can cause a disease in a cereal crop.