Wheat seeds of 109 cultivars from USA, Europe and Japan were sown in experiments at seven sites in different provinces of China for one or two seasons. Five of the sites were infested with the bymovirus wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) and two jointly with WYMV and the furovirus Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV). Disease symptoms were assessed visually and leaf samples were tested for virus(es) by ELISA. At least 29 cultivars were resistant to WYMV at the sites where only this virus was present but all the cultivars were severely infected at Rongcheng (Shandong Province) where CWMV was mixed with WYMV. There was evidence that the presence of CWMV assisted infection by WYMV and also resulted in more severe symptoms.At the mixed site in Yantai, Shandong Province, symptoms were mild and many cultivars had symptomless infection. Of the two strains of WYMV identified in Japan, the Chinese sites seem to be most similar to the type isolated, WYMV-T. Eleven cultivars seemed to be susceptible to WYMV only at Loutian (Hubei Province),suggesting that the virus at this site would be worth studying further.
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