Incidence of pea seedborne mosaic virus pathotypes in the US National Pisum germplasm collection

Summary One hundred and eighty‐nine isolates of pea seedborne mosaic virus (PSbMV) were obtained from seedlings of 435 pea (Pisum sativum) germplasm introductions originally acquired from India, Turkey, Latin America and Europe. Fifty‐eight per cent of the isolates were identified as belonging to pathotype P‐1, 22% to pathotype P‐4, and 7% to the mild form of the lentil pathotype L‐1. Some isolates could not be classified into any known pathotype and need further study. No isolate appeared to present a threat to peas beyond that already known to exist with previously described forms of the virus.