Peanut stunt virus
Peanut stunt virus (PSV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the family Bromoviridae. It is a member of the genus Cucumovirus. The members of this genus are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a multipartite genome (3-4 parts). The virus particles have an isometric or spherical shape. Distribution and host range PSV was first named as a new disease of groundnuts or peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea ) in 1966. Disease symptoms on the above ground parts of the peanut plants were described as severe dwarfing or stunting – hence the name Peanut stunt virus. Fruit production was also severely reduced. Virginia peanut fields, where this disease was first observed in 1964, had yield reductions of 10-50%. Severe stunting of peanuts had also been observed in North Carolina in 1964. The peanut disease in N. Carolina was reported to be caused by the PSV in 1967. The later report also stated that this virus caused disease in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and in white clover (Trifolium repens). After its first description, PSV was quickly diagnosed in beans in Washington State, white clover in South Carolina, peanuts, beans and white clover in Georgia, peanuts in Alabama, and white clover in Florida. Strains of PSV have