| Sumario: | Pigeonpea sterility mosaic virus (PPSMV), a species of the genus
Emaravirus, is the causal agent of sterility mosaic disease (SMD) of
pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp]. This disease, dubbed the
‘green plague’, as the infected plants remain in the vegetative
state without flower production, has been reported from India and
a few other South-East Asian countries. SMD is estimated to result
in an annual yield loss of over US$300 million in India alone. The
aetiology of SMD, which remained a mystery for over 70 years,
was resolved with the discovery of PPSMV in 2000 and its complete
genome sequence in 2014
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