Abstract
Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Desmodium yellow mottle virus (DYMV) were the causal agents of two previously unreported diseases in wild groundnut (Apios americana) grown in experimental plots in Baton Rouge, LA. CMV was isolated from 12 and DYMV from three of 20 wild groundnut plants showing mosaic or mottle symptoms. CMV caused a severe foliar mosaic, whereas DYMV induced a mild yellow mottle. The presence of these two viruses in naturally infected plants was verified by electron microscopy, serology, double-stranded RNA analysis, and host reaction. CMV and DYMV incited symptoms in artificially inoculated wild groundnut plants similar to those observed on naturally infected plants. The DYMV isolate from wild groundnut was serologically related but not identical to the type strain.