Virus appears in pea fields

Researchers have found symptoms of a virus beginning to appear in Whitman County pea fields, though it is not yet known how much damage the virus will do.

Pea enation mosaic virus was spotted in fields near Almota and Albion earlier this month. Sanford Eigenbrode, entomologist at the University of Idaho, said the June 7 spotting was the earliest symptoms have been spotted in four years of surveys.

In the time of discovery, the virus had yet to injure pea crops, but Eigenbrode worried the earlier spotting could mean this year will be different.

He advised area pea growers to keep a close eye on their crops for symptoms of the disease. Eigenbrode encouraged farmers to report symptoms spotted in their fields.

No signs of the virus were spotted in northern Whitman County. Eigenbrode cautioned an aphid outbreak could spread the virus out of its current environs, as the insects migrate north.

Aphid outbreaks can be tracked online at: http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/aphidtracker/aphid_map_10.asp.