Publication

Abstract : Wheat, a vital cereal crop on a global scale, encounters a challenge from the wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV). WSMV belongs to the Tritimovirus genus and the Potyviridae family and is a viral pathogen responsible for wheat yield losses in certain regions of the world. The present paper analysed the available literature, synthesising crucial insights about the impacts, transmission pathways, and potential crop protection strategies. WSMV is mainly transmitted through the eriophyid wheat curl mite (WCM), which is known as Aceria tosichella Keifer, and spread via host plants, wind, and contaminated seeds. Increasing global temperatures can assist WSMV expansion, facilitating virus reproduction in warm and humid conditions. The virus significantly reduces wheat yields, with the annual loss ranges from 2 to 5% and up to 100% under severe circumstances. WSMV also affects water use efficiency, dropping crop biomass, and threatening small-scale farmers’ financial stability and food security, especially in virus-prevalent regions. Key protection strategies include breeding virus-resistant cultivars, controlling host plants, crop rotation, delayed planting, and intercropping. Biosecurity measures, surveillance systems with remote sensing, and predictive models for future virus spread are essential. Farmer education and ongoing research further strengthen management efforts, providing critical tools to mitigate WSMV’s global impact on wheat production. This review paper serves as a valuable resource, organising crucial information about virus transmission, impact, physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms for plant development, responses, and disease management strategies. This can facilitate the initiation of decisive actions to combat the threat posed by this virus to wheat production.