More good virus info from the RHS Lily Year Book 1970:
Summarized proceedings of the Fourth International Lily Conference 1969:
Viruses in Lilies
- W.P. Mowat. Scottish Horticultural Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee.
- Z. Stafanac. British Council scholar from the Botanical Institute of the Unversity of Zagreb, Yugoslavia.
Three major viruses are known to infect lilies:
Lily Symptomless Virus . . . . LSV
Tulip Breaking Virus . . . . . . . TBV (a.k.a. Lily Mottling Virus)
Cucumber Mosaic Virus . . . .CMV
Two other viruses have been found in lilies, tobacco rattle virus in the U.S.A., and arabis mosaic virus detected in an imported specimen. Both viruses are transmitted by soil-inhabiting nematodes, but whether these viruses cause disease in lilies is not known.
[At the time (1969) these were the positive identifications. Surely, there must be more. Nevertheless, what the authors say about these specific viruses are accurate. In the Yearbook, there are even electron microscope photos of the individual virus particles.]
- LSV infects only certain members of the Lilium genus. [Unfortunately, no specifics were given. All American traditional Easter lilies (white trumpets) sold at Easter time are infected with LSV. Later in the summary, it was revealed that LSV causes "mottle disease" in L. speciosum.]
- TBV infects Lilium spp. and and a few other plants in other genera of the family Lilaceae, such as Fritlllaria pudica, and Tulipa spp. TBV causes "streak mottle disease" in L. speciosum.
- CMV can be transmitted by more species of aphids than TBV or LSV. Nevertheless, TBV and LSV are transmitted by common species of aphids [at least for the UK], so in practicality, vector transmission is not limited.
