ABSTRACT
The family Leguminosae contains ca. 500 genera and ca. 12,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed in most parts of the world. Plant viruses have been organized into groups by the International Committee On Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). A virus group has been defined by Harrison and co-workers as "a collection of viruses and/or virus strains each of which shares with the type member all or nearly all the main characteristics of the group. Many viruses have been reported to infect legumes when transmitted by artificial inoculations, yet they do not appear to infect legumes under field conditions. Plant introduction nurseries and world collections of germ plasms, which are invaluable in breeding programs, are also repositories of many viruses transplanted over long distances by man. Controlling viruses at these locations would have widespread beneficial effects. The chapter also provides an overview of this book.
