Tobacco Mosaic Virus

The most common tobamovirus infecting pepper plants is probably tobacco mosaic virus, which infects tobacco and other plants including potato, tomato, and squash.

An important source of primary inoculum is contaminated seed. The virus is carried on the seed coat, and thus can be removed from contaminated seeds by washing seed with dilute solutions of tri-sodium phosphate. The tobamoviruses on pepper are readily spread mechanically within the field by handling and mechanical damage to plants, but not by insect, nematode or fungal vectors.

The tobamoviruses are very stable viruses. They can survive in plant debris for many years.