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During a recent survey , the soybean bud blight was spotted in some fields along the coast of the caspian sea. Symptoms of the disease varied with the age of the infected plants. Infection at early stages of plant growth reSu1 ted in distortion of the growing tips, etiolation and tip burns . Young leaves showed a rusty flecking appearance and whole plant were retarded with little or no seeds at the end of the growing season . Post flowering infection was less detrimental but the affected plants remained retarded throughout the growing season so that they still bore green leaves in fall when the normal plants dried up and matured. A mechanically transmissible virus was isolated from infected plants . Results from differential host range studies followed by serological tests indicated that the disease was caused by tobacco ring spot virus . Greenhouse investigations showed that the virus was seed borne and reduced seed germination drastically. This was more serious if the plants had been infected at the early stages of
growth