Main symptoms

In the open field, lettuces infected with endive necrotic mosaic virus (ENMV) show a severe necrotic mosaic. Affected young plants are deformed and stunted and their blades have large necroses.

On the seed carriers, the bracts are more or less swollen and reveal large necrotic areas. As in the case of TuMV, many flowers drop prematurely or are sterile. Thus, the production of seeds is considerably reduced.

Following artificial mechanical inoculations, the symptoms observed on salads can be varied, depending on the genotypes: chlorotic to yellow spots appearing progressively on all the leaves, mosaic ... In all cases, the growth of the plant is affected (Figures 1 to 4).