Viral Diseases of Legumes and Their Managements

Legumes are very important food crops that are widely cultivated for their high-quality proteins, oils, and vitamins throughout the world. In total, 168 viruses are officially assigned by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. These viruses belong to 39 genera in 16 families and have been reported to affect various leguminous crops in different parts of the world. Among these viruses, TSWV (Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus), CMV (Cucumber Mosaic Virus), TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus), BYMV (Bean yellow mosaic virus), and BCMV (Bean Common Mosaic Virus) have global economic importance. This review therefore focuses on the economic importance of the abovementioned viruses influencing legume growth and development by looking at aspects such as viral traits, transmission, viral biology, plant host symptoms and the options used to control and manage some viruses such as the CMV (Cucumber Mosaic Virus), TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus), BYMV (Bean yellow mosaic virus), and BCMV (Bean Common Mosaic Virus).