Cucumber mosaic virus is rare in sugar peas, which are not considered a primary host for this virus. These diseases are more often reported in peas in the Eastern US and are rare in the mid-West and West. It is likely that the occurrence of the CMV in sugar peas is related to the increase in CMV observed in bell peppers and squash along the coast in the past two years. Peppers have been affected by CMV in other areas of California, also. There is no control of CMV in peas once they are infected.
Control consists of preventing infection.
The pea plantings most likely to be affected will be those during the summer months planted in proximity to native vegetation or other crops harboring the CMV and aphids. Isolating sugar pea plantings planned for the summer months from areas with history of CMV outbreaks, may also offer some protection from the disease. Sweet onions are traditionally available primarily in spring and early summer from growing areas as diverse as Vidalia, Georgia, South Texas, New Mexico, California's Imperial Valley, and Maui in Hawaii. The famed onions from Vidalia or Maui have old, established reputations in the marketplace and consistently command premium prices. There have been many new developments over the past ten years to breed new varieties of sweeter onions and to extend sweet onion production to new growing areas.