and upright growth. In late season infections, both roots and leaves appear asymptomatic. Spinacia oleracea (spinach) can also be infected by the same strand of BNYVV. For this plant, complete infection of the plant can occur in as little as four weeks causing yellow-green vein clearing on young leaves, stiff and/or crinkled leaves, necrosis, stunting, wilting, and possibly death. Unlike the sugar beet plant, systemic infection is almost always seen in spinach due to easy transmission through the plants roots. Environment BNYVV was first discovered in Japan during the 1950s and in Italy circa 1959. In the following two decades, the virus had spread to central, eastern, and southern Europe. Currently, the virus is found in 22 European countries, six Asian countries, and select states of the U.S.A. (Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wyoming). Because BNYVV is a virus, it can't move on its own thus making a vector or other modes of transportation a necessity for it to infect multiple hosts. The most common way for the virus to be dispersed is Polymyxa betae, a plasmodiophoromycete fungal-like vector. The important aspect of P. betae is that it doesn't infect the plant itself, rather it functions as a storage unit for the BNYVV virus. In P. betae, the virus can lay dormant for over ten years making it easily dispersed in areas with much rain and farms with irrigation. Two other main ways that BNYVV is spread are infected plant roots and infected beet stecklings. Focusing on P. betae, conditions that favor this vector have high correlation with amount of disease seen in plants. In order for P. betae to release the virus, it requires a high soil moisture. This can be a result from excessive rainfall, excessive irrigation, and/or poor drainage systems which all promote severe cases of the disease. Along with soil moisture, soil quality also plays a role in disease severity. Poor soil structure is a major factor in causing severe cases of the BNYVV making crop rotation and tilling a necessity to minimize the chance of a severe outbreak. Temperature wise, P. betae thrives in warmer soil temperatures (around 25 degrees Celsius) which makes the ideal planting time fall in spring or early summer at the latest. Management Because BNYVV can't be transmitted via seed or pollen, it uses Polymyxa betae to disperse via its resting spores called cystosori. The cystosori can be found in