disease. Prevention, control and management Up until 2005, the primary means of prevention was a pre-plant treatment of bromomethane or methyl bromide. The import and production of this fumigation chemical was banned under the Montreal Protocol. A modern organic method of prevention was found by a Japanese study on soil adsorptions role in the adsorption of PMMoV. The study found that increased humus content in a soil will have an inhibitory effect on PMMoV adsorption. As with all plant viruses, but especially with those in the genus Tobamovirus, avoidance is the best means of control. Growers must practice good sanitation procedures and only plant clean seeds. Growers must also use caution when handling plants, plants with abrasions or wounds give the virus an opportunity to enter the tissue of the plant. There are no chemical or biological control methods that can be used to control the disease once the plant is infected. Though often a challenge, accurate identification of PMMoV is key to successful control of the disease. Diseased plant material will remain infectious until completely broken down. Tillage, increased irrigation, and high temperatures encourage the breakdown of plant material in the soil. Any infected plant material in the soil can serve as a source of inoculum for subsequent crops so crop rotation should be practiced, if possible. Volunteer peppers and weeds, particularly those in the family Solanaceae (such as nightshades), should be removed to reduce possible sources of infections. Due to the fact that smoke can spread the disease, burial or composting of the diseased plants should be implemented rather than burning. The composted diseased plant remains should not be used on a pepper crop or other Solanaceous crops. Importance Controlling the virus is important for pepper production worldwide, but recent research shows that this plant disease may be transmitted to humans. A French study identified a local source of PMMoV and linked the presence of PMMoV RNA in stool with a specific immune response and clinical symptoms. Although clinical symptoms may be imputable to another co-factor, including spicy food, the data in the study suggested the possibility of a direct or indirect pathogenic role of plant viruses in humans. PMMoV is an indicator of fecal pollution in the environment. An early study set in the United States and Singapore detected PMMoV in fecal samples from most participants, at concentrations up to 10 copies per gram of dry feces