The larvae are considered a pest on a wide range of tropical crops in South-East Asia, including Saccharum officinarum, Zea mays, Elaeis guineensis, Nicotiana tabacum, Arachis hypogaea, Sesamum, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Gossypium and Allium.
Anabasine is a pyridine and piperidine alkaloid found in the Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) plant, a close relative of the common tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum).
CfMV's P1 protein, required for infection, has been found to interefere with RNAi pathways in plants species such as Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum.
The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants, including Chenopodium ambrosioides, Nicotiana tabacum, Trifolium, Mentha, Triticum aestivum and Tropaeolum.