Three graft transmission methods (chip, cleft, and petiole grafting) were evaluated for their efficiency in transmitting pigeon pea sterility mosaic virus (PPSMV) to test the resistance of pigeon pea cv. ICP 8863 to sterility mosaic disease (SMD). Fourteen-year-old plants were grafted using scion from PPSMV-infected plants. The infected leaflet tissue (scion) was used in petiole grafting while the infected stem tissue (scion) was used for cleft or chip grafting. For petiole grafting, the terminal end of a test plant was excised and an incision of approximately 5-10 mm down the centre of the stem was made. A leaflet (scion) from the SMD source plant was collected and its petiole was trimmed into a wedge shape and inserted into the stem slit of the stock plant. The greatest virus infection (86.6%) occurred by petiole grafting. Virus transmission by chip and cleft grafting was low (13.3 and 23.5%, respectively). Petiole grafting is convenient and simple to perform and allows the testing of plants at the seedling stage as well as the detection of virus within two weeks of grafting.