How to identify, control, and prevent mosaic viruses

 Mosaic viruses

Here are tips on how to detect, control and prevent mosaic viruses in various plants.

What are mosaic viruses?

Mosaic viruses infect more than 150 species of plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The disease is characterized by yellow, white, and leaves with pale or dark green spots and stripes (in other words, "mosaic" of these colors). Some commonly affected plants include tomatoes, squash, cauliflower, and cucumbers, but many more are susceptible.

Types of mosaic virus

There are several mosaic viruses that commonly affect plants in the vegetable garden:

Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) and Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus (BYMV) are the primary mosaic viruses that infect all types of beans. They are usually spread by aphids, but BCMV is spread by seed, so do not protect the seeds from infected plants.

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is spread by common types of mosaic viruses and other aphids. As its name suggests, the cucumber mosaic virus usually affects cucumbers, but it is a common problem for many garden plants, including other cockroaches (melons, squash), nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes), and leaf. Greens (lettuce, lettuce).

Tobacco is transmitted by mosaic virus (TMV) seeds and direct contact, and the best way to prevent it is to grow resistant varieties.

Identification

How to identify mosaic viruses and damage

Viral diseases are difficult to diagnose because the symptoms vary from plant to plant and depending on the age of the plant and its growing conditions. However, the most common ways to identify mosaic viruses are listed below.

The leaves are yellow, white, and covered with pale and dark green spots. This gives the leaves a blister-like appearance.

Plants often stunt, or they grow poorly.

Plants have other defects and other leaves may be shrunken or wavy.

Cucumber mosaic virus: Infected plants are stunted and often manifest "shoestring syndrome", which is a character defect in the formation of the edges of the leaves, the leaf veins grow into long, short strips. Tomatoes are small and misaligned.

Tobacco mosaic virus: Infected plants have yellow spots on the leaves and twisted or distorted young growth.

Control and prevention

How to control mosaic viruses

Once the plants are infected, there is no treatment for mosaic viruses. Because of this, the block type! However, if the plants in your garden show signs of mosaic viruses, here is how to reduce the damage:

Remove and destroy all affected plants. Do not place it in the compost pile as the infected plant material may contain the virus. Burn affected plants or throw out debris.

Carefully monitor your remaining vegetation, especially those located near affected plants.

Disinfect gardening tools after each use. Keep a bottle of weak bleach solution or another antiviral disinfectant to wipe your tools.

How to protect mosaic viruses

Plant anti-virus varieties in your garden. Tomato varieties that are resistant to the cucumber mosaic virus have not yet been developed, but the tomato, which is resistant to the tobacco mosaic virus, is also slightly resistant to the cucumber mosaic virus.

Mosaic viruses are commonly transmitted by insects, especially aphids and leafhoppers. You can try covering your plants with a floating row cover or aluminum foil mulch to prevent these plants from infecting you. Check out our other tips for controlling aphids.

Control your weeds. Some varieties can be host to disease, and when aphids and other insects feed on these plants, they can spread the virus to your garden plants.

To avoid seed-borne mosaic viruses, soak the seeds of infected plants in a 10% bleach solution before planting.

The plants were activated

Tomato

Cucumbers

Cauliflower

Zucchini

Watermelons

Green beans