kosovo looks sick

[Labradors2]

Kosovo has looked sick from the beginning, but my first seeds refused to germinate and I really wanted to try this variety.

It has two fruit which look fine, but the leaves have always looked a bit yellow with deformed leaves with holes in them! Any idea what this could be?

(I probably should have pulled it )

Linda

[bower]

I don't know about the holes (bugs?) but isn't Kosovo a heart therefore 'wispy'?
A lot of the hearts look like they're dying all the time.
It's the only thing I don't like about hearts.

[Labradors2]

Thanks for responding Bower Yes it is a heart and it DOES look as if it's dying which is why I made allowances and planted it out.

My photos aren't the best unfortunately, but I took a magnifying glass and inspected the plant tonight. The leaves are definitely deformed and many have holes in them. It's interesting that many of the deformities are the same in several leaves, and the holes in them are in the same places too! I really don't think it's due to insects, even though I do have flea beetles and a bit of Septoria just to make it more of a riddle.

The flowers look ok with no brown in them and the fruit looks great so far.

I'm very worried that it could be Tomato Mosaic Virus!!!

Linda

[KarenO]

Hi Linda,
I think it is not very likely to be TMV,
Because of the holes I would say at least partly insect damage. Is new foliage affected or just older foliage? If it were mine, I would trim off affected leaves, give it a good dose of fertilizer and wait a week or so. It should look better, at least the new growth. If any abnormal mottling of fruit is present then it could be a rare case of TMV and I would pull it, bag it and dispose of it

[bower]

Well I am no expert but never heard of TMV causing holes in leaves. Flea beetles on the other hand ... !!!!! The pattern of damage could just be because they go for space between veins, I've seen that on other vegs.
TMV afaik you should see "mosaic" on the leaf. And there are insect damages that can look similar so as I say.. not an expert in that. Have looked at a million google images worrying about it and all I can tell you is... no holes. And that's a good thing!

[EPawlick]

Originally Posted by KarenO

Hi Linda,
I think it is not very likely to be TMV,
Because of the holes I would say at least partly insect damage. Is new foliage affected or just older foliage? If it were mine, I would trim off affected leaves, give it a good dose of fertilizer and wait a week or so. It should look better, at least the new growth. If any abnormal mottling of fruit is present then it could be a rare case of TMV and I would pull it, bag it and dispose of it

I have a lot of insect damage on my tomatoes here also.

I trimmed affected leaves and thinned all my plants tomatoes and peppers. That way I can easily find any new damage.

We've had a lot of rain in Ontario and the bugs have been loving it. I put out dozens of sticky traps and they are full!

[Labradors2]

Karen and Bower,

Thanks. I had to go out and inspect the plant again to confirm that all the leaves look similarly affected. They do! I inspected a leaf under the magnifying glass and it does look as if the flea beetles could be to blame, although some of the holes are not round but elongated, and appear close to the veins. Perhaps the plant being somewhat weak attracted more than it's fair share of insect burden! I remember now that all my plants had dark aphids on them after plant-out. They were the "fly" type of aphids rather than the more solid looking ones, and they left without doing any damage!

Elaine is correct, we have had a ton of rain this season and I have seen insects on my veggies that I've never seen before. My Bok Choi is a write-off due to flea beetles and trimming destroyed leaves would mean having NO leaves.....

I'm relieved that you think it unlikely that it's TMV, and I will wait and see how the fruit turns out before doing anything drastic.

Linda

[SharonRossy]

Hi Linda,
Although it does not look like it, do you also have ear wigs? They can chew the life out of plants. My neighbor has severe damage from them. One thing that works is DE - of course if it stopped raining it would be more effective. Just a thought.

[gorbelly]

Further south and I would guess broad mites, as they leave curled leaf damage that is often mistaken for herbicide injury or virus symptoms. But I don't exactly think Ontario when I think broad mites.

I've never seen flea beetle damage distort leaves to that extent. Maybe a little wrinkle here and there, but it's usually pretty straightforward looking damage.

Maybe mites came in on something you purchased at a nursery and planted nearby? Broad mites are very very tiny, though--among the smallest of the mites. You'd need a really strong magnifying glass to see them, like a jeweler's loupe.

[Labradors2]

Hey Sharon,

I had earwigs when I lived in Montreal. They LOVE Delphiniums! They are not allowed in Ontario .

Gorbelly, I think you are on to something. Flea beetles generally leave round holes, but the distortion is probably not because of them. I think something else is going on, but I don't know what. I will check the leaves again, using two magnifying glasses stacked.

Thanks,
Linda

[gorbelly]

Yeah, in that first pic, the yellowing along the veins like that really makes me think some kind of sap-sucking pest, not virus.

[EPawlick]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Hey Sharon,

I had earwigs when I lived in Montreal. They LOVE Delphiniums! They are not allowed in Ontario .

Gorbelly, I think you are on to something. Flea beetles generally leave round holes, but the distortion is probably not because of them. I think something else is going on, but I don't know what. I will check the leaves again, using two magnifying glasses stacked.

Thanks,
Linda

With all the rain lately, I have been having problems with earwigs.