Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (w/ Pix)

[b54red]

I planted out 45 grafted plants finally on 5/11 and TSWV has struck again causing me to lose 11 plants so far. I replaced them all in the last week; but I don't think the plague is over yet because there are a few others that are suspiciously smaller than they should be so I am just waiting for further symptoms to show before replacing them.

Bill

[Lee]

After a couple of no-show years for TSWV, I have pulled two plants this year... one was looking really good and had a few unripe fruit on it.
Fortunately I had replacements for both....


Two main differences from the prior two years...
1. Had extra onions in the garden over the winter.. (thrip vector?)
2. Not enough yellow marigolds around to attract away the thrips....


Bill, I hope we're both done seeing this for the season!


Lee

[b54red]

I'm not done yet. I just found a new one with the leaf rust and it wasn't one of the two or three that look poorly that I have been watching for a few days. This is looking like it may very well be my worst year ever for TSWV and it is still May. At least it is hitting very young plants and not too many of the larger ungrafted plants that I set out earlier. I have only lost 4 of 14 of those but most of the ones left standing are showing bad signs of fusarium wilt already. I think that some of them will produce some good fruits before the fusarium weakens them too much. Keeping my fingers crossed on that right now.

I guess I am due a really trying year after the one I had last year. 2021 was by far my best tomato and bell pepper season in my over 40 years of gardening.

Bill

[MrsJustice]

Hag in there Bill. Just keep cutting the Bad Leafs that showing sign of TSWV, until the weather improve before replacing them again. Your Weather had been like our here in Virginia. With all this rain I was going to through-out 10 Amish Paste Plants, but I looked at they in the wagon today in the rain and they are turning green again. I guess I will just give them way for Free. Maybe a Student will want to experiment with Heirloom Tomatoes this summer.

[b54red]

It turned sunny and warm again and Bacterial Wilt got one of my remaining ungrafted plants. I haven't had a case of BW in a few years but with the amount of rain we got over the past week it isn't too surprising. Amazing how fast it will take down a large healthy plant.

Bill

[Yak54]

Bill--all I can say after reading this entire thread is You are a better man than me !

Dan

[b54red]

I have become so accustomed to losing around 10% of my plants to TSWV that I hardly react to it each year since that time I lost almost 30%of my entire planting. It is just the price of planting tomatoes down here.

Like last year was a banner year for growing and producing tomatoes, this year is turning out to be a banner year for TSWV. I planted one bed with 14 ungrafted plants and have so far removed 5 with one disease or another. I planted another bed of grafted plants three weeks ago and have had to remove 11 but I will definitely be removing more in the next few days. I also planted another smaller bed with 18 grafted plants 4 days ago and so far none of them have gotten sick yet.

I sure wasn't planning on planting more but if some of my recent grafts done a week ago survive I may even put out another small batch. I know it is getting really late down here for setting out tomatoes. I garden for fun and the exercise I get tending to the plants all summer. I will keep posting my progress or lack thereof in what looks to be a most challenging season this year.

Bill

[Yak54]

I garden for pleasure also but the size of my garden has shrunk in the last 6-7 years to the extent that this year I only have 11 tomato varieties. I tried grafting for 3 yrs. but since I stopped growing in the ground and went to ProMix filled grow bags I've not had to graft any longer. My plants don't suffer from the disease issues that they did when I was growing "in the ground". With only 9 or 10 tomato plants it works out very well for me and my productivity has increased dramatically. However this system would be difficult growing as many plants as you grow. I always like to hear what you have to say !

Dan

[b54red]

I removed seven more plants that have gradually gotten worse from that original bed of 45 grafted tomatoes. I know that others are infected just by the lack of vigor shown but they are hanging on for now and since I don't have any more replacements I will watch them for further deterioration before removing them. In the past I have had a few plants live for months with TSWV and still continue to produce without the nearby plants getting TSWV. I usually pull young plants showing definite signs of TSWV immediately but in my experience it doesn't help in the overall results.

From what I have been able to determine over many years of dealing with TSWV it seems that the bulk of the plants infected don't show any visible signs of the infection for anywhere from a week to a month after being stung by the infected thrips. The largest problem with this disease is during the early summer usually May and June with fairly light problems later in the growing season although I have had plants get it late into August but that is rare. I think they are blown in with the wind during those windy months but don't usually remain in the garden for long thank goodness.

This is turning out to be a really bad season for TSWV. Already one of if not the worst I have ever experienced. I have talked to a few other gardeners who grow heirlooms and they are also experiencing more cases of it than usual. Hopefully I set out enough plants that I will have enough remaining when this blight is over to have a decent year. I'll just continue to keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.

Bill

[Fred Hempel]

Originally Posted by b54red

I removed seven more plants that have gradually gotten worse from that original bed of 45 grafted tomatoes. I know that others are infected just by the lack of vigor shown but they are hanging on for now and since I don't have any more replacements I will watch them for further deterioration before removing them. In the past I have had a few plants live for months with TSWV and still continue to produce without the nearby plants getting TSWV. I usually pull young plants showing definite signs of TSWV immediately but in my experience it doesn't help in the overall results.

From what I have been able to determine over many years of dealing with TSWV it seems that the bulk of the plants infected don't show any visible signs of the infection for anywhere from a week to a month after being stung by the infected thrips. The largest problem with this disease is during the early summer usually May and June with fairly light problems later in the growing season although I have had plants get it late into August but that is rare. I think they are blown in with the wind during those windy months but don't usually remain in the garden for long thank goodness.

This is turning out to be a really bad season for TSWV. Already one of if not the worst I have ever experienced. I have talked to a few other gardeners who grow heirlooms and they are also experiencing more cases of it than usual. Hopefully I set out enough plants that I will have enough remaining when this blight is over to have a decent year. I'll just continue to keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.

Bill

Bill, Are you noticing any varieties that seem to be strongly resistant?

[asmx91]

First: The Hungarian "Kecskemeti" varieties are bred against the TSWV.
That are: Kecskeméti 262/ bush
" 3-08/bush
" 407/bush
" 700/bush
" 886/bush
" 928/bush
" Jubiläum/bush
" Korai Bibor/bush
" Kecskeméti x Rutgers no bush

I had the TSWV 2015.
I did:
pulled the plants and than I poured the earth with my "Hexengebräu"

Hexengebräu recipe
1 litre water (0,264 gallon)
1 tablespoon cornoil ( I take rapeseedoil, but you don't get in the USA) or palmoil or neemoil - no sunfloweroil
0,25 oz baking soda
1 splash washing-up liquid

for pouring the earth I make about 2 gallons

I named it Hexengebräu because the chemical industry was not amused about this recipe (it works)

I take it against pests and funguses (like blights)

Than I desinfect my seeds before I sow them.
You must work very sterile.

I pour the earth from my greenhouses before I plant. The earth in the garden, too.

Last year a friend of me bought a cucumber plant with TSWV - we pulled it, poured the earth with Hexengebräu and planted a cucumber plant from me - all was ok.

You can try this against "Tomato necrotic spot virus".
After the season you must pour the earth with Hexengebräu and do aglime on it.I didn't have any virus in my garten.
Have a look on our German "Tomato-Forum"

Please pour in the evening because the leaves burn in the sun!

[D.J. Wolf]

Just a quick note. You can get "rape seed oil" in the US. Canola is a rape seed, and Canola oil is readily available here. I cannot speak to how this treatment works, but after seeing the plants asnx91 grows if they say it works I'll believe it until someone proves me wrong!

[asmx91]

If you have questions - please ask.
and the best: pests don't get resistant!!!
The rapeseedoil agglutinate the eggs and the respiratory from pests.
Bakingpowder (Soda) raised the ph-value on the leaves and funguses cannot live.
In the rapeseedoil is lectin and this is good for ALL plants!

[Lee]

Bill, have you tried Mountain Gem in your garden yet?
It has TSWV tolerance bred in and it a great variety.


It has earned a permanent spot in my garden next to Big Beef (and Cuostralee of course) due to it's production, size, and flavor.


More details here: http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=48529


Ironically, had to pull up my Cuostralee plant this weekend for TSWV...
Mountain Gem is still going strong though.


Hope the rest of the summer goes better.




asmx


For your special mixture, do you apply it to plants or just to the soil?
That sounds very interesting Thanks for sharing your results!




Lee

[asmx91]

I spray my plants before planting out. The whole plant.
Than I spray when I do away the side shoots. (once a week)
I do this twice.
Than, when they get little tomatoes I don't spray them because the tomatoes get oily.
When I have many pests I spray again.
By pests: you must spray every 3rd day and this 3 times.
The plants looks terrible but after a week they get new healthy sideshoots.

By funguses I do the same.

When I have funguses and pests during a season I pour my earth after the season.