Cucumber Mosaic Virus (w/ Pix)

**Lee** · July 7, 2008

Well, it ain't no fun when your plants get infected with disease.
But on the plus side, I get to create these handy documents with
photos showing the disease.
I hope to expand this to improve the information, but for now, I
hope the pictures are worth a thousand words for those of you needing
a diagnosis.

http://tomatopalooza.org/CMV08.htm

Here's a few links to good descriptions of how to prevent CMV and what to do if you have it.
Good news according to the Cornell site is that it doesn't persist in plant debirs, nor is it trasmitted
in the seed.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...ses_Tomato.htm
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/mosvirto.htm
http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/CMV.pdf
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/not...notes/vg15.htm

And here's a link to photos of the insect vectors of CMV:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent4...ntvectors.html

Lee

hasshoes · July 9, 2009

Lee--- how do you rec "pulling" plants with mosaic?

I bagged mine and cut them off at the stem. . . and am going out in a few to pour some boiling water around the roots.

Do I need to pull the roots? I'm worried about splashing the few surrounding plants that seem to be okay. They may get it anyway because my mosaic (possibly tobacco?) spread like wildfire. . . but I'll take any odds I can get.

Thanks in advance!! :0)

**Lee** · July 9, 2009

I didn't do anything special last year. Just yanked out the plants and whatever
roots came along. Since Cornell said it doesn't persist in the soil, I didn't worry
about doing more than that.

On the plus side, no CMV at all this year..... other problems, Yes, but CMV no.

Lee

hasshoes · July 9, 2009

Thanks Lee. . . that's good to know for next year. :0) :0) :0) Your links really helped by the way. As of today their seems to be no more spread. . . *fingers crossed*!!!!!

hasshoes · July 23, 2009

Lee--- were your infected plants significantly stunted or did some of them continue to grow? And flower?

I have a heart variety (in the row of an infection)- Reif Red Heart- whose top growth has been driving me nuts for a while, but it continues to grow well and has tons of flowers. The top of the plant is just SUPER wispy and small leaved as compared to the bottom leaves. . . some are upside down so I was hoping it was just stress. I've never grown an oxheart before so I'm not sure what is normal.

Here's the kicker though. . . two plants over I have a Goose Creek plant whose top leaves/stems keep curling down. . . but is growing okay (and goose creek can look like celery). . . BUT one of the tomatoes is growing pointed like a oxheart. It looks just like a giant perfect strawberry, actually.

Does this sound like what you experienced? Or can plants grow pointed because of weather?

Ugh. . . sorry to bug you. . . I'm torn!

Super thank you in advance.

**Lee** · July 23, 2009

The pictures I had in my original post show the effects on fruit of the one
variety I let keep going. Instead of round cherry tomatoes, they became
more oval/elongated. So it did seem to effect the fruit shape for me.
However, it didn't seem to effect fruit taste or quality..... Go figure!

Lee

hasshoes · July 23, 2009

Were the plants stunted?

**Lee** · July 23, 2009

Hard to say, since the one I let live was pretty much at full size when it got
infected.

Lee

Vespertino · May 3, 2013

I noticed some leaf wilt on 2 of my 4 sungolds. I had been fighting an aphid infestation on a rose plant that also lives on my patio. Looking at these photos I am starting to suspect CMV. I'm wondering if I should spray all my tomato plants with insecticidal oil as a precaution. I finally have the aphid infestation under control, but I'm worried about the two infected sungolds.

Most of the upper leaves are curling inward. They look perfectly green but they feel dry, tough and rough on the outer edges. I had some dark tiny spots on some of the lower leaves (one plant in particular) but they weren't effected by the curling.

I haven't seen any insects on these plants otherwise. I definately have 2 that are infected with this wilt, another I suspect is starting to curl and one is healthy. I've isolated the healthy one from the infected ones. I'm still not sure what kind of wilt this is, or if it's certainly a wilt. I've had a lot of cold snaps over the past few weeks and they're overdue to be planted, so it's not like these plants have been stress-free. I have brought them indoors during the freezing nights, but they were outside for some of the 40+degree weather.

Any idea if this is CMV, another type of wilt, or some kind of plant stress?

Vespertino · May 7, 2013

Just a follow up- I think what I have is 2,4-D herbicide damage and not CMV. Some close up of the leaf crinkle/deformity seems to be a closer match with herbicide damage. I must admit that CMV and herbicide drift does look very similar.

I'm sure the apartment complex I live at probably had their groundskeepers spray some weed herbicide around, and it wafted onto a few of my plants. Either that or I ticked off the guy who parks under my patio with water runoff.

July 7, 2008	#1
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	Cucumber Mosaic Virus (w/ Pix) Well, it ain't no fun when your plants get infected with disease. But on the plus side, I get to create these handy documents with photos showing the disease. I hope to expand this to improve the information, but for now, I hope the pictures are worth a thousand words for those of you needing a diagnosis. http://tomatopalooza.org/CMV08.htm Here's a few links to good descriptions of how to prevent CMV and what to do if you have it. Good news according to the Cornell site is that it doesn't persist in plant debirs, nor is it trasmitted in the seed. http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...ses_Tomato.htm http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/mosvirto.htm http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/CMV.pdf http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/not...notes/vg15.htm And here's a link to photos of the insect vectors of CMV: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent4...ntvectors.html Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

July 9, 2009	#2
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Lee--- how do you rec "pulling" plants with mosaic? I bagged mine and cut them off at the stem. . . and am going out in a few to pour some boiling water around the roots. Do I need to pull the roots? I'm worried about splashing the few surrounding plants that seem to be okay. They may get it anyway because my mosaic (possibly tobacco?) spread like wildfire. . . but I'll take any odds I can get. Thanks in advance!! :0) __________________ Sara

July 9, 2009	#3
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	I didn't do anything special last year. Just yanked out the plants and whatever roots came along. Since Cornell said it doesn't persist in the soil, I didn't worry about doing more than that. On the plus side, no CMV at all this year..... other problems, Yes, but CMV no. Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

July 9, 2009	#4
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Thanks Lee. . . that's good to know for next year. :0) :0) :0) Your links really helped by the way. As of today their seems to be no more spread. . . fingers crossed!!!!! __________________ Sara

July 23, 2009	#5
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Lee--- were your infected plants significantly stunted or did some of them continue to grow? And flower? I have a heart variety (in the row of an infection)- Reif Red Heart- whose top growth has been driving me nuts for a while, but it continues to grow well and has tons of flowers. The top of the plant is just SUPER wispy and small leaved as compared to the bottom leaves. . . some are upside down so I was hoping it was just stress. I've never grown an oxheart before so I'm not sure what is normal. Here's the kicker though. . . two plants over I have a Goose Creek plant whose top leaves/stems keep curling down. . . but is growing okay (and goose creek can look like celery). . . BUT one of the tomatoes is growing pointed like a oxheart. It looks just like a giant perfect strawberry, actually. Does this sound like what you experienced? Or can plants grow pointed because of weather? Ugh. . . sorry to bug you. . . I'm torn! Super thank you in advance. __________________ Sara

July 23, 2009	#7
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Were the plants stunted? __________________ Sara

May 7, 2013	#10
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	Just a follow up- I think what I have is 2,4-D herbicide damage and not CMV. Some close up of the leaf crinkle/deformity seems to be a closer match with herbicide damage. I must admit that CMV and herbicide drift does look very similar. I'm sure the apartment complex I live at probably had their groundskeepers spray some weed herbicide around, and it wafted onto a few of my plants. Either that or I ticked off the guy who parks under my patio with water runoff.