What is this mosaic?

ilex · August 17, 2012

I'm getting this mosaic in new leaves, mostly on secondary shoots and specially in shoots from within leaves. Some plants start producing normal leaves after a while on the main shoot. The most interesting part is that I get this mostly on striped plants from the boar family.

My soil is a bit alcaline with PH around 8.4 with lots of active lime in heavy clay.

Note the purplish hue ...

I first considered a virus, but I suspect (hope) it's a deficiency.

Darren Abbey · August 17, 2012

The pattern is more consistent with a deficiency than it is with a virus.

Does it go away as the leaves age?

RayR · August 17, 2012

I tend to agree with Darren. The chlorosis is between the veins, which means it could be a Magnesium deficiency. You are in a high PH clay soil with a high Calcium content, so i imagine nutrient imbalances can easily occur. Magnesium uptake can be limited by too much Calcium or too much Potassium. Magnesium in turn is a carrier for Phosphorus in the plant, so if you are seeing a purple hue on the leaves, that would likely explain that also.
You could try a foliar spray of Epsom Salts at a teaspoon per gallon of water and see if they green up.

August 17, 2012	#1
ilex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Spain Posts: 416	What is this mosaic? I'm getting this mosaic in new leaves, mostly on secondary shoots and specially in shoots from within leaves. Some plants start producing normal leaves after a while on the main shoot. The most interesting part is that I get this mostly on striped plants from the boar family. My soil is a bit alcaline with PH around 8.4 with lots of active lime in heavy clay. Note the purplish hue ... I first considered a virus, but I suspect (hope) it's a deficiency.

August 17, 2012	#2
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	The pattern is more consistent with a deficiency than it is with a virus. Does it go away as the leaves age? Last edited by Darren Abbey; August 17, 2012 at 07:49 PM.

August 17, 2012	#3
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	I tend to agree with Darren. The chlorosis is between the veins, which means it could be a Magnesium deficiency. You are in a high PH clay soil with a high Calcium content, so i imagine nutrient imbalances can easily occur. Magnesium uptake can be limited by too much Calcium or too much Potassium. Magnesium in turn is a carrier for Phosphorus in the plant, so if you are seeing a purple hue on the leaves, that would likely explain that also. You could try a foliar spray of Epsom Salts at a teaspoon per gallon of water and see if they green up.