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Mosaic Virus

Mosaic Virus

Tobacco mosaic virus, Cucumber mosaic virus, and related viruses

Viralalso: Tobacco mosaic virus, Cucumber mosaic virus, TMV, CMV

A group of plant viruses that mottle leaves with patches of light and dark green and stunt and distort growth. Mosaic viruses hit tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and many other crops and flowers. There is no cure, so the whole strategy is keeping the virus out and removing infected plants before it spreads.

🔎 How to spot it

Look for a mottled, mosaic pattern of light and dark green, or green and yellow, on the leaves, often clearest on young growth. Leaves may be puckered, curled, narrowed into a shoestring or fernlike shape, or stunted, and plants are frequently bushy, stunted, and pale. Fruit may be mottled, distorted, or sparse. Symptoms can resemble herbicide injury or nutrient problems.

🥀 Damage it causes

Infected plants are stunted and unproductive, with greatly reduced and often misshapen fruit. The virus stays in the plant for life, dragging down its yield all season, and infected plants act as a reservoir that insects and handling can spread to healthy neighbors.

🔬 What causes it

Mosaic symptoms are caused by several viruses, including tobacco mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus. Some spread by sap on hands, tools, and clothing, and by tobacco products, while others are carried plant to plant by aphids and cucumber beetles. Several persist in perennial weeds, in seed, and on debris, and can enter on infected transplants.

🛡️ Prevent it

Buy certified virus-free seed and transplants and choose resistant varieties, marked in catalogs with codes such as TMV or ToMV. Control aphids, cucumber beetles, and weeds that harbor the viruses, and consider floating row cover on young plants. Wash hands and tools, do not use tobacco around plants, and do not work among plants when they are wet.

🧯 If it is already here

There is no cure for a virus-infected plant, so promptly pull and bag suspected plants to stop the spread, and do not compost them. Disinfect hands and any tools that touched them. Remove nearby weed reservoirs and keep insect vectors in check on the remaining plants. Replant resistant varieties and rotate to break the cycle.

💡 Good to know

Mosaic viruses are easy to confuse with herbicide drift, nutrient deficiency, or feeding injury, so look for the telltale mottling and distortion on new growth before pulling plants. Tobacco mosaic virus is unusually tough and can survive in dried debris and cured tobacco, which is why smokers are advised to wash up before handling tomatoes and peppers.

🌱 Plants it affects

714 plants in the library can be affected by this problem

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Disease management advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a problem positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.