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Cucumber mosaic virus

phillipssue50phillipssue50 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
 I have a serious problem with what I think is cucumber mosaic virus this year and wonder if you have had any experience in dealing effectively with this, or can point me in the right direction to get advice?
I have read extensively and know what to do now, and for the future - ie grub up all affected plants and destroy them. Clean and disinfect tools, pots, surfaces, hands etc, plant mustard as a green manure in the autumn, control aphids in the spring as much as possible.
However, what I can't find is advice about whether it is  safe to grow vegetables again next year - how long does the virus remain alive and kicking?? Should I abandon growing vegetables for a year and just keep on with green manures and mulch?

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Could you post a photo of the affected plant ? and we may be able to confirm MV or suggest what else it may be
    Cucumber leaves get all sorts of marks on them, most of which can be ignored

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • phillipssue50phillipssue50 Posts: 4
    I have destroyed the cucumbers!! The leaves turned brown and crispy and they produced no fruit. In the poly tunnel the courgettes, French beans, strawberries, peppers and tomatoes all look yellow, patchy and are definitely not producing as they should do. I’ll post photos. 
  • phillipssue50phillipssue50 Posts: 4
    Hi Pete - some photos of the poor plants in my poly tunnel. The strawberries also have light patches and although they flowered, and began to form fruit, there’s no more growth at all  
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    It's not something I've ever had to deal with so hopefully someone who has experience will chip in.
    Most problems this year seem to be weather related for obvious reasons.
    The tomatoes look at bit of a tangle...
    There's blight around already this year so try and ensure good air flow around them

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Your plants are very overcrowded … prime conditions for fungal problems. 

    How was the soil prepared for planting?  What is the feeding regime? 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Most of what you are showing us looks weather related.
    The change from cold wet, to scorching hot is not liked by most plants and will show on the foliage as brown dead areas, to spots , to pale yellow patches between the veins. All could be ok with the rest of the plant and it still produce fruit. 

    Those tomatoes will go bad if not thinned out, through lack of air flow.

    As for strawberries,  is it their first year, are they too close, ( I have ten plants in a row 4 foot long and about 10inches wide, and they are still crowding each other) Did they get very wet and then scorched. 
    This year has not been a good start to growing, but we will persevere. 🙄
  • phillipssue50phillipssue50 Posts: 4
    The soil in the poly tunnel was prepared with compost and for the tomatoes and courgettes extra well rotted horse manure. The beans just compost. 
    The tomatoes are not trained because I did not want to handle them and pass any potential virus on. My cucumbers that first showed signs of the virus are grown in my house - I have sun room which usually is perfect for  indoors tomatoes and cucumbers and growing seeds.
    This year, both the cucumbers and tomatoes failed to grow (in grow bags), leaves  became curled and mottled and then brown.Plenty of flowers, but no fruit. I destroyed them after reading about cucumber mosaic virus.
    I am worried that the young plants I nurtured in the sunroom became infected which is why they failed to thrive. I have grown vegetables for a number of years and have never seen this before.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Don't forget we are having trouble with compost this year @phillipssue50
    So your plants may not have been thriving because of a bad mix.
    This year I bought from the same GC a few weeks apart the same make of compost,  and nearly lost four tomatoes,  all because the second batch couldn't hold water ( they are now outside, but have to have trays under them to keep them hydrated) there is a visible difference in colour and texture between the two. 
    So it might not have been the plants.
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