Curly top virus tomatoes

It is vectored, or carried by the beet leafhopper BLH insect. Both the virus and the BLH have a wide range of hosts so this disease affects a number of plant species.

Although tomato plants are not desired hosts, the BLH will feed on tomato plants as other host plants become dried in the summer heat of Utah. The BLH has a piercing-sucking feeding habit. An infected BLH needs only to feed for one minute on an uninfected plant to transmit the virus. BLHs that have acquired BCTV can transmit the virus for the remainder of their life; however, the number of plants infected decreases when the insects are not continually or frequently feeding on infected plants.

A tomato plant can begin to show symptoms about days after infection. Sugar beet is a common host and may serve as a virus reservoir. Tomato is not a desired host for the BLH, but the insects will remain in tomato fields long enough to transmit the virus while feeding. The edges of fields or isolated plants with a lot of soil around them are more susceptible to BLH feeding, which can result in high infection rates in these areas.

The sporadic nature of BCTV occurrence makes it very difficult to implement practical management strategies for this disease. The use of chemicals to control BLH is not recommended in most situations. Locating the BLH overwintering areas to treat them is difficult and would be excessively costly. Whether you need to reduce the harm to soils and the environment, or you're interested in the latest nitrogen, carbon and biochemical technologies, ProPeat is the perfect fit.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen in full force in eastern Idaho. Judging by the calls and emails I get into the office, the diseases that affect tomatoes has been fairly heavy this year. Tomatoes are subject to a number of diseases in eastern Idaho, partly because they are a close relative of the potato. Next week I will cover late blight and early blight, but today I will discuss curly top virus CTV in tomatoes. CTV is a bit perplexing because, unlike many diseases, it will infect one or two plants in your tomato patch, while the rest look and produce fine.

The reason for this is the way it is transmitted. It thrives on many of our introduced weed species, and then visits cultivated crops as it passes through. The symptoms in tomatoes show up mostly in the newer leaves, but all parts of the plant are affected.

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