Re: seeds from fruit with mosaic virus

In a message dated 11/27/99 6:55:08 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
COMPUTRESE@aol.com writes:

> This is my point, exactly, if a grower purposely cultivates infected 
plants, 
>  the insects will spread the virus to other host plants in the area. Mosaic 
>  virus is like the gift that keeps on giving. Allowing the virus to 
> perpetuate 
>  in your growing area is dangerous. The appropriate thing to do is to pull 
>  plants with mosaic virus UNLESS you are just ready to harvest when your 
>  plants become infected. 
>  

Well I didn't get infected until right at fruit set and just after. My Burpee 
Prizewinners (actually just one) got it first, after the fruits were already 
set. Then it spread to the other plant in the same hill a few weeks later. 
The insects probably already had spread it to the AG's at that point, so I 
was basically hoping for resistance, and from that point on I sealed 
everything off with floating row cover material, as well as applied strong 
Sevin dust after a strong liquid Rotenone/Pyrethrum combo to prevent 
flyaways, and to get insects resistant to Sevin. (If any made it under the 
floating row cover). I think this was just as responsible as "pulling" the 
plants. Pulling plants isn't necessarily more effective, just more dramatic 
sounding. If you lok at the facts, it may be less effective, since residue of 
roots and plant material could be left in the soil after a "pull", whereas 
when the area is physically barred from insects, and treated with strong 
insecticides during the insects' active season, it might be much more 
effective, or at least AS effective, and there is no crop loss. Pulling is an 
old practice used by farmers (and still used) because they have thousands of 
plants growing, and can certainly not go thropugh any extensive measure to 
cover and spray one plant, they can also deal with a huge crop loss to 
protect the rest of their crop. If ENTIRE crop was infected, they certainly 
would not be so anxious to burn it all taking a certain 100% loss before 
checking in to any possible ways that at least some of their crop could be 
salvageable. After all of the hard work put into AG growing prep, seeds, and 
growing, I think it might be a bit extreme to "destroy everything" at the 
first sign of a virus, when there could be other ways to deal with it and not 
lose your whole crop. Also, the main (and probably only) person that would 
get affected by the virus spreading would be ME, I am the only one who grows 
cucurbits in that area. 

>  Mosaic viruses DO winter over in soil and in composted vegetation.
>  
>  Barb

Yes, that is why I sealed off the infected areas with physical and chemical 
barriers, and nothing will be tilled in or composted. I think I have taken 
the correct measures in my situation.

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