Mosaic Viruses
Roger, Steve and others:
Clorox bleach or any other product cannot stop viruses. Rinsing seeds from an
infected fruit will not cleanse them of viruses. There is no known cure,
preventative spray or other prophylaxis that will have any effect on mosaics.
To think that remay floating row cover will thwart the spread of viruses is
invalid. Remay does not seal your plant off from vectors.
Besides, viruses can be spread by other means as well. In fact, they are
often spread by pruning tools, shovels or spades, garden tools, gloves,
gardener's hands, shoes (yes, shoes!) and even garden spray nozzles!
Viruses infect plants and alter the DNA. Infected plants do not grow properly
nor do they produce fruit true to size, shape or quality. Color is affected
and fruits often have bumpy, blotchy skins and become misshapen during
growth.
When mosaics hit cukes, there is often no sign on the fruit until you eat it;
they are so bitter they are unpalatable.
Mosaics affect all cucurbits, melons, squash, pumpkins, cukes, etc. In the
Carolinas, mosaics threaten watermelon growers with such a high risk that
seed sales to home growers are limited. That means they don't want ignorant
growers to cultivate infected plants blythly, without concern for disease
impact. There is tremendous financial impact on losing that many melons,
cukes, etc., so much so that those states have passed legislation in favor of
commerical growers, thus limiting personal sales of watermelon seeds to home
growers.
The ability to search the internet or read an article from a book and
regurgitate it's message on this list does not make one an authority. I
suggest to anyone who thinks that mosaic viruses are not easily spread or
that viruses are a nuisance rather than a threat to learn more. I personally
know growers who have had to abandon their fields due to viruses and have
moved to other locations to escape it's dreadful impact.
Mosaics are not just a problem for southern growers. They can winter over in
Canadian weather and appear in patches there causing just as much
disappointment as mosaic infections here in FL.
The responsible thing to do when a mosaic infection is determined is to pull
your plants and bag them tightly for disposal or burn the vegetation. Do not
allow your plants to go to yard waste composting operations and never till
infected vegetation back into your patch. It is better to suffer the
disappointment of the loss and prepare for next year, rather than to allow
infected plants to grow, blossom and mature, spreading the disease.
The facts on mosaics are not debatable. There is no sound excuse to cultivate
plants with mosaic, short of scientific research in a lab setting. Soil
drenches or sprays that claim to cure mosaic or stop an infection are
worthless. This is scientific fact. Years of research at the University of
Florida has failed to find a product that will have any positive affects on
mosaics.
What is to be gained by allowing an infected plant to produce? You get an odd
looking plant with blotchy, misshapen leaves, blooms whose stigma and stamens
are misshapen from the disease and fruit that is not able to grow to it's
full potential or have the attributes that it should due to virus corruption.
To worry about how far an aphid flies with respect to mosaic infections is
foolishness. Vectors can come from several miles on the winds or come in on
trucks or trains with produce from another state or county where mosaic
infections exist. No one grew pumpkins or cucurbits near my patch in a
heavily industrial, urban setting and mosaic developed and spread like
wildfire. Heat and humidity worsen impact.
Steve, to cultivate mosaic infected plants with plans to give away your seeds
when you know your plants have been infected this long is wrong. You can't
claim ignorance of the facts now.
Barb
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
