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Garden Word of the Day
Are you fed up with greed?
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
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If you grow beets or spinach, you should probably know about beet yellows virus (BYV) and beet pseudo yellows virus (BPYV). These two diseases look and behave enough alike that you don’t need to know the difference unless you start working in a plant disease lab. [I’d love to hear about that job!] Along with BYV and BPYV, beet chlorosis virus and beet western yellow virus are two other diseases that are similar enough to be included in this group for our purposes. Symptoms of beet yellows viruses
Unlike the beet mosaic virus, where symptoms first occur in new, younger leaves, symptoms of beet yellows viruses first appear on lower, older leaves between the veins. If you look closely, you may also see reddish-brown spots. Those spots are like freckles, eventually becoming so numerous as to create bronzing. As the disease progresses, leaves thicken, becoming leathery and brittle. Of course, your beet plants can catch both diseases simultaneously in a condition called virus decline, which makes diagnosis tricky. [Unfortunately, I could not find a photo I could use.] Disease vectors These diseases are all spread by aphids. Aphids are bad. Aphids are the most common guilty parties when it comes to disease transmission. As they travel around your landscape, aphids pierce nearly every plant, looking for a tasty meal. As they do, viruses can move from the aphid to your plants. And beets aren’t the only plants that can become infected with beet yellows viruses. Beet yellows viruses can infect raspberries, strawberries, melons and squash, and sunflower family plants. Poppies can catch these diseases, too. That’s probably half the edibles growing in your garden! So, what can you do about it? Controlling beet yellows viruses It only takes a single aphid to explode into a problem. Aphids reproduce rapidly and don’t need help from another aphid to start making baby aphids. Beet yellows virus problems often begin in overwintered beets and other host plants. Cutting host plants off at soil level at the end of the growing season allows valuable soil microorganisms to migrate to other plants, and they may surprise you with a spring appearance! [I have found this is particularly true of cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and Swiss chard.] These tips can help reduce the risk of beet yellows viruses occurring in your garden:
Any time you start seeing leaf discoloration, take a closer look. It’s usually easier to control problems sooner rather than later. Comments are closed.
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