Silvering leaves spread throughout an infected tree and can lead to tree death. Caused by the
Chondrostereum purpureum pathogen, this disease infects many members of the rose family (Rosaceae) but is found most commonly among apples and pears, plums, and other stone fruits. It can also occur on alder, beech, birch, buckeye, hawthorn, larch, maple, poplar, spruce, and willow, so these trees should be monitored for the disease, as well as rhododendron.


Silver leaf symptoms

The leaves of affected limbs slowly turn silver, or bleached. That silvering is the result of toxins released into the vascular bundle and carried to the leaves. [I was unable to find a photo I could use, but you can Google it.] These symptoms spread progressively throughout the tree, killing branches as it goes. Infected wood is darker than normal. A whitish crusty area may also be seen on the bark. This is the actual fungus. If you look closely, you may notice the edges are purple. The body of the crust feels rubbery and may be covered with white hairs. After the fungal bodies have fruited, this crust turns beige or brown.


Leaf silvering can also occur as a result of environmental stresses, such as drought or cold. This is called false silver leaf. If you cut into a limb affected by false silver leaf, the interior wood will be a normal color and not stained. Leaf symptoms may also be caused by whitefly feeding.


Spores float on cool, moist breezes. When they land on freshly exposed sapwood, the infection begins. That sapwood may have been exposed due to pruning, herbivore damage, a playful child, or too much fruit.


Silver leaf management

Trees infected with silver leaf often die. There are steps you can take to prevent it from occurring in the first place. One method is to prune susceptible trees, especially cherries and plums, in summer. Rather than painting the surface of pruning cuts, allow them to heal naturally. Too often, sealants keep the wound from drying, which results in rots and other fungal diseases. And be sure to thin fruit to the point that branches aren't overburdened.


If an infection occurs, cut off the affected limb at a point 6” below the infection, sanitizing your cutting tool with bathroom cleaner between each cut. Infected wood should be bagged and tossed in the trash right away, as it is a source of further infection. Continue to monitor the tree closely for symptoms.

Unlike apple scab, which is a fungal disease of fruits, common scab is a bacterial disease that prefers life underground. The actinobacteria responsible for common scab, Streptomyces, are found everywhere. Most commonly occurring in potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, rutabagas, and turnips may also become infected with common scab.


Common scab symptoms

Common scab looks exactly how it sounds. Surface russeting is the first thing you notice about plants with common scab. If you look deeper, you will also see deep pits in your tubers and root vegetables. Luckily, infected plants are safe to eat. Simply cut away the bad bits and toss them into the compost pile.


Common scab lifecycle

Common scab bacteria overwinter in infected roots and tubers left in the soil. Bacteria can also be spread via wind and rain splashing. Bacteria enter roots and tubers through natural openings, such as stoma, and wounds from insect feeding and shovels. The infection starts on the surface and works its way inward. These bacteria feed on the roots and tubers and will continue to reproduce for as long as temperatures are warm enough.


Common scab management

Common scab occurs most often in dry soils. This means that regular irrigation goes a long way toward preventing common scab in root vegetables. Common scab is more likely in soils with a pH greater than 5.2, so acidifying alkaline soils may also help prevent scabbing. Finally, rotate your potatoes and other root crops with non-tubers and watch for resistant cultivars when shopping for seeds and seedlings.

Aster leafhopper damage

As aster leafhoppers feed, they often spread aster yellows disease. Aster yellows is a bacterial disease of carrots, celery, dill, lettuce, oats, onion, potato, radish, rye, and sunflowers. Several ornamentals, such as coneflower, may also become infected. The first symptoms of aster yellows are yellowing veins and leaves that may become twisted, and distorted, sterile flowers. But carrying disease isn’t the only damage caused by aster leafhoppers.


Aster leafhoppers use piercing mouthparts to suck plant juices from leaves and stems. This gives plants a bleached, stippled appearance and it puts a serious dent in a plant’s ability to perform photosynthesis. It also creates points of entry for several other pests and diseases. Adding insult to injury, their excrement creates a habitat for sooty mold.


Aster leafhopper identification

Aster leafhoppers are very small, averaging less than 1/5” in length. They are wedge-shaped and olive green. If you look closely, you will see that the abdomen is yellowish-green and the forewings are grayish-green. If you could hold one still and look through a hand lens, you might be able to see the three pairs of black spots on the head. Wings are transparent. Nymphs look like miniature adults, but they are cream-colored or dark green and they lack wings.


Aster leafhopper lifecycle

These pests blow in on strong winds, usually coming out of the south. Eggs are quickly inserted under the leaf epidermis of host plants and assorted weeds. Eggs hatch in only a week and their lifecycle only lasts four weeks. During that time, they are eating and spreading disease.


Aster leafhopper management

Aster leafhoppers often hide out in weeds such as dandelion, horseweed, pineapple weed, Queen Anne’s lace, and ragweed, so keeping those weeds away from your garden may help. Yellow sticky sheets can be used to attract and capture these and other pests. As always, remove any plants infected with aster yellows disease and toss them in the trash.


Horticultural oil, neem oil, or insecticidal soap can also be used against aster leafhoppers, but they are only effective if the pest is coated with the stuff, which is difficult to do. They tend to move away rather quickly when sprayed. What you can do is use row covers to protect plants from aster leafhoppers. Reflective mulch has been shown to repel leafhoppers.


I hope that aster leafhoppers never blow into your landscape.

Tarnished plant bug lifecycle

Tarnished plant bugs overwinter as adults in weeds and fruit trees. Females prefer laying their eggs in cotton plants, but they will make do with what’s available. These eggs are laid in mid-spring and hatch in early summer. Populations tend to peak when eggs hatch and again in mid-autumn.


Tarnished plant bug management

These pests like to hide in nearby weeds, so lose the weeds and mulch those areas with free wood chips from your local arborist. Tarnished plant bugs have several natural enemies. One nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, loves to feed on tarnished plant bugs, so avoid those broad-spectrum pesticides.


While pesticides are commonly used against juvenile tarnished plant bugs in commercially grown crops, the effectiveness of those chemicals is decreasing. Pesticides don’t work well on adult tarnished plant bugs, to begin with. Research has shown that these pests are attracted to pink sticky paper, so that’s an easy organic control method. Certain parasitic wasps also play a role in controlling tarnished plant bug populations. A strong spray from the hose can dislodge juveniles, who are often unable to find their way back to a host plant.


Be on the lookout for these pests the next time you’re weeding around your fruit trees or garden plants.

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are plant parasites that thrive in regions with hot summers and short winters, causing problems in over 2,000 different plants. They will infect everything in your garden except onions and corn. And I don't know why scientists say plants are infected with nematodes instead of infested, but they do and so will we.


The only way to tell if a plant is infected with root-knot nematodes is to dig it up. Before we do that, let’s see what we’re up against.


What are nematodes?

Nematodes are microscopic, unsegmented worms. Some of them are beneficial and some carry disease. Beneficial nematodes kill cutworms and corn earworm larvae. Disease-carrying nematodes include needle nematodes, stubby root nematodes, and root-knot nematodes. The real problem with nematodes is that there are so many of them. It is estimated that, for every person on earth, there are 60 billion nematodes. [Thank goodness they aren’t all bad!]

Root-knot nematode lifecycle and damage

There are over 90 different types of root-knot nematodes and they are found worldwide. Females lay eggs in roots. Those eggs hatch into juveniles that go through several molts. During that time, they may stay in their mother’s plant or go find their own.


Root-knot nematode larvae infect plant roots, causing galls to form. Galls are swellings that occur in response to invasion. Galls caused by bacterial or fungal infection contain bacteria or fungi, respectively. Galls caused by root-knot nematode larvae contain only plant tissue. These goals interfere with the uptake of water and nutrients, so young plants starve to death, and older plants struggle. Those struggling plants are more susceptible to other pests and diseases, as well as environmental stresses, such as drought or unhealthy soil.


If that weren’t bad enough, root-knot nematodes can also carry Aster yellows phytoplasma. That’s the disease that gives you fuzzy carrots and damages your caraway, celery, cilantro, and lettuce.

Root-knot nematode management

Commercial growers use chemicals called nematicides to combat root-knot nematodes. Many of those chemicals have been banned because of the harm they cause. Luckily, there are organic methods of controlling root-knot nematodes. The prettiest way is to grow Tagetes marigolds. The roots of these lovely flowers put out chemicals that suppress these pests. But you have to plant a lot of them. Pretty rows won’t cut it. And not all Tagetes species are effective. Avoid using signet marigolds (T. signata or tenuifolia) because these attract and feed nematodes.


Maintaining healthy soil is one of your best defenses against root-knot nematodes because microorganisms compete with each other. Healthy soil contains a lot of microorganisms that will compete with these and other pests. Mulching and top dressing with aged manure and compost feeds those helpful microorganisms.


You can install resistant plant varieties, making sure to buy certified disease-free seeds and seedlings. Crop rotation and allowing planting areas to go fallow every few years will help keep nematode populations in check. And plant some of those lovely marigolds!

How to grow Malabar spinach

These plants grow best in loose, nutrient-rich soil with a pH of 5.5 to 8.0 and good drainage.  Seeds, cuttings, and transplants can be started in early spring in a protected location. Seeds should be planted 1” deep. Once temperatures have warmed, move your Malabar spinach plant to a cattle panel, fence, or trellis. Plants should be spaced two feet apart.


As tropical plants, Malabar spinach needs consistent moisture. Water deeply and mulch around the plants to hold that moisture in place. You can grow Malabar spinach in partial shade, but it prefers full sun.


Malabar spinach pests and diseases

Malabar spinach has few problems for the home gardener. Leaf miners, root-knot nematodes, and tarnished plant bugs may cause feeding damage. Rotating Malabar spinach with amaranth or corn may minimize damage caused by root-knot nematodes. Fungal leaf spot diseases may also occur.


As productive and trouble-free as Malabar spinach is, you may want to give it a try in your garden.

Tomato mottle mosaic virus management

Scientists believe that ToMMV spreads through plant-to-plant contact, as well as on contaminated clothing and tools. Pollinators, contaminated irrigation water, and infected seeds may also help spread this disease. There are no resistant plant varieties. Some studies have shown that this particular virus can break the resistance of our garden plants to tomato mosaic virus and tobacco mosaic virus. This ability has farmers worried, and with good reason.


There are no known treatments against tomato mottle mosaic virus (yet), so prevention is the best course of action. This means:

• buying only certified disease-free seeds and seedlings
• placing new plants in quarantine
• spacing plants properly
• monitoring plants regularly for signs of disease
• removing infected plants and disposing of them in the trash

If you suspect tomato mottle mosaic virus in your garden, collect a sample and contact your local County Extension Office or Department of Agriculture. Working together, we can help slow the spread of this and other plant diseases.

Which plants go into which hydrozones?

Each garden is unique, but we can make some generalizations about which plants have similar water needs. And those water needs are not simply about irrigation. Rooting depth is another factor. Some plants have shallow root systems that need frequent watering in summer. Other plants have deep roots that allow them to collect some water for themselves. And those water needs will change during a plant’s lifetime. Creating fruit or seeds is hard work for a plant and they need extra water to make those beans, squash, and tomatoes. Even those potatoes need more water when tubers are setting.

• Heavy water zone plants: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, raspberries, spinach
• Moderate water zone plants: asparagus, beans, eggplant, kale, melons, potatoes, rutabagas, squash, tomatoes, and turnips
• Low water zone plants: cowpeas, herbs and many edible flowers, okra, parsnips, rhubarb, sweet potatoes

Keep in mind that specific cultivars may have different characteristics than the rest of their family when it comes to water needs. Tepary beans thrive in deserts, while other bean species need more frequent watering.


You may have to experiment with hydrozones in your landscape, but that’s okay. It’s one of the joys of gardening, in my opinion. One project or plant may feel like a disaster one year. The next year, it may be a complete success. As you learn more about your soil and the plants you grow, the better able you will be to give them the water and care they need to thrive. Hydrozoning is one way to achieve that goal.

Gummy stem blight management

Infected plants should be removed and tossed in the trash bin. Two- or three-year crop rotations, removing plant debris at the end of each growing season, and maintaining proper plant spacing help prevent gummy stem blight. And keep those leaves dry by avoiding overhead watering. While there are no resistant varieties, you can buy seeds treated for gummy stem blight.

Four-lined plant bugs are sap suckers. This means they have piercing mouthparts, similar to their cousins, tarnished plant bugs and capsid bugs. Small populations can be ignored, but things can get out of hand. 


​Four-lined plant bugs (Poecilocapsus lineatus) are traditionally found east of the Rocky Mountains, but that can always change.

Four-lined plant bug lifecycle

Four-lined plant bug nymphs emerge in late spring and start feeding on the upper side of leaves. One month later, they molt and become adults. Those adults continue eating as they look for a mate. Females then cut 2” vertical slits into stems where they lay six or more banana-shaped eggs. Adult feeding continues through mid-summer. The next spring, those eggs hatch, and the cycle continues.


Four-lined plant bug management

Unless the infestation is severe, you don’t need to do anything about four-lined plant bugs. Monitor your plants for signs of infestation as you work in the garden. Don’t be surprised if one of these pests falls to the ground if you surprise them. They tend to panic that way, even though they can fly. They are also known to try hiding from us behind stems as we pass by. And they move quickly.


If four-lined plant bug infestations become troublesome in your landscape, you can reduce their numbers by removing the aboveground portion of host plants in autumn and tossing them in the compost pile. Composting destroys many eggs before they have a chance to hatch. Treat severe nymph infestations with insecticidal soap or neem oil. These treatments aren’t very effective against adults. I have no idea why.

Capsid bug management

Minor capsid bug infestations can be ignored. The threat of capsid bug feeding can be reduced by planting resistant cultivars. Capsid bug management starts with monitoring susceptible plants, starting in spring, and removing weeds from around those plants. At the end of the growing season, remove plant debris from around these plants, as well. This eliminates hiding and overwintering places for capsid bugs.


Birds and ground beetles eat capsid bugs, so making the garden safe and appealing for them will help. Severe infestations can be treated with summer oils, neem oil, or pyrethrum [not pyrethroids].

Native to China and India, invasive spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) were first detected in the U.S. in 2014. But it appears they snuck in on shipments of stone, woody plants, firewood, wood products, landscaping materials, and outdoor furniture two or three years before that. [Why in the world we are shipping stones from China is beyond me…]


Today, spotted lanternflies occur in several states, and they threaten gardens and farms everywhere. There are also serious concerns about our nation’s forests.


Crops vulnerable to spotted lanternflies include apple, cherry, chestnut, grape, hops, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, and walnut. Vulnerable ornamentals include birch, maple, pine, poplar, and rose. Its favorite host is the tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), also known as Chinese sumac, and varnish tree (because of its stinky odor).


There may be more plants at risk. We don’t know yet. What we do know is this—we need to report these pests every time. Let’s learn how.

Spotted lanternfly management

Because this pest is new on the scene, there is a lot we don’t know. While spotted lanternflies have natural enemies in China, that may not be the case elsewhere. At this point, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture makes the following recommendations:

• Inspect vertical surfaces for eggs autumn through spring. If eggs are found, gently scrape them into a sealable plastic bag that contains some alcohol or hand sanitizer, using a credit card or some other thin tool, making sure not to scatter the eggs.
• Remove any tree-of-heaven specimens on your property.
• Infested trees can be treated with systemic pesticides and bark sprays in summer.
• Apply sticky barriers to the trunks of any potential host trees to trap nymphs.

There may still be time to eradicate spotted lanternflies from North America, but only if we all keep our eyes open and report any sightings.


I can’t stress this enough: if you see a spotted lanternfly, catch it, kill it, and report it to your local County Extension Office or Master Gardeners.

Bright yellow, red, or purple leaves may indicate beet western yellows, though this plant disease is not limited to beets or the west.


Found around the world, the beet western yellows virus is responsible for significant losses in many different crops. Unfortunately, free-to-use photos are not as readily available. You can search online to see what this disease looks like.


Beet western yellows host plants

This disease occurs on over 250 plant species, including beets, broccoli, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, chickpeas, endive, escarole, fava beans, lentils, lettuce, mustard, peas, peppers, radish, spinach, sunflowers, tomatoes, turnips, and oilseed rape. Oilseed rape is a member of the cabbage family grown for its oily seeds and as food for livestock.


It can also occur on annual phlox, bee’s friend, false flax, and lupine. Weeds that harbor beet western yellows include chickweed, common groundsel, prickly lettuce, little mallow, shepherd’s purse, sowthistles, and pennycress. [Even though it is a weed, pennycress is commonly used to salvage toxic soil through phytoremediation.]

Beet western yellows virus symptoms

Symptoms of beet western yellows infection vary depending on the affected species. To complicate matters, there are multiple strains of this virus, which can make diagnosis tricky.


Most plants infected with BWYV don’t show any signs at first. Then red, blue, purple, or black discolorations that start at the tips and edges of leaves appear. Eventually, the entire leaf turns bright yellow or orange. Petioles and veins remain green or may be pale. Infected leaves feel thick and brittle, and they may curl upward. Stunting is common and leaf crinkling may occur. These symptoms often look similar to iron or nitrogen deficiencies, or chemical overspray.


Beet western yellows virus management

Beet western yellows virus is a luteovirus. Luteoviruses are spread by aphids. Specifically, green peach aphids and wheat aphids, though other aphid species are involved. So, the best way to prevent and manage beet western yellows is to control aphids and eliminate rouge host plants.


Also known as turnip yellows and turnip mild yellows, resistance to this disease is indicated on plant labels with the letters TuYV, BWYV, and TuMYV. Buying resistant plants makes your job a lot easier.


Avoid planting too early in a season as this can make plants more vulnerable to beet western yellows. Infected plants should be tossed in the trash.


There are no chemical controls for viruses (yet).

Asian bean thrips identification

To me, Asian bean thrips look like hoverflies with pointy rear ends. They are very small. You could almost fit 10 females across the face of an American dime. Males are only half that size. Size isn’t the only difference. Females are black, with yellow or white bands. Their wings are banded, too. Males are yellow, with a similar but less defined banding pattern.  Both males and females have black antennae with white bands. Larvae start yellow but turn red as they near adulthood.


Asian bean thrips lifecycle

These pests love warm weather and they can complete their lifecycle in as little as 10 days. Eggs are inserted into flowers, leaves, and pods. After hatching, larvae go through two molts over 2 or 3 days before dropping to the ground to pupate. Pupae seem to prefer moist, sandy soil, so they probably won’t feel welcome on my sun-scorched clay, but I’ll still keep a lookout. Just in case.


Adult Asian bean thrips feed on pollen, mate, and lay eggs. If no mate is available, they can reproduce without them. This ability is called parthenogenesis and it is why aphid populations can seem to explode overnight. I can only imagine that Asian bean thrips populations can do the same thing.


Asian bean thrips management

Since this invasive pest is new to North America, we’re not really sure what we’re up against. Many beneficial insects eat thrips, but we don’t know their efforts will be enough. We’re not even sure if those garden helpers like the taste of Asian bean thrips. All we can do is hope.


Actually, we can also remove plant debris once a crop has finished its cycle. Adding that plant material to the compost pile may help reduce hiding places for this new pest. Since thrips, as a group, are known to develop resistance to pesticides rather quickly, chemical sprays are not recommended. My guess is that mechanical control methods, such as diatomaceous earth (DE) and sticky barriers may help. They can’t hurt.


If you think you have Asian bean thrips in your garden, try to catch one or take a picture and reach out to your local Master Gardeners, County Extension Office, or Department of Agriculture. Those groups work hard to protect our gardens from invasive pests, and we can help them with any information we might have.

Chubby, round peas, tearing through your garden without their pods is not pea streak, but it conjures a cute image, doesn’t it?


Unfortunately, there isn’t anything cute about this viral disease. [And I couldn’t find a usable image, sorry about that.] Pea streak virus (PeSV) is spread by aphids. The virus responsible for pea streak also causes chickpea wilt.


Aphids infected with the pea streak virus often hide out in alfalfa, clover, and other perennial legumes.


Pea streak symptoms

Stems of infected plants develop dark brown, gray, or purple longitudinal streaks. These streaks are similar to those caused by alfalfa mosaic and bean yellow mosaic. When plants have been infected by pea streak, you will also see deformed pods with sunken areas. Pods do not fill out properly and leaves wither and die. Dieback starts at tips all around the plant and moves inward, toward the center.


Pea streak management

All you can do for infected plants is remove them and toss them in the trash. You can reduce the likelihood of pea streak occurring in your garden by starting with certified disease-free seeds and seedlings and, removing potential hideouts. Control aphids as well as you can. There are no chemical treatments for pea streak.

Bean leafroll virus symptoms

Plants infected with bean leafroll virus turn yellow, and the leaves curl. If you look closely, you will see that the chlorosis is occurring between the leaf veins. Stunting is common. These symptoms look very similar to beet western yellows virus (BWYV) and nutrient stress. Symptoms can vary between species. In addition to these symptoms, these species-specific symptoms may occur:

• fava beans—top yellowing, upward leaf curling
• lentils—smaller leaves
• peas—yellowing of leaf tips, downward leaf rolling

There can be a 50% to 90% reduction in pod production due to bean leafroll virus. In some cases, symptoms may appear and then fade away. This can be a problem since the plant is still infected and any aphids that feed on it can then spread the disease to neighboring legumes.


Bean leafroll virus management

The best way to reduce the chance of bean leafroll occurring in your garden is to control aphids —easier said than done, I know. While you can dislodge aphids with a strong spray from your garden hose, not all plants take kindly to that sort of treatment. Neem oil and insecticidal soaps are organic methods of aphid control.


Removing other host plants, such as burr medic and subterranean clover, can help reduce the spread of this disease. Since aphids and aphid eggs are easily brought into your landscape on other plants, putting new plants into quarantine is always a good idea.


There is no treatment for bean leafroll virus. Infected plants should be removed and thrown in the garbage. Resistant varieties are being developed, so keep a lookout for plants labeled with BLRV. Finally, rotating your legumes with cereal crops, such as barley, corn, millet, or oats can help break the disease cycle.

If the torus comes with the fruit, it is a blackberry. If the torus breaks away from the fruit, it is a raspberry.


Now you know.

Hiding under a self-watering container now lives a tiny lizard I affectionately refer to as Little Buddy. Little Buddy is the offspring of an alligator lizard that lives near one of my raised beds. I hope they stay.


The grass that was struggling is now 4” tall and still green. It’s even putting out seeds of its own. There are still brown patches but I expect they will be filled with herbaceous plants without any effort on my part at all. That doesn’t mean I’m completely off the hook by having a meadow. Urban meadows may not require watering, fertilizing, mowing, or edging, but you do need to be vigilant about invasive plants, unwanted weeds, such as foxtails, and disease.

Pepper mild mottle management

The virus that causes pepper mild mottle occurs around the world. It is the most abundant RNA virus found, I beg your pardon, in human feces. It ends up that we are the Number One carriers of this disease. Just as livestock manure can carry many pathogens, such as E. coli, our own waste can, too. This virus also moves around on our clothing, tools, and skin. There is some suspicion that this virus can also cause disease in people, but more research is needed. Whether it hurts us or not, it can be devastating to your pepper plants.


This pathogen thrives in heat and humidity. This makes it a common problem in greenhouse environments. Once in an area, these viruses can enter plants through wounds and other damaged areas. This disease is very contagious in the pepper world and the virus is very stable. This means it remains viable on tools, containers, structures, and plant debris for a long time.


Once a plant is infected with pepper mild mottle, it must be destroyed. Pull it out and throw it in the trash. Do not add it to the compost pile and do not burn it. These viruses are so tough that they can travel on smoke! And wash your hands.


Commercial growers used to apply methyl bromide as a pre-plant treatment. That nasty chemical has been banned in most countries. One Japanese study has found soil rich in humus is less likely to harbor the pepper mottle virus, so keep mulching and composting. Crop rotation is a good idea, too.


The best way to prevent this disease is to only use certified disease-free seeds and seedlings.

First identified in an Arizona Tabasco pepper in 1969, pepper mottle is a type of Potyvirus, similar to potato virus (PVY). It has since been found in several states and countries. Also known as chili mottle virus and pepper mottle potyvirus, this is not the same disease as pepper mild mottle, which we will discuss tomorrow.


Pepper mottle symptoms

Pepper model symptoms vary by the species infected and the age of the plant at the time of infection. Initially, peppers will show vein clearing, which later shifts to dark vein banding, mottling, crinkled leaves, and deformed fruit. [Unfortunately, I was unable to find a photo that I could use.]


Tomatoes have similar leaf and stem symptoms, but the fruit ripens unevenly with green, orange, and yellow areas that never fully ripen. Infected plants are stunted and produce significantly less fruit. Diagnosis can be difficult because pepper mottle often occurs at the same time as other infections and can look a lot like cucumber mosaic.


Pepper mottle management

The pepper mottle virus is spread by aphids. Those aphids are likely to hide out in weeds from the nightshade family. This disease can also be spread mechanically by working with an infected plant and then moving to a healthy plant.


To reduce the chance of pepper mottle in your garden, remove Datura and other nightshade weeds and any rouge tomatoes. [I know, it’s hard to get rid of volunteer tomato plants. But they very often harbor diseases so add them to the compost pile and focus on the ones you planted on purpose.]


Garden tools can carry the virus, so it’s a good idea to sanitize them between plants any time disease is suspected. Bathroom cleaners work well. Control aphid populations with horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps.


When shopping for seeds and seedlings, investing in certified pest- and disease-free plants can save you a lot of time and effort later in the growing season and future years. Some pests and diseases can stick around for a very long time. Resistant varieties are being developed. When shopping for plants, look for the PepMoV or PeMV on plant labels.