Tomato Mottle Mosaic Virus

The tomato mottle mosaic virus was seen first in 2013 in Mexico. It now occurs around the world, and it threatens your tomato and pepper plants. 

This disease is still relatively rare, but scientists believe that it may be able to infect members of the cabbage family and other members of the nightshade family. Scientists are still sorting out all the details. 

Symptoms of tomato mottle mosaic

Symptoms of tomato mottle mosaic virus include the following:

• Aborted flowers
• Distorted leaves
• Leaf blistering and puckering
• Leaf narrowing
• Light and dark green mosaic patterns on leaves
• Mottling
• Serious stunting

Tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV) symptoms. a Tomato. b Pepper. c Chinese lantern d Petunia. e Australian tobacco. f Brazilian tobacco. g Tobacco. h Tobacco. I Tobacco. j Apple-of-Peru. k Napa cabbage. l Mustard. (Li, Yueyue, Wang, Y., Hu, J. et al.) CC BY 4.0

Without flowers, there is no fruit. These symptoms spread rapidly, and the disease is highly contagious.

​Tomato mottle mosaic management

Scientists believe that ToMMV spreads through plant-to-plant contact and 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 these preventive tips offer the best course of action:

• Buy certified disease-free seeds and seedlings.
• Place new plants in quarantine.
• Space plants properly.
• Monitor plants regularly for signs of disease.
• Remove infected plants and dispose 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.