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Tomato
ringspot
Tomato
ringspot virus
Annemiek Schilder,
MSU Plant Pathology
Bill
Cline, NCSU Plant
Pathology |
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Tomato ringspot
is a rare but serious disease of highbush blueberries in Oregon,
Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Symptoms
Infected leaves are cupped and malformed
with circular spots 2 to 5 mm in diameter. Necrotic spots
can also occur on canes. Young leaves may be straplike and
mottled. |
| Circular spots on infected leaves. |
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| Symptoms are variable within the same plant. Infected
plants may be defoliated by mid-harvest and eventually die, often
after a severe winter. The disease spreads slowly in the field.
Roughly oval-shaped patches of weak or dying plants develop over
several years. |
Disease cycle
The virus is vectored by dagger nematodes (Xiphinema
spp.) and has a wide host range, including chickweed, dandelion,
narrow-leaved plantain, and fruit crops such as apple, grape,
peach, and raspberry. It is seed-borne in many of its hosts.
These plants can act as a reservoir of virus for nematodes
feeding on their roots.
Management
Before planting, test soil for dagger nematodes
and fumigate if nematodes are present; plant virus-tested,
clean planting stock; practice good weed control; plant
tolerant cultivars; remove and destroy infected plants,
including adjacent non-symptomatic plants. |
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| Infected, straplike, mottled leaves. |
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