Category: virus

virus

A Belated Virus Update

wishfulthinkingfarmhr

Despite the frustration of fighting virus, it’s still pretty beautiful in the garden in the mornings. 🙂

This is my last Peaches ‘N Cream, and it is showing some pretty obvious virus symptoms and yet testing negative repeatedly. I’m trying to muster up the grit to remove it, just to be safe.

I haven’t felt much like writing a blog post for the past few weeks. Our focus has been on continued efforts to contain virus in our dahlia garden. I’ve honestly lost track of how many we have lost, but it’s over half of the 380 tubers we started with. Thanks to late-season sales I’ve replaced the majority of what we lost, but in most cases with other varieties because the ones we lost like Apple Blossom, Coseytown Dexter, Foxy Lady, Hootenanny, Jowey Linda, and more were no longer available. The rainbow rows are no longer perfect, but we are counting our blessings that we have any blooms at all.

I’m starting to wonder if we will lose the whole crop this year. We’re doing everything we can to avoid it, but we aren’t winning, yet.

We have been using Agdia ImmunoStrip virus tests to identify sick plants. Initially we have had plants testing positive for Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and more recently Tobacco Streak Virus. I’ve also been using the ImmunoComb kits which test for TSWV and 3 other types of virus, but not had any positives with those.

Darcy, looking sick
Darcy, testing positive for Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

Testing is expensive, but seems unavoidable if we want to try to save any plants and have confidence we have gotten rid of the problem. So far, that’s not the case. We removed 23 plants on Wednesday and 7 more yesterday; three of the four I’ve tested this morning are positive and it’s only 6 a.m.! We’d run out of test kits on Wednesday so couldn’t confirm what virus(es) we were dealing with, but on Friday they all tested positive for TSV. (We have friends in town for a wine tasting weekend, but I stayed home and tested for virus instead. Good times!) Today I have two TSV and one TSWV. Here are some photos of varieties with positive tests:

Positive for TSV
Positive forTSV
Positive for TSV
Positive for TSV
Positive for TSV
Positive for TSV

In addition to testing and removal of stricken plants, we are on a regular spraying regimen for thrips. Even with the regular schedule of spinosad spraying we continue to see them in the garden. It’s easy to understand how diseases like TSWV and TSV are so difficult to control when thrips are everywhere! We have sprayed one day and seen them return the very next. :-/

Where is the virus coming from?

We don’t know for sure. We suspect the TSWV came from a tomato plant. The TSV may have come in on an infected tuber. We’ve found that some of our replacement tubers are sprouting with virus signs and then testing positive. That’s very frustrating and an obvious example of why it would be far better to have a quarantine garden for new varieties, and to buy from growers who test. (There aren’t many.)

Varieties we’ve lost

This is an incomplete list, but these are some of the varieties we have lost so far:

  1. AC Ben (All of them)
  2. AC Rosebud (Only one)
  3. AC Rooster (Only one)
  4. Alpen Cherub
  5. Alpen Diamond
  6. American Dawn
  7. Apple Blossom (Only one)
  8. Azteca
  9. Baarn Bounty (Only one)
  10. Bashful (Only one)
  11. Belle of Barmera
  12. Black Satin
  13. Bodacious
  14. Bride to Be
  15. Bridezilla
  16. Bumble Rumble
  17. Cafe au Lait
  18. CDP Lavender Girl (Only one)
  19. Cornel (Only one)
  20. Coseytown Bounty (Only one)
  21. Coseytown Dexter (Only one)
  22. Coseytown Penny (Only one)
  23. Crichton Honey
  24. Darcy (All)
  25. Daydreamer (Only one)
  26. Debora Renae (Only one)
  27. Deputy Bob (Only one, and its replacement)
  28. Diva (Several)
  29. Fidalgo Climax (All)
  30. First Kiss
  31. Foxy Lady (Several)
  32. GG’s Orange Slice (Only one)
  33. Giggles (Several)
  34. Gloriosa (Only one)
  35. Good Day (Several)
  36. Harvey Koop (All of them)
  37. Hercules
  38. Hilltop Johnathan
  39. Hilltop Onyx (Only one)
  40. Hollyhill Bill M (All of them)
  41. Hollyhill Black Beauty (All of them)
  42. Hollyhill Margarita (Only one)
  43. Hot Tamale x2 (All of them)
  44. Hootenanny
  45. Hy Suntan (Only one)
  46. Ice Tea (Only one)
  47. I Do
  48. In Memory Of (Only one)
  49. Jenna
  50. Jowey Linda (All of them)
  51. Kasasagi (Only one)
  52. Koppertone (Only one)
  53. Maarn
  54. Mai Tai
  55. Mikayla Miranda (Only one)
  56. Mingus Toni
  57. My Hero
  58. Mystique (All of them)
  59. Nicholas
  60. Nick Sr.
  61. N-Force (Only one)
  62. Ova-Jo (Only one)
  63. Painted Lady
  64. Patricia Ann’s Sunset
  65. Peaches ‘N Cream
  66. Pooh
  67. Platinum Blonde
  68. Rob Ann Creamsicle
  69. Robinhood
  70. Rock Run Ashley
  71. Rebecca Lynn (Only one)
  72. Santander (Only one)
  73. Selina
  74. Shadow Cat (Only one)
  75. Silver Years (Only one)
  76. Solo
  77. Steve Meggos X2 (Only ones)
  78. Teddy
  79. Thomas Edison
  80. Tropica
  81. Tutti Fruitti
  82. Unicorn Dreams
  83. Valley Porcupine (Only one)
  84. Verrone’s Obsidian (Only one)
  85. Verrone’s Will
  86. Vixen (Only one)
  87. Wayne L (Only one)
  88. Wildcat
  89. Wine-Eyed Jill (All of them)
  90. Wyn’s New Pastel