Curly Top Virus on my tomatoes

11 years ago

I'm in West Los Angeles, around 3 miles from the coast and my backyard garden has been hit hard by curly top virus. First my tomatoes and now my peppers are starting to get it. I'm not sure if the curling on my gita pole beans is also a result of curly top virus or not. Most of my vegetables are in raised planters on a drip system and covered in red plastic mulch. I have been spraying with pytherins and neem oil to kill the leafhoppers that spread the virus, but plants still keep coming down with it.

If I pull the infected plants, it is possible to replant in the same vegetable in that spot after waiting a certain amount of time? If not, what vegetables don't get curly top virus? Is is possible to build another raised planter and plant tomatoes in there, or is it endemic in my backyard, so just give it up with tomatoes? And what about next year or even planting in fall? Is every year different? So disappointing.

Thanks for any help!

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Comments (5)

jean001a
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I suspect herbicide damage because curly top is seldom so extensive in home gardens.

Need pictures, please
Xochitl
Original Author
11 years ago

jean001a, thank you for the response. Posted this also in other garden forum on California Gardening.

Sorry for the poor quality photo. This was from a tomato I already tore out days ago! Ugggg! I took some plant leaves to Armstrong and they told me to pull it immediately. The bottom of the leaves looked purple, with some leaves having only half the leaf purple. The leaves also seemed to be growing down. This plant was in front of my garage in a wine barrel, but I have a much larger garden in the rear, behind some structures (a garage and a library.) That part of the garden is in raised beds on a drip watering system covered in red plastic mulch. I amended the soil this year with some planting mix and add some organic fertilizers for tomatoes, and some extra potassium and potash, as the soil testing kit said those were extremely low. I had high nitrogen so didn't add any.

Like I said, I pulled out this and two other plants in wine barrels because they told me at Armstrong Garden Center that this virus would spread if I didn't. I did look it up and everything online seem to agree. Plus, I was so worried about my 11 tomato plants in the raised bed in back. Now the tomato plants in back are starting to get leaves with purple veins. And the weird part is is that I have not seen any leaf hoppers in my yard, the supposed vector.

I have sprayed with Neem Oil and Spinosad -Captain Jacks on all the plants and after the folks at Armstrong said I had the curly top virus, I sprayed with pyrethrin.

Any help is much appreciated!!!
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jean001a
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
What mix are they growing in?
If in the ground, what did you add to the soil pre-plant?
Are you using any fertilizer? If so, what, how much, and how often.

Did you review any info found online?

If not, see this from UC: for commercial growers

And this from UC: for home gardeners

Look at the images on both pages.
The symptoms on your plant are similar but, to my eye, not the same.
markbudde
11 years ago
Did you ever resolve this? My tomatoes were also decimated with symptoms identical to curly top virus in San Gabriel Valley.
Jean
11 years ago
Possible herbicide carryover in compost and/or manure? (Mimics curly top.)

See this
http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sfn/f09Herbicide