Yes, thank you. It's still difficult to be sure without an expensive test. E.g., I've thrown out several generations of Vassio Meggos thinking distorted leaves and decided they just grow that way, very deeply cut, especially when young. And many people are having problems with Cafe au Lait being very short. Easy to think it's stunted but they came from different sources and are being grown in different spots. Then I start worrying about a common source of virused tubers and it gets crazy. I see virused dahlias everywhere.

Going outside with images of virused leaves helps A LOT when learning what to look for. There's a lot of misinformation out there right now, with some sellers and old-time growers insisting that virus is only nutrition deficiency, or insect damage.

The work of Dr. Pappu in dahlia virus research has cleared a lot of that up, but some still refuse to accept the studies. Check out Dahlia Mosaic Virus and Washington State University's Virus Diseases of Dahlia to read more.

I am continually pulling any plant with stunted branches or
twisted/streaked/spotted leaves, as bugs spread viruses quite easily
from dahlia to dahlia, or from tomato/potato/tobacco to dahlia. I feel
that it is really important to be proactive about sick plants,
especially if you sell the tubers, as I do. Virus (like colds in human
households) are inevitable, and are not always the vendor's fault, but
due diligence and cleanliness during flower cutting and tuber dividing
goes a long way to keep existing stock clean. Once infected, the next
generation of tubers from that plant stay infected.

Here's two examples of plants that were pulled...

Cc I'm going to post my Florida, dahlia garden in dahlia forum. Please check out my pics !!? - I've learned the hard way! being a heavy smoker ( I always smoke extra when gardening Bc I work hard, I'm determined to get work done, plus, I'm outside!!) ive noticed over my 8 yrs gardening, I've given many transplants - nursery bought plants & home grown seeds what looks to be the tobacco mosiac virus! It doesn't take much @ all to give it to my plants! Unless I quit smoking - or smoke far away from my plants, change my clothes, wash, disinfect my hands and arms, I doubt it's going to stop ! I've been more aware of this virus since & notice MANY plants when I head out to buy from stores (lowes, Walmart, Home Depot) & even nurseries will also have plants being sold w/TMV - I'm sure this is from workers handling the plants after/ and or during smoking! I used to work @ dolins & we would take smoke breaks while unloading the trucks but I didn't know this back then :( I've noticed some of my dahlias are lighter in color than they should be :( I also notice the virus' signs can have slight variations depending on each plant- even ones of the same cultivar. Please check out my dahlia pics when I post them to let me know what u think ! Bc I'm in Florida & have nematodes I won't be sharing tubers but throwing them out every other year or so. And I don't share my plants. It spreads easily & so fast that I figure until I quit smoking I'm just going to have gardens full of plants with tobacco mosiac! But this is the heavy price I pay for being a smoker ! ( along w/cancer & some other miserable probs!!)

Please share that link, when you post the picts, as I'm not sure WHERE you mean...

Interesting on how easily you are saying it seems to spread through finger contact. I know several smoking gardeners, but don't know if they smoke when they garden. I'll have to ask them. One grows reefer, and I know that it can pick up TMV quite easily... he might not notice virus on the dahlia plants, but would most certainly be cursing down the sun if THOSE plants took ill.

I've only been gardening around 8-10 yrs -when I got into it -I DOVE into it full force !!- I'm a nerd - I read - research , ect.. I take in what I can from picking other gardeners brains ( only stuff that makes sense tho) I've noticed thru the years that certain plants will get it much quicker or at least show the symptoms much quicker than others - from my experience I do believe some cultivars are prone to getting it easier than others. Ive also found that it's not just contacted thru smoking while gardening but by not washing/sanitizing after smoking! I've bought so many plants that look nice & healthy & after handling them for a couple weeks ( w/my cigarette hands!) they start to get that light neon green, distorted new growth. This's the first sign I notice plants show. It sickens me but working outside is my stress relief & I feel, I HAVE to smoke while I'm gardening so it's a heavy price I pay being a smoker. from what I've read I doubt many smokers are going to change their clothes wash their face, hands & sanitize in between each cigarette before going out into their garden. It spreads easier than one might think. From what I've seen in nurseries & stores , this is a serious problem many ppl overlook. I don't know if it's from ignorance or Bc they just don't care but it's not fair to others who don't want virus infected plants.

I'm not sure how to copy the link down ?? But I did post some pics under my Florida dahlia garden in the dahlia forum it's up top bc it's recent but I didn't post any good pics of virus signs but I will make another post with better pics of what I'm talking ab