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Please Help ID Issue

This is Dwarf Russian Swirl. What are your thoughts on these leaves?

The plant is approximately 5 ft tall in a large raised bed. It's somewhat shaded now that the oversized cherry monster behind it outgrew its trellis and flopped forward. I've started pruning the offender, but haven't finished.

The pattern is more evident on the lower leaves than those higher up.

Also, I just picked a fruit from it with some light spotting. Since its a bi-color and only the third ripe fruit, I'm not sure if this is normal. The other two fruits were beautifully striped.

Thanks in advance!

Comments (5)

  • 9 years ago

    IMO, this is most likely nutritional deficiency, probably potassium. But the fruit looks borderline for TSWV, too. That's less likely but has implications for other plants in your garden, which is why it's important to look at overall symptoms on the plant to rule it out.

    Is the plant in a container or is it in-ground?

    Have you been fertilizing? If so what fertilizer/how much/etc.

    Have you noticed excessive curling/downward pointing foliage? Is the newest foliage normal looking?

    Any discolorations at all on unripe fruit?

    MusicMinded (6b/7a) thanked gorbelly
  • 9 years ago

    Thanks, Gorbelly. It's in a large raised bed - 2 ft high. The soil is all new to me from a local nursery. Its roughly 50/50 soil (some clay) and leaf compost. I added a mild amount of Tomato Tone before plant out and have been fertilizing with TTF, but not heavily or regularly in recent weeks due to excessive rainfall. In the morning I'll inspect again for the rest of your questions. As I recall the other plants in that bed did not show these signs. I wondered about TSWV, which is why I shared the photo of this fruit, but the leaves are curling upward, not down. The lowest leaves are the most noticeable.

  • 9 years ago

    The leaves look mostly ok. The fruit is suspicious and could mean some virus. From what I know about viruses, the newer grown leaves are the ones that should be most affected.

    MusicMinded (6b/7a) thanked fungus
  • 9 years ago

    Yeah, the fact that the older leaves are affected strongly indicates it's not a virus. But sometimes, people miss symptoms of TSWV on newer foliage. TSWV has many different presentations. It can differ depending on the strain of the virus, the variety that is affected, the age of the plant when it's affected.

    I do believe based on your last post, MusicMinded, that it's probably just blotchy ripening, which is a physiological disorder related to certain conditions. Excessive heat, excessive shade, and nutrient deficiencies (potassium, boron) can all contribute to it.

    Since it's in a raised bed with brand-new soil, I would guess that a dwarf plant, which may have a shallower root system than a full-sized plant, would be more susceptible to nutrient deficiency, as it can't send out roots as deep and far to gather nutrients that may be imbalanced in the bed filler. Also, you note that it's recently been very shaded by an overhanging nearby plant. My personal observation from growing them is that that large-fruited dwarf plants seem to have a need for a lot of sun.

    I would fix the shade issue as best as I could and give the plant a good feeding with the TTF you have and step up fertilization frequency for this plant. But continue to monitor frequently for any discoloration of newer foliage or ringspot deformations/markings, just in case.

    MusicMinded (6b/7a) thanked gorbelly
  • 9 years ago

    Please post an image of the plant.