Curly virus? - Ask Extension
I have been vegetable gardening for years in my raised beds and practice crop rotation, no-till soil preparation. I add alpaca manure from my own anim...
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Curly virus? #875894
Asked July 04, 2024, 12:38 AM EDT
I have been vegetable gardening for years in my raised beds and practice crop rotation, no-till soil preparation. I add alpaca manure from my own animals and layer straw around my plants for mulch. This spring I planted my own tomato, cucumber pepper and eggplants I started from seed as well as beans. I also planted one tomato start from a friend. This start had slightly curled leaves that I didn’t pay much attention to. Within a week or so of planting, all my tomatoes developed curly tops with deformed foliage, as well as one new stalk of a neighboring raspberry. My cucumbers are yellow and not growing, as well as everything else I’ve planted. My beans have stunted and deformed growth at their tops. Is this perhaps from a virus, perhaps from too much manure? Maybe the bean issue is slug damage? The whole garden is a bust. If it is a virus, what do I need to do to eradicate it for next year? Can I have the soil tested for viruses? Starts from the same batch were planted in another garden and have none of these symptoms.
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Gretchen and thanks for your question and great pictures of your plants with problems. First, let me say there are very few viruses that would affect all the different types of plants you mentioned. And typically, a virus might show some color differentiation in the leaves of the plants.
And now for the bad news. This looks very much like herbicide reaction. Could the straw have been treated with something? Is there any chance the feed you give your alpacas could have chemical residue? Any spraying done in your area that could have drifted onto your plants?
At this point, unless you know where the herbicide came from, I would remove the straw, water the plants well and often to wash any chemical away from plant roots, cross my fingers and do a lot of wishing.
I think it would also be worth taking a soil sample and having it analyzed by a lab asking specifically if they can test for herbicides. A&L labs in Portland would be a good place to start. Sometimes these mysteries take awhile to track down, but if you want to continue with a garden, it will be worth the effort!
https://al-labs-west.com/soil-analysis/
Also, please let us know if you find the straw was the culprit and who the supplier is. Thank you.
Good luck!!!
And now for the bad news. This looks very much like herbicide reaction. Could the straw have been treated with something? Is there any chance the feed you give your alpacas could have chemical residue? Any spraying done in your area that could have drifted onto your plants?
At this point, unless you know where the herbicide came from, I would remove the straw, water the plants well and often to wash any chemical away from plant roots, cross my fingers and do a lot of wishing.
I think it would also be worth taking a soil sample and having it analyzed by a lab asking specifically if they can test for herbicides. A&L labs in Portland would be a good place to start. Sometimes these mysteries take awhile to track down, but if you want to continue with a garden, it will be worth the effort!
https://al-labs-west.com/soil-analysis/
Also, please let us know if you find the straw was the culprit and who the supplier is. Thank you.
Good luck!!!
