How do you treat tomato leaf curl virus?
Written by
Kiana Okafor
Reviewed by
Prof. Charles Hartman, Ph.D.To combat tomato leaf curl virus, act quickly and employ multiple strategies in tandem. Always remove the infected plants first to prevent the disease from spreading. Set down reflective mulch around healthy plants to help deter whiteflies. Release beneficial wasps, which attack insect carriers of the virus. Rotate insecticides weekly to combat the development of resistance. Consider planting resistant tomato varieties for long-lasting protection.
Start by removing any plants that have leaf curling or yellowing. Bag it tightly before removal from your garden. Also, wipe down your pruning tools with alcohol when cutting sick plants. This helps prevent accidental virus transfer. I've seen gardens recover to full health when sick plants were eliminated within three days of symptoms appearing.
Sanitation Protocol
- Bag removal: Enclose infected plants in plastic before uprooting
- Tool sterilization: Clean pruners with 70% alcohol between plants
- Perimeter clearing: Remove weeds within 100 feet of garden beds
Physical Barriers
- Reflective mulch: Install aluminum-coated plastic pre-planting
- Row covers: Use until flowering blocks whitefly access
- Screen barriers: Install 50-mesh nets on greenhouse vents
Biological Controls
- Parasitic wasps: Release Encarsia formosa weekly
- Predator habitat: Plant nectar flowers for lady beetles
- Microbial agents: Apply Beauveria bassiana fungal spores
Chemical control treatment needs to be rotated carefully to ensure effectiveness. Neonicotinoids should be used initially against small whiteflies. Pyrethroids should be used 2 weeks later. Then switch to insect growth regulators. DO NOT use the same class of chemical within 60 days. This rotation helps prevent resistance in whiteflies.
Resistant varieties such as BHN-1050 are a critical line of defense. These varieties contain Ty-genes that inhibit replication of the virus. Plant your crops early, before the highest abundance of whiteflies. Even resistant varieties still require the use of additional control measures. I integrate IPM control practices, such as weekly wasp IPM releases and mulching (a weed preventative), even with resistant varieties, for comprehensive protection.
Read the full article: Tomato Leaf Curl Virus: Complete Guide
