What's the difference between cucumber and tomato mosaic viruses?
Written by
Paul Reynolds
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.Differentiating cucumber mosaic virus from tomato mosaic virus is crucial for effective control practices. I have seen gardens suffer from the misidentification of these two viruses and from using the wrong practices, resulting in increased disease severity. Both viruses develop mosaic patterns on leaves, but they differ significantly in transmission and host preferences. Your diagnosis will determine which preventive practice is most effective for you.
Transmission Methods
- Cucumber mosaic virus travels via aphids in seconds
- Tomato mosaic virus spreads mechanically through tools or hands
- No insect vectors required for tomato mosaic transmission
Host Range
- Cucumber mosaic attacks 1200+ species including bananas
- Tomato mosaic affects mainly nightshades and some ornamentals
- Cucumber mosaic jumps between unrelated plant families easily
Symptom Patterns
- Cucumber mosaic causes severe leaf puckering and distortion
- Tomato mosaic shows fern-like leaf patterns without puckering
- Fruit symptoms differ: warts vs leathery skins
Management strategies vary considerably between the two viruses. For cucumber mosaic virus, you're going to be taking care of aphids and weeds. For tomato mosaic, you will need to implement tool sterilization and glove changes seriously. After you have contaminated plants, I take particular tools with me for specific zones of the garden, and separate them each time. Your prevention plan must also be specific to the pathogen.
Diagnostic tricks can help deal with ambiguity. If you rub the leaf of a suspicious plant and then feel for any transfer of tomato mosaic virus to your fingers, and you feel something, the tomato mosaic virus has transferred mechanically from the leaf to your fingers. You won't feel anything with a cucumber mosaic. This is game-changing in public education, and I teach workshops on finding new uses. Once you get the practice, your hands become diagnostic tools.
Select resistant cultivars based on your primary threat. Marketmore cucumbers resist cucumber mosaic virus. Tomatex tomatoes are resistant to the tomato mosaic virus. I switch out these two varieties in high-risk areas with good results. Your seed decision is your first line of defense.
Read the full article: Cucumber Mosaic Virus: Complete Control Guide
