Possible Mosaic virus? - Ask Extension
I’m concerned that my sweet peas have mosaic virus. I’m not sure how or why they would catch it. I’ve not had this before but I pulled up most o...
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Possible Mosaic virus? #753153
Asked May 31, 2021, 9:24 PM EDT
I’m concerned that my sweet peas have mosaic virus. I’m not sure how or why they would catch it. I’ve not had this before but I pulled up most of what I thought were infected plants and now there are more. I’m hoping I was wrong and they aren’t actually infected. If they are, how can I prevent this happening next year? Are my snapdragons, bells of Ireland and 84 dahlias at risk of catching it too? Thank you.
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
I might agree with your diagnosis as your images are showing mosaic symptoms (areas of yellow and green) on the pea leaves along with some leaf crinkling.This virus is spread via aphids and it has been a banner year for aphids on many different crops. It does not appear that the other ornamentals you mention are susceptible to this virus. You read a little more about this here:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/pea-pisum-sativum-pea-enation-mosaic
I will also send this to my colleague to common on. Dahias can get viruses but they are different:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/dahlia-virus-diseases
Thank you, Dr. Pscheidt. I'm so sad. Does this mean I need to rip them all up? Or should I just let them go and see if we get any blooms out of it? Will I need to treat the soil for next year? Does the virus live in the soil after the plants have died or are removed?
Thank you for your time.
Robin Jennings
I concur with Dr. Pscheidt, it looks like the sweet pea plant has a virus problem. Unfortunately, once plants are infected with a virus, there isn't really anything to do to cure the plants. The virus will not survive in soil, so you could leave them to see how the flowers develop, as long as you aren't concerned about garden peas in the vicinity.
