Wrinkled potato mosaic: description and treatment with photo

Growing potatoes on the site is not easy, in addition to standard agrotechnical care practices, it is required to treat plants from diseases. Plants affected by this disease have wrinkled leaves. It is not easy to deal with it, you should identify the beginnings of the disease in time and try to eliminate it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, crop losses may be 30% or more.

Features of the course of the disease, symptoms

Among themselves, summer residents call the disease "curly". Especially strong symptoms appear only at 3 years. Plant height becomes significantly lower than that of he althy bushes.To correctly determine the disease, you need to carefully look at the external deformations of the leaves of the culture. Due to lack of moisture, foliage tissues develop unevenly. As a result, bumps and wrinkles are formed. Potato leaves lighten, curl and die, but do not fall off. The plant itself withers.

The stems of the bush affected by the wrinkled mosaic are unable to retain moisture. Therefore, they quickly dry out and die. The growing season in a diseased plant is reduced by 3-4 weeks. As a result, the tubers grow small, the yield is significantly reduced.

Sick potato bushes practically do not bloom.

When examining plants, it is important not to confuse wrinkled mosaic with other types of this disease. In addition, the defeat of the bush is not one, but several types of mosaics in the aggregate.

Favorable conditions for development

The active development of wrinkled mosaic is observed in the southern regions, where most of the growing season is stable hot weather. But plants, this disease, also affects other regions where the heat has been for a long time.

Disease vectors

The first year the disease practically does not appear, but the viruses overwinter well in the tubers. And next year they will hit with greater intensity. Mosaic is carried by aphids and other sucking insect pests. In addition, the pathogen lives in weeds, eating the leaves of which insects carry the disease to he althy potato bushes.

Mechanical processing of tubers, before planting or when performing other work on the site, is also capable of transferring the virus from diseased potatoes to he althy ones. Therefore, you should carefully use garden tools, or disinfect them.

How to treat wrinkled potato mosaic?

The description of the wrinkled potato mosaic does not suggest a cure for the disease in several ways. There are no effective folk methods of struggle.

Reliance is on preventive measures:

Use 100% he althy planting material. Tubers for seeds are selected right on the site, so the summer resident knows better which bushes were he althy during the growing season. When germinating the seed material, those tubers and sprouts that have deformation are immediately rejected. They contain the virus, which then spreads throughout the area.
Seed potatoes must be dressed before planting.
If the slightest sign is found in plants, immediately dig it up and destroy it, the bushes are burned or buried deep in the ground, in which pathogenic viruses die.
Control of disease vectors, aphids and Colorado potato beetle, cicadas and other insects. For this, plants are treated with special chemicals.
Regularly weed the beds to remove weeds.

Don't use chemicals. At present, an effective means of combating this scourge has not yet been developed. Therefore, you should not get too carried away with useless means of protection to the detriment of your body.

Advice from summer residents on how to deal with wrinkled potato mosaic

A young gardener who first encountered this disease is having difficulty. He seeks advice from more experienced people who not only faced the mosaic, but were able to defeat it. All vegetable growers are advised to take he althy planting material and carefully monitor the plants. Several times during the growing season, carry out phytocleaning.That is, remove all diseased and slightly affected plants.

Sergey Stepanovich: “For a long time I have been engaged in gardening and growing various crops with mosaic wrinkling at one time. The main thing I want to advise is prevention and timely detection of the disease. A bush affected by a disease is best dug up and burned, or taken away from the site. Unfortunately, I still cannot distinguish diseased tubers from he althy ones.”

Peter Ivanovich: “The first thing I want to note is that the disease is almost imperceptible. An inexperienced vegetable grower will not be able to identify it so easily. Some summer residents confuse wrinkling with late blight. I don't always recognize it myself. But I pay great attention to the selection of seed material. I notice he althy bushes in advance, I choose tubers for seeds, from them. Therefore, the disease does not bother much.”

Alexandra: “I know firsthand many types of potato mosaics.I advise everyone to look closely at the appearance of plants. Those bushes, leaves, which are covered with wrinkles, immediately pull out and carry away away from the site. They are affected by a wrinkled mosaic. The first years I confused diseases, now I can distinguish them right away. I select the seeds myself, I don’t trust anyone, I keep the crop rotation, so we rarely encounter the disease.”

Types of potato mosaic

For young summer residents who are just starting to grow a crop on the site, it would be useful to know the symptoms of other types of mosaic.

A correct diagnosis can only be made in the laboratory.

Striped potato mosaic. Leaves and stems are covered with spots or stripes. On the inside, between the veins, brown spots form. Initially, symptoms are noticed on the middle leaves, then the upper foliage and stem are covered with spots.Carried by aphids and other insects. The virus is transmitted during handling or cuts with garden tools.
Mottled potato mosaic. Another name for the disease is common mosaic. As a result of the defeat of the disease, crop losses are 12-45%. Symptoms are noticeable on young leaves, they appear as mottling or mosaic spots. Plants are very stunted. It is transmitted by contact and with the help of insects. In addition to potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, nightshade, henbane and other plants are affected.
Potato folded mosaic. The leaves become folded or wavy. First they lighten up, then they acquire a shade of bronze. With intense damage, yield loss is 40%.
Aucuba mosaic. Symptoms appear on the top leaves of the potato. When defeated, they lose 40% of the crop. If the virus has overwintered in the tubers, symptoms are completely absent in the second year.
The rustling mosaic. Its carrier is aphids.Therefore, first of all, the symptoms appear on the upper leaves. They begin to curl around the midrib, the inner side becomes silvery. The leaves wither and dry out, which makes them rustle in the wind. The overwintered virus first infects the lower leaves, with a yield loss of 70%.
Contrasting curly mosaic. The leaves on the bushes are starting to turn yellow. Then they become covered with spots, the edges die off. Brown necrotic spots appear on the stems and petioles of potatoes. Mass destruction of plants will lead to the loss of 80% of the crop.

The wrinkled potato mosaic disease is difficult to destroy on the site, so you need to carefully monitor the condition of the beds. Timely removal of diseased plants will save you from mass infection. Bushes affected by the disease are best burned to avoid a second outbreak of the virus and its further spread.