Maintain good health
Be decisive if you suspect plants have a virus, says Bob
THERE’S an old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ so here’s something to consider, and some simple precautions to prevent problems arising.
We know there are many sorts of garden diseases, and that bacterial and fungal ones are more common and more troublesome – so much so, in fact, we’ve had to employ all manner
“It’s vital to remove infected plants”
of means to prevent them ruining our flowers and crops.
But, as with humans, plants can also suffer viral infections, and these can be more insidious and harder to spot.
Some we’re well aware of such as tomato/tobacco mosaic, and most of us are quick to get rid of old blackcurrant bushes when their leaves become nettle shaped and crops dwindle from reversion virus.
The difficulty is many viruses don’t immediately cause much obvious sign of damage to our plants. Although yields or performance may drop this can happen slowly so we’re not always alerted in time to take action.
And the only action that does any good is removing an infected plant before the virus spreads to others.
There are no anti-viral agents for plants I know of, so I repeat – it really is vital to remove any infected plant really quickly.
By good housekeeping we can also prevent viruses from spreading – even ones we may not have spotted yet.
Most viruses can be transferred by insects and bugs or by our tools. We already control the insects and bugs so we can now sterilize our tools. Every knife, saw, lopper, pair of secateurs, hedge trimmer and so on can carry viruses from one plant to another in sap on their cutting parts.
So having finished pruning or tidying one tree, bush, vine or clump then clean your tools. Simply wipe each blade over with a brush full of methylated spirits or a commercial sterilizing agent before starting on the next. Job done.