Jerry Brust, IPM Vegetable Specialist, University of Maryland;jbrust@umd.edu
This is an additional bit of news about virus problems in our pumpkin fields that I did not include in last week’s article. One thing I’ve seen that is new or at least different is severe distortions or deformities of pumpkin plants because of infection with just watermelon mosaic virus-2 (WMV). Normally this virus, if it is the only virus in the plant, results in mild mottling symptom. However, pumpkin plants I have seen in fields with severe deformities had only WMV in them. This is problematic as WMV is the most common pumpkin virus in our area. If this “strain” (I am calling it that because I am not sure what else to call it) becomes common then yields of pumpkin could bereduced by 20-35% each year. This ‘strain’ of WMV also was found in Utah.
Serious foliar deformations in pumpkin due to infection by a ‘severe strain’ of WMV.