Soil fungicides may be helpful where Southern Blight has been a problem. Often plants are infected by a combination of viruses, rather than by a single strain. Young leaves of affected plants show a greenish-yellow mottle and may be curved and irregular in shape. Leaves curl upward and under severe infection are bunched, very small and discolored. Plants are stunted and have a bunched appearance.
Fruits are small, misshapen and of poor quality.
Severe infection can result in the complete failure of the crop. There are no effective means of control. The virus overwinters in perennial weeds and is transmitted from weeds to healthy plants in the fields by aphids. Environmental conditions favoring aphid multiplication and migration into the field will result in severe outbreaks of the disease. Keeping fields clean of weeds around the edges and turnrows and controlling insects may help in reducing spread of the disease.