Tomato spotted wilt virus is a persistent and growing problem for commercial tomato producers and home gardeners, but new resistant varieties are available for this growing season. Alan Henn, Extension plant pathologist at Mississippi State University, said spotted wilt is a common strain of tospovirus that is becoming a more costly threat to many crops in the South and the rest of the nation. Spotted wilt has an incredible number of hosts. Various strains of the virus can thrive in all types of crops, ornamentals, weeds and virtually any other plant that contracts the virus. The spread of spotted wilt is hard to control because it is carried by thrips, very tiny insects that can feed on an infected plant when they are young and carry the virus for the rest of their life.
Thrips spread the virus to other plants with each feeding.
Spotted wilt and its sister virus, impatiens necrotic spot, are unique because of the wide range of plants they affect. In Mississippi, spotted wilt has the greatest noticeable impact on tomatoes and peppers, Henn said. Typical characteristics of the virus are dark spotting on the leaves and stems of a plant. Rings that resemble a bull's eye also may appear on the fruit, leaves and stems. The virus usually will not kill a plant immediately, but the plant will begin to decline, and it may produce misshapen or bumpy fruit.