Diseases of pepper (
Beet curly top virus
Beet curly top is a virus transmitted by the beet leafhopper. The virus has a very wide host range including pepper, tomato, bean, cucurbits and many other crop plants and common weeds. It causes severe stunting, chlorosis and curling of leaves in pepper plants infected when they are young (photos 1 and 2). Diseased plants usually are found sporadically throughout a field and cause little problem. However, severe infections occur every few years that result in heavy infestations and secondary spread within the field.
There are no controls for beet curly top and no resistant varieties. Infected plants will not be productive. Removing infected plants is probably of little use since most disease results from primary infection, in which the leafhoppers carry the virus into the field once, rather than secondary infection, in which they transmit the virus to other plants nearby. However, removal of infected plants and rotation with non-hosts reduces the sources of inoculum. In small gardens, disease may be reduced by shading plants during early growth since the leafhoppers prefer to feed in sunny locations.
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February 24, 2003