Pests & diseases › Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Viral disease spread by aphids. Hits cucumbers, courgettes, squash. Yellow mottling on leaves, distorted fruit.
Symptoms
- Yellow and green mottled mosaic pattern on leaves
- Crinkled, distorted leaves
- Stunted growth
- Warty distorted fruit
- No cure — plants must come out
Lifecycle
Spreads through aphid feeding. Once a plant is infected it's terminal.
What to do
- Pull up and bin infected plants immediately
- Wash hands and tools before touching healthy plants
If it's bad
- None — viral diseases cannot be cured
Stop it coming back
- Control aphids aggressively
- Choose resistant varieties: Marketmore (cucumber), Defender (courgette)
- Don't smoke near plants — tobacco mosaic virus is closely related
- Rotate cucurbits
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.