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Mosaic viruses of squash and gourds

Leaves turn mottled yellow and green with blisters, stay small and twisted, and fruits come out bumpy or spotted.

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, Papaya ringspot virus type W, Cucumber mosaic virus, Watermelon mosaic virus; on sayote, Chayote mosaic virus Virus Fact sheet
Zucchini yellow mosaic on squash: mottled, misshapen fruit and leaves
Photo: Downtowngal, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Crops it strikes

Kalabasa Squash Ampalaya Bitter gourd Pipino Cucumber Pakwan Watermelon Milon Melon Patola Sponge gourd Upo Bottle gourd Sayote Chayote

What you see

Curled or mottled leavesYellowingStunted plants

When to act

Check the underside of young leaves twice a week in the first month for winged aphids and new colonies. Spraying aphids does little against these viruses, so put the effort into clean seedlings, mulch and barriers.

Before you spray

No spray cures a virus. Pull sick vines early, keep aphids off young plants, clear weedy hosts and plant tolerant varieties.

The insect that spreads it

No spray cures a sick plant. What slows the spread is keeping the aphids down, early, before it carries the disease to healthy plants.

Aphids

How to prevent it

  • Plant a tolerant variety where one is sold.
  • Pull and burn mottled, stunted vines as soon as you see them.
  • Keep new plantings away from older squash, melon and gourd fields, and clear weedy cucurbit hosts around the farm.
  • Use silver reflective mulch and a border of corn around the field to keep winged aphids off the young vines.
  • Raise seedlings under net, and plant a new crop only after the old one is plowed under.

Natural enemies and biological help

  • Ladybirds, hoverfly larvae and small parasitic wasps hold aphids down. Avoid broad sprays that kill them.

Where this comes from

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