Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Oh, the elusive garden tomato. Juicy, slightly acidic, firm fleshed. Summer suppers of BLT’s are the dream of both the cook and those cooked at the end of a long day. Nothing is more highly prized and these days nothing is harder to grow.
Tomato spotted wilt virus began destroying southern crops in the 1980’s. Some years are worse than others, and from the reports we are getting at the Extension offices, 2016 is going to be remembered as one of the worst. This viral disease which is vectored by the insects called thrips affects thirty-five plant families, including both monocots and dicots, plants as varied as chrysanthemum, African violet, coleus, marigold and petunia. Although it is most troubling for gardeners trying to grow tomatoes, it infects the other members of the Solanacea family (tobacco, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes), as peanuts, lettuce and cucumbers.
