Weeds near your garden can secretly spread cucumber mosaic virus
Invasive Species
That patch of weeds you've been meaning to pull along the garden fence might be quietly incubating a virus that jumps to your tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
Cucumber mosaic virus is one of the most common plant viruses, and it doesn't just live in crops. It can hide inside common weeds without killing them, using those weeds as a hidden home base. Aphids then pick up the virus from the weeds and carry it straight into nearby vegetable gardens or fields.
Key Findings
1
Weeds growing adjacent to cultivated fields can serve as symptomless reservoirs for cucumber mosaic virus (CMV).
2
Aphid vectors moving between weeds and crops facilitate transmission of the virus into cultivated plants.
3
Managing weed populations near crop borders may reduce the risk of CMV outbreaks in susceptible vegetables.
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Technical Summary
Researchers studied how weeds growing near crop fields can silently harbor cucumber mosaic virus and act as a launch pad for infecting nearby vegetable crops.
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Abstract Preview
Original paper
Étude du rôle des adventices comme réservoirs viraux et de leur implication dans la transmission du virus de la mosaïque du concombre (CMV)
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals. Plants with characteristics that make them hazardous, aesthetically unappealing, difficult to control in managed environments, or otherwise unwanted in farm land...
