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We tried growing cucumbers in our backyard near San Francisco, California for the first time this year and have had all sorts of problems. We had to remove three cucumber plants because they seemed to have some sort of disease that we thought was the cucumber mosaic virus.

But now we have six other cucumber plants that look quite different, and this time I'm pretty confident that it is the cucumber mosaic virus. Here are some pictures below. Is there anything that we can try to save the plants?

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Daanii
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  • Got an image of the leaf undersides? – Graham Chiu Aug 01 '18 at 20:42
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    I would be inclined to agree with you, that is the mosaic virus. There is no perfect control for this virus. However, removing weeds and diseased plants from the planting area can reduce the chance of infections. Maintaining clean and sanitized tools, machines and hands can help. The virus can spread via humans or (more likely) by aphids. Take caution, now that the virus has established itself it could easily transfer to other plants in the region. – Rob Aug 01 '18 at 20:59
  • Thanks for your comments. Graham Chiu, I'm having trouble getting an image of the leaf underside. But it looks much the same as the top of the leaf. Rob, I'll clean out the plants in the next few days. About 10 days ago these six plants were green and thriving. Now they're nearly dead. Nature can be cruel. – Daanii Aug 03 '18 at 01:55
  • Daani, so very true! Another question; did you grow cucumbers in the same area last year? Do you know about rotation of crops? This is a big big deal. I actually, little old experienced me planted cucumbers in the same bed I planted them in last year. Simple to do...next year I'll plant cucumbers in pots with potting soil. I plant my tomatoes, peppers in potting soil in pots because my garden real estate is limited. And rotation is a very very important thing to do. 2 years not one year... – stormy Aug 03 '18 at 02:40
  • Cut off the worst of the leaves with mottling. They do nothing for the plant in terms of making food. Most of the food factories on those leaves have been damaged. What have you added for fertilizer and when? How do you water? – stormy Aug 03 '18 at 02:43

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Remove and destroy the current crop. Replant next year from the following list. If you don't want to use these, then cover with an aphid resistant mesh ( under 0.6 mm).

CUCUMBER DISEASE RESISTANCE SEEDS

Burpee Pickler: Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Eureka: Angular Leaf Spot, Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Scab, Cucumber Mosaic Virus, Watermelon Mosaic Virus Strain 2, Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus

Jackson: Angular Leaf Spot, Anthracnose (1 or 2), Downy Milew, Powdery Mildew, Scab, Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Patio Pickle: Angular Leaf Spot, Anthracnose (1 or 2), Downy Milew, Powdery Mildew, Scab, Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Transamerica: Angular Leaf Spot, Anthracnose (1 or 2), Downy Milew, Powdery Mildew, Scab, Cucumber Mosaic Virus

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Graham Chiu
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