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FMV - some questions

Hello, I purchased 3 figs earlier this year and all seem to be infected with FMV


From what I learned voer here, the virus is not a disaster for the figs.

What worries me more are my other plants.
Has anyone experienced a transmission of the symptoms towards other plants?

Thanks in advance

Tom
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Fmv is as common as the flu. It comes and goes.
Experts don't seem to be bothered by it and that's why I learn to accept it.

If you have a couple of variants then you might get away with never having to deal with it. But when your collection starts to grow to the dozens then it is almost certain you will have to deal with it and accept it.

I am not an expert but talking with the experts and listening to what they had to say sure put me at ease a bit.

And I can't say for sure if the virus transmtted from one tree to another.

Good luck
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There is one sure not-so-good side effect and that is looking at the ugly deformed leaves for sometimes. I have one plant from a rooted cutting (last year's) and it has leaves which are only half leaves. I am bribing it with a lot of fertilizer hoping that it will release the other half of the leaves too but no luck so far..
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If you have one plant with FMV, all of your plants have been exposed, should be assumed to be infected, though some varieties may not exhibit any symptoms. The plants you had previously may well have been infected, but showed no symptoms. Even if you had uninfected trees, any infected tree at a neighbor's house, etc. could still provide an means of infecting your trees. FMV is just a fact of life which all us fig lovers live with.
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I think I was not clear in my initial question. I can live with the virus, as long as it only affects my figs. I have a collection with  rare and quite expensive hosta that I really don't want to ruin with this Virus.

Did anyone experience the FMV appearing on  plants other than figs?

Tom 
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supermasj
I have fig plants for the last 3.5 years and many kind of hostas in my front and back yards. None of the hostas had ever any leaf deformity or other visible bad signs even though, as Jon mentioned, there could be latent FMV in many of my plants though not exhibited yet except the one I mentioned.
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Aceria fici is the culprit that spread the virus.
No aceria fici,no spreading.
This is a mite,specific to fig tree and feeds only on fig leaves.
That is why is called aceria(has a needle siringe),and fici,(Feed on fig tree).
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Some reading

FIG MOSAIC VIRUS (unknown virus)

Symptoms and Signs: Mottling of the leaves is very common. In some varieties, leaves and fruits may be dwarfed, and some leaves may be malformed. On leaves, mosaic spots will appear yellow and may cover large areas of the leaf. Mosaic spots on the fruit may be subtler in appearance than the leaf symptoms. In some cultivars, premature defoliation and fruit drop can occur.

Several viruses have been associated with fig mosaic symptoms, but none have been unequivocally demonstrated to cause the disease. Recently, studies have identified a closteovirus called fig leaf mottle associated virus (FMaV), which is associated with almost all diseased fig plants. The virus is likely vectored by the eriophyid mite, Aceria fici, as well as through vegetative cuttings.

Cultural Controls: Clean propagation stock should always be used.

Chemical Controls: There are no chemical recommendations available for controlling the virus. Various refined horticultural oils (i.e., crop oil, citrus spray oil, etc.) may be used to manage mites.
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UF website for ficus carica

Sal
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Hi Tom,
i have not experienced it going to other types of plants , i have group of Hostas nearby for last 8 years and they are fine . Here is a older post from my observations a while back . I have since come across some articles that some fig plants that are stunted such as my ischia black the fmv actually prevents the plant cells from multiplying in there normal fast fashion there by stunting its growth.

02/20/09 at 09:47 PMReply with quote#1

Im showing pictures of my small plants under a 6500k grow light single strip. I have learned a little about fig mosaic mind you im just a novice at gardening its fun for me 2 things for me i learned what to look for the oddball spotting weather its different shades of green spotting or sometimes a type of yellowish in the leaves, to put it another way, the chlorophyll in the leaves looks bad but sometimes not to bad and can be hard to spot without a nice closeup look and im trying to point this out in this thread a little for some not to familar with it. Another sign from what i have read on this disease that not only affects fig trees but also tobacco plants and potatoes to name a few is mishappen leaves such as the case with my large trees that show a few mishapen ones but not the spots in the leaves. I always thought the large ones Hardy chicago, EL Sals, and my 2 unknowns were virus free but in reality they are not as they have the mishapen leaves not a lot but just enough to notice otherwise there very healthy from pictures i have posted showing them on my patio and always bear hundreds of figs each year. Did one of my trees infect the others the answer is NO, even my unknown from Bari italy which i rooted myself and grew it by itself one winter indoors some years back showed the mishapen leaves, they all had it from the beginning. Can 1 infect another YES through pruning shears, bugs biteing one and going to another and doing the same. So i personally think that most of us have this virus thru one means or another and some might think no not me but take a real close look this growing season for what is mentioned above and with a trained eye you will know 1 way or another i think weather mishapen leaves or the spotting. Most trees deal with it very well and a small few have a hard time like the black ischia. There is a cure for an individual plant but thats for another thread. Here are some pictures of my plants and a brief description of what your looking at. I hope this helps some.
Martin
Kalamata leaf underside looks good, just wait till next picture
Kalamata 1
Below is same Kalamata leaf looking topside notice if you can what i call a slight yellowish type in the chlorophyl
Kalamata 2
Below is my Madeira leaf underside, see the dark green spots
Madeira 3
Below is my Madeira leaf topside showing the spots
Madeira
Below is Argetile leaf underside, although that 1 leaf looks bad the overall condition of plant is pretty healthy and grows well like the other ones pictured, i have noticed some plants dont show the virus in all the branches or leaves, is it in the cells of the branches that dont show it i simply do not know the answer but i think it would be but thats just speculation on my part.
Argentile
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