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Is this FMV?

Hi, I am new to the forum and new to fig trees in general. I bought this fig tree yesterday and I'm wondering if it has FMV. The grower told me that it's sun damage. Thanks!

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Quote:
Originally Posted by brenna
Hi, I am new to the forum and new to fig trees in general. I bought this fig tree yesterday and I'm wondering if it has FMV. The grower told me that it's sun damage. Thanks!

Need a pic. Welcome

All set. The files were too large. I'm a fig tree noob and a forum noob!

Very mild case. Use Epson salt and you will be set. What varietie

Epsom salt on the leaves or in the soil? It's a Drop of Gold. I was considering trying to exchange it for a healthier plant.

Take it back, the guy lied to you... Do you have other fig trees? There is a chance the vector of FMV is also on that plant and could spread it to your's. 

Don't waste your time spraying with magnesium sulfate, it has nothing to do with a nutrient deficiency.

p.s. Demand a refund, accept a healthier plant instead if you want but you deserve a refund.

It is my first fig tree. I also bought another one for me (a White Triana) and one for my dad (an Italian Honey). Would the other two catch it by being near each other for one day? They might have it too, since they are all from the same place.

The vector is a tiny mite called Aceria ficus aka the fig bud mite. It is really hard to detect them unfortunately, if this grower has them on one plant they would probably be on all the others already though... If the others don't have any spots on the leaves there are probably no mites on any of them.

Do almost all fig trees have this?

And can you tell if the leaves from the other trees I got are showing signs?

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Very common if you become a collector from around the states. You will get fmv. Giving it nutrition and Epson salt for uptake will make the fmv go away but still will be a carrier of fmv. Thats why you will see in a listing that they assume FMV IS PRESENT BUT NOT SHOWING. Epson salt and fertilizer will treat the signs of fmv. I have several trees bought last year that had it really bad and this year its gone. Environmental conditions play a big part of it going away. I find in the south it tends to disappear. Like green leaves will become dark green with this treatment. Think of it as having a cold and taking high dose of vitamin c. Make you kick the cold. I have done this. Use Epson salt at the base of tree. The use weak liquid fertilizer. :-)

The bumpy texture and color of the first leaf are mottling from FMV, the misshapen leaf in the third pic is probably also FMV, and the vein clearing in the last picture is also probably FMV. I don't see anything that looks like fig bud mite spotting, which would be all over the place so no mites I think.

It is true that many figs have FMV and there are also other viruses that can cause symptoms. Figs in collections or nurseries with high plant densities that have a fig bud mite infestation may "almost all" be infected, because the transfer of virus back and forth between plants will be rapid. You have the choice to buy "symptom free" plants if you want to though, they certainly do exist although some varieties are not easy to get a healthy version of.

People talk about giving plants more fertilizer to help them grow out of FMV, jumping to the conclusion everyone else is making the same mistake they did. In reality their problem could have been improved by the weather or caused by their potting mix, watering habits, or overfertilization (too much of some fertilizers cause deficiencies of others).

The issue here though is the leaves concerned you and you were given misinformation in order to make the sale. Tricking people into thinking plant virus symptoms are caused by something else is wrong.

  • ricky
  • · Edited

Dear brenna:

I am newbie for fig with bad luck all the time, As earlier spring while fig tree sprouted and hard to tell that it is sick trees or not, I bought couple fig trees from local fig tree collector, They are full of sickness with same leaves problem as your, I used new top garden soils and planted them in ground, few months have passed,  It is totally waste of your time, They grow very slow and dropping all figs now.

For me, It is hard to get/keep virus free trees here, I find that Ants, spiders, poop flies, pest love to bite/suck on young fig leaves, will they transfer virus?

For those sick trees, I find that new sucker grow from soils are fine without " FMV" leaves and grows in turbo charge mode.

Anyway, From buyer point of view, If you have a choice to return it, you should really return it and get your money back and buy your fig tree from other nursery, or at least your should return it and get another one without those sick leaves on them.








Thank you for all of your replies!  I called and they said I could exchange them.  It was a harrowing long drive with the trees in my little Subaru and my GPS constantly falling into my lap.  When I got there I realized that all of the trees were like that!  The grower seems to be very well loved on this forum and I don't know... I think he just didn't think I needed that much detail about the trees or something.  I ended up just bringing the same trees back home because I really vibed with them.  I hope it's not a mistake, because I can see myself getting more and more and more and more :)  I am a big-time fruit lover (durian and all) and the ultimate experience is eating something ripe from the tree.  My goal is to someday live somewhere where I can have a cherimoya and a chocolate sapote tree :)     

I am no expert but I did some reading on this at this forum, I too have at least one with an issue. I think its fairly common and as the tree gets stronger, you will be alright.
With proper care, good things can happen, have fun with the figs!

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