I'm wondering if I should keep some of my UCD trees that have the worst FMV symptoms  (slow growth, badly deformed leaves) in the hopes that they grow out of it or should I just dispose of them and start fresh with a different source?  I'm also taking into account the health of my other trees.  

You could try heavily pruning them and then giving an aggressive fertilizer regimen for a season and see if it helps?

Hi,
Depends on what they are and their "value" .
Depends on how slowly they grow. If they grow an inch a year ...
If they are not that current, and you have space, keep them and let them grow.

If you are sure that they are adapted to your locales and have space, I would keep them.
Of course, if you find an healthy replacement tree for a few bucks ... Well, replace the defect tree ...

My first "Longue d'aout" is a slow grower. Now she seems to grow quicker. The spot she is in - maybe a bit shadowy- and damage from hidden rodents may have helped her.
Now that I'm taking care of the rodents and since I fertilize as one should, this year for the first in 8 years in that spot, she has 3 brebas :) .

Some varieties are hard to find. Not all UCD trees are infected that badly and some are more than others.
Since you are in a hot area and hopefully have some good soil, your trees will have an easier time to recover, but It will still take much longer than usual for these trees to get going. I usually disinfect my cutter with alcohol before pruning each tree in order to prevent spreading the FMV to other healthy trees, that I know did not come from that part of the world.
Trying to guess which one is infected and which one is not is a guessing game and you might still end up with an infected tree that does not show the symptoms.
There are many varieties that are known to be Potentially FMV free. Usually the grower can tell which one looks like it's ok and which one is not, but unless you do some testing, this would be based on the source and the growth characteristics of the tree.
Briefly, of the varieties you're growing I have a UCD Col de Dane Blanc which is productive but not growing fast enough. It keeps on getting trimmed by winter freezes.
My Col de Dame Gris after getting established outgrew both the Blanc and the Noir and has been more cold resistant than the UCD Blanc.
I have another version of Col de Dame Blanc, which is a more aggressive grower, but it took much longer to produce than the UCD version.
My in ground UCD Black Madeira is hardly growing this season, after pushing healthy new growth last year. If it needs more time, I'm not in a hurry since I'm also growing a Preto and another vs of BM etc...

Airlayer a healthy sucker.

Heavier fertilizing, up frequency in fertilizing like dilute fertilizer program in between regular heavier fertilizer
application, frequent watering and some shade. I have done well with miracle gro and good quality composted
fertiliser(5 to 6 yr old horse manure).

Deformation and mottling (FMD) can also be symptoms of poor Culture, including incorrect pH, nutrient deficiency or not balance, poor soil aeration and or improper watering.

I find that Ants/aphids can cause FMV alike symtoms as well on younger trees.

I totally agree that you should try heavier fertilizer with frequency in fertilizing first, of course, you can dispose them.

Here are some pictures of some UCD trees in their fourth leaf taken today.
The first UCD Black Madeira.
2 Col de Dame Blanc.
3 Col de Dame Noir.
4 Col de a Dame Gris.
The BM and Col de Dame Blanc look like slow growers, but the Noir which is from another source has been also a slow grower. Many things could slow down growth including the type of soil.
These trees were planted feet away from each other at almost the same time with different results.
The only difference was that the Black Madeira and Col de a Dame Blanc were rooted and were put in ground within three months after rooting while the Col de Dame Noir and Gris came as rooted plants.
The last picture is the Col de a Dame Gris which looks like it finally has taken off this season.

This is the VdB that looks the worst of them all.   Keep it as is??  Nip off the tip to encourage more growth?  


 

Hi,
I would pot up in pure loam and add fertilizer too - swim or sink !

I thought it was maybe just me. my VDB has looked sickly since I got it from BURNT RIDGE NURSEY last year. mine looks worse then the one pictured. I used a 9-3-5 pretty heavy. what happened was I got a ton of deformed leaf growth all over. I grow it organic so im hoping I could bring her back. I got a cutting from another member hoping it isn't as infected. I was thinking about tossing mine too. I may just plant it in ground and let nature takes its course. 

I have a Negronne in the ground and last year, a couple of branches showed some heavy FMV.  This year, all new shoots from the roots look beautiful with a deep green color and nicely shaped leaves.  I'm glad the energy is going through the right channels of the tree so far!

As with all virus infections it cannot be removed,it's systemic,it can be removed by meristem tissue being cultured but with great difficulty, mainly with more valuable plants than figs.It can be hidden with good culture but not eradicated and it is no good looking for a "clean shoot" to grow on,it's still contaminated.

It can be removed with : organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, thermotherapy, shoot culture, apical meristem culture, and apomixis. It does make a difference selecting a healthy shoot, absolutely, but you need to try it for it to work.

If it were mine I would do what others have suggested here, pot it up and apply fertilizer. I use liquid plant food applied every 7-10 days. Be sure to water well before applying the liquid fertilizer.

I just wanted to give an update to this post to perhaps encourage others not to give up on their badly infected trees.  This is the same VdB(UCD) today.  It grew completely new growth that started under the soil line.  You can still actually see the old growth still stunted at the base.  I took everyone's advice and did the following:

1.  Up-potted.  It went from a 1gal to 3gal and used 5-1-1 in this one.

2.  The roots looked sickly, so prior to up-potting, I root pruned and shook off existing potting mix. I also soaked the bare root plant in water with Superthrive and Tappin Roots All Stages for maybe 20 minutes.

3.  Added Mykos to the roots when up-potted.

4.  More fertilization and nutrients.  I initially added 1 scoop of Osmocote Plus and a handful of lime and worm castings per gal of 5-1-1.  I also began fertigating with very dilute measures of each Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro + Protekt + Superthrive with daily watering.  Then I started following ascpete's suggested dose of Ironite and Garden-Tone.  Things really took off with this combination.  Thank you all for the help.  I really did almost throw this one away.  Glad I didn't!

Looks great - i agree that one shouldnt give up on plants. Half the time its lack of micronutrients and needing better medium/bigger pots and they will thrive. Great job

Both my VdB had leaves that looked just like yours did in your picture of 6/01. I dug one up, put it in a SIP pot with afternoon shade, doses of fertilizer, and it is growing back healthy like yours is. The other one dropped all its leaves and is trying to revive.
Now I have a Incharo Preto that has a top 10" with leaves that look the same. (Aren't they weird looking?)Guess it's time to go to work on it also. Some fig trees must need more care and attention than others. 

Thanks for the update.  Nice to see you overcome the potential loss.

It looks great!! Glad you kept it :-)

I also have a UCD VdB that was badly infected. I just didnt have the heart to throw it out so I planted it in ground last year. and on the complete opposite area from my figs. It died back to the ground and then  grew about 3 feet this year. No ripe figs but definitely many less mottled leaves. I'm just leaving it out there and will see just how tough it is.
Maybe next year.....

Graft them onto some fast and hardy vigorous varieties and they will overgrow their virus.

Keep, keep, keep. I had 7 that were 2 years old displaying heavy FMV and no fruit. Last year when they went dormant I root pruned and repotted in fresh soil and stored inside cold basement for winter. My thought process was if the roots grew strongly over winter the results would be seen above the soil level. In early April I moved them to warmer part of basement where they got light and I pruned them heavily. End result: Lots of fruit and healthy tree this summer. No FMV. Your trees may be able to grow it out. Hope this helps.