Mosaic virus what to do with the dirt?

[Koreansoul]

Can you reuse the dirt in which plants had the mosaic virus in before? If not do you just throw it away? Is there a treatment for the dirt? I just trashed a cucumber plant that I think had mosaic and I want to know if I need to get rid of all the dirt in that planter. I really really don't want too because it's a lot of dirt. 
 
Thanks! 
 

 

[cruzzfish]

BURN! Then you can use it again.

 

[meinchoh]

I'm with cruzz on this one. If you really want to re-use the soil, sterilize the heck out of it!

 

[Koreansoul]

Shit, How do you sterilize dirt? 
 
Here's my issue it's about 20cu ft of dirt/manure/fun stuff. It weights close to that of a small submarine. It's also in a raise bed container system which is large containers off of the ground to minimize pests in Florida. 
 
So, is the best bet to trash it and the container? What about containers close to it? I had peppers in their own container close to the cucumbers do I have to worry about them? I did sterilize all my tools and threw away anything that was in contact with the plants. 
 
Argh

 

[ColdSmoke]

Your first step would be to figure out if that's actually what the plant had and a little more research about it's mobility in the soil medium. Surely there's a way to test the soil. 

 

[cruzzfish]

Shit, How do you sterilize dirt?

BURN! In several loads. Or soak the yard in gas, make sure it's not that close to the woods or anything that might burn, stand back, and 

 

[Koreansoul]

Well, what I see is that it can't persist in plant and soil debris but...isn't that wrong? I also see no easy way to test for it. 

 

[Streamer]

If the fruit wasn't affected by Virus, I'd say you may not have a virus.   The fruit will also display a mottled look if viral.
 
Don't toss the dirt til ya know fer sure...
 
I have a patio tomato plant that every leaf is COVERED with what  looks to be  a mosaic of sorts...fruit is fine though.   May not be virus for all I know.   I also see a few squiggles of it on my Jalapenos....but fruit is fine.     If I discover it's viral, I'll take action for sure.
 
Oh Yeah, Happy Birthday !   

 

[PepperWhisperer]

Well, what I see is that it can't persist in plant and soil debris but...isn't that wrong?

That is very wrong.
 
From the page on TMV on the website of the American Phytopathological Society, https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/viruses/Pages/TobaccoMosaic.aspx
 

 
 
To reduce infection of plants with TMV all tools should be washed with soap or a 10% solution of household bleach to inactivate the virus. TMV-contaminated soil should be discarded. To avoid transmitting the virus from an infected plant to healthy plants, the watering hose or watering can should not be allowed to make contact with the plants. Care should be taken to dispose of dead leaves and old plants, because dry, TMV-infected leaves can be blown around the greenhouse as 'dust' which can subsequently infect healthy plants if they are wounded.

 
The TMV virus is very stable and can survive outside a live host for decades at temperatures from 4 C to 40 C. Burning, incidentally, is probably not the best idea. TMV can be spread from the smoke of cigarettes that contain infected tobacco. So, burning infected items may only serve to spread TMV to the entire neighborhood.
 
There are several different mosaic viruses, but they are all from the same family of viruses and share many of the same nasty traits.

 

[geeme]

I'm not sure, but I think cruzzfish wants you to burn the dirt…. 
 
If your neighborhood is like mine, you'd have a problem trying to burn anything in your yard, plus what PW said is right on. My thought is to use hydrogen peroxide on the dirt and bleach on the container. Below is a link to a useful site that gives tips on using hydrogen peroxide in the garden:
 
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/gardening-with-hydrogen-peroxide.html
 
Since you're not concerned about it coming directly in contact with a plant, you might consider going much stronger than the article advises.

 

[PepperWhisperer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Io0OQ2zPS4

 

[Helvete]

Seed stock can also carry Mosaic viruses.

 

[John1234]

Yeah, where is that dislike button?
 
Gasoline

 

[Koreansoul]

TMV I read is very rare. Cucumber mosaic is not and I think that it was probably that. The fruit looked...funny. Not exactly molted but funny. I ripped it out so what the hell. Better to be safe them sorry. I'll keep an eye on my other plants and see if I can get a local extension to test the soil. Grr. 
 
And... I'm not setting fire to the dirt lol. I'd rather just get new dirt at that point. 

 

[Streamer]

Don't confuse Mosaic Virus with Leaf Miner Damage.
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=leaf+miner+damage&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lHyrU6mWHJGKqAaW9IK4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1026&bih=664

 

[Geonerd]

A net search found several university documents that references soil sterilization at 200F+ for 40 minutes.  Batch processing large pots of damp soil in the oven should work - the gas or electric company will love you for it!  Make sure you have a long meat thermometer to check the center temperature.

 

[Koreansoul]

Not leaf miner damage at all. I don't think baking dirt will go over well in my house lol. Maybe I'll have to give it away to a good home or something (sigh). 

Question: Do you think plastic sheating would ge tthe temps high enough? Hm...

 

[Helvete]

maybe try getting a clear storage bin, like a 20 gallon one and leave the lid on it in direct sunlight.  That's how I compost my kitchen scraps.

 

[Streamer]

Not leaf miner damage at all. I don't think baking dirt will go over well in my house lol. Maybe I'll have to give it away to a good home or something (sigh). 

Question: Do you think plastic sheating would ge tthe temps high enough? Hm...

Black Plastic would probably get the temp up in the FL sun to @ 135 F.   Keep in mind that you would have to spread the dirt out thin (2-3 inches thick) and then place the black plastic on top of it.   Still, 200 F I'm afraid is not gonna happen.
 
For what it's worth, the above Heat treatment used to be used on Nematodes.

 

[plaisir8]

TMV I read is very rare.

Is it that rare? Guess there would be regional differences, but it's a major threat for Korean farmholds I hear. Here, I found a doc from the Korean Rural Development Administration saying soil samples from 4 different areas resulted in 19.7-38.6% infection rates: http://www2.rda.go.kr/kpms/ipsm/Korean/03_undp/morgue/fc/fc4_3.htm Actually not that surprising since the countryside is dotted with fields of pepper and tobacco, as well as plenty of smokers (I recognize the latter 3 of the 4 sites tested as major chili production centers).
 
Dunno, what the situation is like in FL though.