My pole beans have been suffering this year. The vines are very stunted and leaves are mottled and crinkled. I thought they weren't getting enough water and then I thought it was the black aphids that killed the nearby fava beans. But I think it is probably a mosaic virus (maybe bean common mosaic virus or cucumber mosaic virus?). These viruses are spread by aphids and the only solution seems to be planting resistant varieties. I noticed that most of the pole beans at our local community garden also looked heavily affected. It must be a bad year for this virus. The problem is affecting both varieties of pole beans that I planted in my garden back in May (Italian Pole Beans and Blue Lake) and the Scarlet Runner beans I recently bought and have in pots on my porch. Fortunately my bush beans (Royal Burgundy, Provider and Haricots Verts) and soybeans are fine so far.
Fabaceae
Sorry about your beans! I'm growing pole beans for the first time and wondering when I'm supposed to see any beans; they have been flowering for over a week. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeletethanks!
Tom
If you sprinkle ashes from your fireplace on the leaves,the plants will be disease and insect free.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever figure out what was wrong with your pole beans? My scarlet runners look just like this! i was thinking it was a potassium deficiency in the soil.
ReplyDeleteI didn't figure out more about this. I just grow virus resistant varieties in this plot since then and they do fine. My guess is still that it was a virus in this soil. Maybe bean mosaic virus.
ReplyDeleteIts shady and maybe the plants just don't have the strength to outgrow the virus here.