wisconsindead
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Wrinkled Deformed Lettuce Disease, what is this?

Anyone know what this is? The leaves become deformed and wrinkled and then the underside looks like that. I think I had some spinach infected with curly top virus, but I don't know for sure. I pulled all of it and removed it from the greenhouse assuming it had some sort of disease, then this happened a few weeks later with my lettuce (Ridgeline). The Rouge D Hiver right next to it doesn't have any signs of this disease and I don't think I'm seeing any of the newer spinach with it. It looks relatively similar to what I saw with the spinach, but it isn't exactly the same. The areas affected are darker greener and have more of a rippled/wavy texture. Can lettuce get Curly Top Virus? Anyone know what this this infecting my lettuce?

I started this lettuce indoors and moved it into the greenhouse on March 14.
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applestar
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It looks like downy mildew. What variety lettuce is the one that’s getting it? I think many/most modern cultivars are resistant.

wisconsindead
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applestar wrote:It looks like downy mildew. What variety lettuce is the one that’s getting it? I think many/most modern cultivars are resistant.
That is a variety from Johnny Seeds called Ridgeline. I think they are discontinuing this variety.

imafan26
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Thanks for an informative post. I have not seen this problem. It apparently it is a disease that is not common in many places. However, like basil downy mildew, it is important to get clean seed. local seeds are usually the best choices for adaptability and for not importing problems. I have had import problems of my own. Basil that Florida shipped out across the country impacted me in 2011. In the tropics and semi tropics, diseases do not get killed by winter and the only options are resistant varieties. I can only grow tulsi and African basils now, because of basil downy mildew. And I got tomato yellow leaf curl from momotaro tomato seeds I ordered. I now can only grow the resistant tomatoes. So far the cabbages are ok as long as I don't plant cabbages in the same location or where I have had issues with clubfoot or black rot before. Otherwise I will have to dig out and replace all of the soil or grow the cabbages in pots.

https://www.pestnet.org/fact_sheets/lett ... ew_209.htm

wisconsindead
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Location: Zone 5b

I just noticed this on my kale (Dazzling Blue - High Mowing Seeds). I wonder if it is related to the lettuce and what I saw with the spinach. I recently put this under insect netting. If anyone has any idea what this is, please let me know!
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applestar
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Those damage looked like leaf miner signs to me but I didn’t know if there are species that attack kale so I looked it up. It appears this could be same ones that also attack pea leaves this time of the year —

Collard and kale-Leafminer | Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/vegetab ... -leafminer


I would start by removing and securely disposing all affected leaves. It could be a serious problem if they are under the insect netting though. If not using pesticides, try collecting ground patrolling and web-building spiders from around the garden and send them in. :-()

...the first photo made me wonder if kale can get leaf embolism due to excessive water uptake ... but I wasn’t able to obtain meaningful search results because they focused on human embolism that may or may not be helped by eating kale.... :roll:



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