Causes and Symptoms
Spotted wilt is caused by thrips, which are small insects that feed on a variety of plants by puncturing the leaves and sucking the plant’s contents. Thrips contract the virus while they are in the larval stage and feed on infected plants, such as weeds. They then transmit the virus as adults, flying from infected plants to healthy plants.
An infected tomato has a number of visible characteristics. Symptoms include bronze-colored or dark-spotted leaves, stunted growth, dark streaking in the plant’s terminal stems, and possible die-back of the plant’s growing tips. The fruit may be deformed or wilted, with a reduction in fruit quality and yield. Ripe fruit has a distorted shape and may be covered with red and yellow ring-like markings.