Tobacco Streak Virus (TSV) was found on fresh-market tomato this past week in southern New Jersey. TSV has a host range of close to 200 species, including cranberry, tobacco, tomato, pepper, asparagus, bean, soybean, mustard, radish, a number of ornamental hosts as well as weeds such as thistle, field bindweed, and jimson weed. Like Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), the Tobacco Streak Virus is also vectored by thrips. TSV can be seed-borne (reported in some hosts), spread via pollen, and mechanically transmitted. Symptoms can vary significantly depending on the host. Infected plants may have downward leaf curling, show black streaks on leaves and stems, chlorosis, stunted growth, deformed growing tips, ring spots, and flower drop. There is no genetic resistance to TSV in tomato and management should focus on keeping thrips populations as low as possible, scouting on a regular, removing infected plants, and knowing your weed population (as a potential source). The only method to correctly identify TSV is through serological tests such as ELISA.

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