Seasonal development
and life cycle—Curly top
The occurrence of curly top follows the seasonal cycle of its vector, the beet leafhopper. Beet leafhoppers
overwinter in uncultivated places, where they pick up the curly top virus by feeding on infected wild
plants. In spring, when wild hosts begin to dry out, the leafhoppers migrate into the valleys where they
settle on crops. Symptoms of curly top appear after the leafhoppers are gone. The disease does not spread
from one plant to another; new infestations are caused by new flights of leafhoppers.
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Curling
of tomato leaves
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