Today, I noticed in a couple of fields that leaves of squash and zucchini plants look distorted. As you can see in the pictures below, the leaves look curled and crumpled. These are symptoms of a white-fly transmitted virus known as Cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV). The symptoms of an infected yellow straightneck squash are slightly different from zucchini plants. The fruit from an infected yellow straightneck squash can exhibit green streaks.This virus is transmitted by adult whitefly feeding on an infected plant.
We are likely seeing CuLCrV in our cucurbit crops due to the very high whitefly populations this fall. To manage this virus we must manage the whiteflies on the plants.
If you have any questions contact your local Colquitt County Extension office. Thank you.
