Divisi
Passion fruit woodiness virus
Passion fruit woodiness virus · Viral
Photo: National Agroforestry Center · CC BY 2.0
Passion fruit woodiness virus is a plant virus (a potyvirus complex) carried from vine to vine by aphids — tiny soft-bodied insects that suck sap — and also by grafting or by dirty cutting tools. Once a vine catches it, the virus lives inside the whole plant for good: there is no cure and no spray that kills it. Control is all about keeping healthy vines from catching it in the first place.
Why it matters
This virus can rob you of up to 70% of your passion fruit crop — the fruit turn small, hard and 'woody' with almost no juicy pulp inside, so they fetch little or nothing at market. The worst part is that there is no cure: once a vine is infected it stays infected for life, keeps making bad fruit, and becomes a source that feeds the virus to your healthy vines. That is why the only real answer is to stop it getting in and to pull out sick vines fast before it spreads.
When to act
First plants showing mosaic and misshapen fruit; act on aphid colonies and rogue infected vines immediately (no cure once infected)
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full passion fruit woodiness virus field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
16 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to passion fruit woodiness virus — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify passion fruit woodiness virus?
The first thing you see: the young leaves at the shoot tips go patchy — a mix of light-green or yellow and dark-green blotches (called mosaic or mottling), and the leaves look crinkled, puckered or twisted out of their normal flat shape.
When should I take action against passion fruit woodiness virus?
First plants showing mosaic and misshapen fruit; act on aphid colonies and rogue infected vines immediately (no cure once infected)
How do I control passion fruit woodiness virus?
Prevent — start clean (your strongest tool): plant certified virus-free seedlings from a trusted, clean source, and never take cuttings or grafts from a vine that shows any mosaic or woody fruit — that is how you carry the virus straight into a new field. This cultural care is the most effective thing you can do.
Which crops does passion fruit woodiness virus affect?
Among the crops covered here: Passion fruit.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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