Brambles pick up viruses from other brambles
Brambles pick up viruses from other brambles. Aphids carry raspberry mosaic and related viruses from wild raspberries and blackberries, and from older infected plantings, into a new one. Site a new bramble planting at least 600 feet from wild brambles, and keep it away from any bramble planting that shows virus.
Promising A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, it still grows, just less well. The planner suggests it.
How it works
Aphid vectoring. The raspberry aphids that feed on wild and cultivated brambles pick up the viruses in one probe and carry them to the next plant they feed on, so any bramble within their flight is a source, and there is no cure once a cane is infected.
What to do about it
Plant certified virus-free stock at least 600 feet from wild brambles, dig out wild brambles nearer than that where you can, and if an older raspberry or blackberry planting in your garden shows mosaic-mottled leaves or crumbly fruit, take it out before planting new canes.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 7 sources in the research-based literature.
The 7 sources
Choose a planting site at least 300 feet from wild brambles, a potential source of diseases.
Destroy all wild bramble plants within a distance of 600 feet of the site if possible, to reduce the possibility that viruses might spread to your planting.
A distance of at least 600 feet between cultivated raspberries and any wild brambles is recommended
Aphids can retain the virus for several hours and are very efficient at transmitting the virus from plant to plant; a single feeding probe by a single aphid suffices
Before starting a new fruit planting, remove or kill any wild brambles, old raspberry plants and weeds at the site.
If possible, remove all wild brambles near the new raspberry planting to prevent the spread of disease.
Plant in elevated areas away from trees and buildings, and away from wild brambles to avoid viral diseases.
Plants it applies to · 2
How this rule has changed
Every change is dated, newest first. The full record, with each reason, is in the data download.
- Wording made clearer
- Added to the rules
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Milpa Gardens. “Brambles pick up viruses from other brambles. Aphids carry raspberry mosaic and related viruses from wild raspberries and blackberries, and from older infected plantings, into a new one. Site a new bramble planting at least 600 feet from wild brambles, and keep it away from any bramble planting that shows virus.” Evidence grade: Promising. https://milpa.garden/rules/brambles-pick-up-viruses-from-other-brambles/
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- The rule names its mechanism and is settled, by sources a person has read and checked or by plain arithmetic and geometry.
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- The mechanism is named and the literature backs it. A few questions are still open.
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