Pepper viruses infecting humans???

While searching the web for info on pepper viruses I came across this bit of information from an article in New Scientist. Pretty strange reading. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18771-people-pick-up-pepper-virus.html

interesting read, thanks for sharing!

Great! (not). Of course, it would have to be the pepper mild mottle virus. That's the reason I can't grow bell peppers. If that study is true, then I'm probably a carrier. I know that my peppers suffered even in buckets of potting mix, with no tools from the garden used around the buckets. I even practiced proper hand hygiene before working with the containers. Somehow I (or birds, or bugs) managed to cross-contaminate anyway.

David

OMG! I'm seeing white blotches on my skin and my toes and ears are beginning to curl! I think I've got it!

cactusman, when you start turning green you're done for!

It may be spider mites. Give yourself a good spray with a neem oil solution. That will knock back the mites if they are there and at least give you a clue. ; )

postman, I'm already green. It's the white mottling that worries me.

David, it looks like I have 1 Fish seedling. But I ain't complaining. Are you having [problems with non-bell sweet peppers? If so, I have some great suggestions that are either resistant or extremely tolerant to the viruses in my garden and are great tasting and very productive besides.
Can't help you with the bells, though.

This message was edited Apr 17, 2012 12:07 PM

This message was edited Apr 17, 2012 1:11 PM

Hmmm. Well, I've certainly got PMMV in my garden, that's why I grow less susceptible non-bell sweet peppers instead of bells.

This reminds me of James Thurber's comment about how the Chestnut Blight of 1909 or so killed five million chestnut trees and Thurber's uncle. lol

I'm growing several non-bell sweets this year. Gypsy is my primary hope but I have some others that I'm trying too. Whitney and Zsa Zsa are other non-bells I'm trying along with Chablis, a TMV resistant bell. (I'm hoping that may bleed over into PMMoV.)

My favorites are Sweet Yellow Stuffing and Red Cheese. And of course, Padron. Although Padron is pretty much used primarily for stir-frying as tapas. Eating them is sort of like playing pepper roulette. About every 12th one will be seriously hot even when picked at about the size of a prune or less. The odds for heat increase as summer temperatures rise and the larger ones or those allowed to become red ripe are highly likely to be hot. But they are sooooooo good when stir-fried a few minutes in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.