Treat aphids or virus first on sweet peas?

My plants are turning yellow,drying out and dying. I have found what I think are brown aphids, but they also look very much like pictores of sweet pea viruses.

Treat aphids or virus first on sweet peas?
Aphids are usually little whitish waxy looking things that gravitate to roses. You can kill those by spraying a solution of water with a little dish soap mixed in. Take a piece of an affected plant to your local nursery - someone there should be able to direct you.
Reply:buy a big bag of lady bugs at your local nursery!!! They really do work..my parents used to have huge aphid probs and the lady bugs worked really well
Reply:Treat the aphids. There isn't much you can do for the virus, sad to say. I'd purchase some oil at your local garden store (Ortho makes it). Aphids can transmit viruses, (can also be transmitted by thrips or leafhoppers, etc) so if you have peas that are not affected yet, get those aphids!





How old are the pea plants? Do you think they are naturally dying off, maybe it is too hot for them. If they are grying out, that isn't a good thing. They may be stressed if they aren't getting enough water. They may need some TLC.





As far as the virus, are you able to replant your peas or do they carry sentimental or other value? You should try to replant with something else, or a virus-resistant type of pea (it should tell you on the seed packet). Make sure you gather all the debris from the ground, since some viruses can survive in the ground without a host. Viruses can also survive on weeds (alternate hosts), so get rid of those as well.





There are no chemical controls for viral diseases in plants. Do not apply a fungicide because a virus is not a fungus, and it will not work. The best control is to plant disease resistant plants, sterilize garden equipment used to prevent the spread of the virus, control weeds and insects to prevent spread.
Reply:Gosh, I don't know for sure. The aphids are sucking the life out of the plant so I guess I would treat that first. Just a guess. Are you talking about flowers or English peas, the vegetable. Because if it's the flower, you might try Orthonex, which contains both an insecticide and fungus control, but you can't put it on anything edible. Go to www.ortho.com and check it and other chemicals out. Good luck.

dermatitis