Here is a TMV article written in 2000 that describes method of soaking seeds in bleach (however this effects germination).

If you did have TMV--how do you know it was seed borne--there are other modes of transmission.

Also I am not sure I understand what you mean by the company deals in tobacco--do you mean they sell tobacco seeds too. Carolyn has said American tobacco is free of TMV.

(this is an excellent circular-but I could not link it directly--scroll down all the way to the bottom and see #400)

Here is a link that might be useful: Path. Circulars--go to #400

Carolyn has said American tobacco is free of TMV.

What Carolyn has said is that MOST tobacco grown in the US for the last 20 or so years is TMV tolerant and that most TMV incidences are restricted to large greenhouse operations where transmission is mechanical and even then, not that much.

Thiose cases associated with workers smoking turkish tobacco? Possibly, and there have been a few small outbreaks in greenhouses on the west coast as well.

TMV in the home garden just does not happen that much anymore.

Since CMV is a lookalike with now several strains known, I consider it to be a much greater bet than any possibility of TMV since CMV routinely infects many common garden vegetables as well as host weeds.

And the absolute best way to disinfect seeds of TMV is with TSP which is quite caustic, though.

Carolyn

Well, any other mode of transmission would effect more than one plant in 300

This seed co. I refer to grows and distibutes Heirloom tobacco seed....a practice I believe they've recently expanded.
Should I contact this company?
This smallish seed company probably doesn't TSP.
How dangerous is this TMV to my field?

This seed co. I refer to grows and distibutes Heirloom tobacco seed....a practice I believe they've recently expanded.
Should I contact this company?
This smallish seed company probably doesn't TSP.
How dangerous is this TMV to my field?

I went to Google and found several companies that sell heirloom tobacco seed and some of them are companies that are quite well known and yet this is the first instance I've read about Tree, where someone is suggesting that actual TMV somehow got from tobacco seed to hands to tomato seed, if I read you right. Or TMV from processing the actual seeds from plant material although several of the companies aren't in tobacco growing areas.

If you're convinced that the plant has TMV then I'd rip it out and destroy it right now.

TMV in the garden can be transmitted by chewing type insects, which was the major mode of transmission years ago.

So rather than worry about what insecticides to use or whether they are preventing transmission to other plants, I'd put on some gloves and pull it up and burn it.

As to whether or not you want to contact the company, that's strictly up to you if, again, you're convinced that[s what the problem is or just want to ask them about the possibility and share your experience. Amd ask them if they treat the seeds with anything to prevent any accidental transmission to other seeds when packing seeds, such as the tomato seed you purchased.

If you still have the seeds you could even have them checked for TMV but I think that might be taking it a bit too far, but again, up to you.

Hope that helps.

Carolyn

You mean you only planted one seed out of 300 from this company? If the seed's coats were infected with TMV why wouldn't you have more infected plants.

But to me this is purely speculation --I would take the plant to a lab to have it properly diagnosed- if you read Carolyn's post it is unlikely TMV.

Here is the information about submitting a plant to dagnostic lab in Maine. (see link)

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Diagnostic Lab (Maine)

Here is another link about TMV--gives specifics about what to do about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: TMV

Oh....no....I only planted about.....8 seeds from this company.

I understand this is pure guesswork on my part and will not take this as anything but that. I'm well aware this company's reputation deepends on my discretion in this matter.
I do think I'll call the company and make them aware of my suspicions as well as the fact that since they are associated with the tobacco that some conclusions might be jumped to. If it were my co. I'd be pretty freaked to even think about this happening....I want to give them a heads up, and maybe they treat the seeds.

Carolyn, you are one of the only people I'd share the name of the company with. I know your discretion....but I don't think it's necessary to share this name with anyone else.

farkee, thanks so much for the links, they are very helpful.

Unless I hear from co. that there is no way I could be right about the TMV, I will almost certainly ask the moderator to delete this thread at the end of the day. I got the help I needed and I don't really want this info floating around. Any other things to add, please email me directly.
I'll let you know how the company responds....

Thank you both very much!

Tree

Tree,

There is no reason to ask that this thread be removed b'c you've raised a legitimate situation and question and there's absolutely nothing that has been posted here to implicate any seed source, etc.

And do let us know what the seed co says. YOu don't have to mention the name of the company at all.

Carolyn

You sound like a very nice person with a good head on their shoulder but this is the perfect instant where a plant should have been taken to a lab-- instead you decided to post this on a public forum and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what companies sell heirloom tomato and tobacco seeds. Carolyn even googled it herself.

Carolyn said in her first post that other viruses can be mistaken for TMV. Without a lab analysis, I think the fair thing to do would have been to simply call them--say what you suspect (but don't know for sure) and that does give them a heads-up in case other people contact them they can put 2 and 2 together. Also I wonder if the company does grow-outs, if so a TMV problem would become evident to them pretty quickly.

Carolyn, you have said many time that no one be concerned about smoking or handling tobacco and transmitting TMV (contrary to all the university literature which you said were outdated). Are you now inferring that heirloom tobacco may be a source for TMV based on one undiagnosed plant? I can see how heirloom tobacco could be a source of TMV as you said it was only in the last 20 years that tobacco was developed that was TMV tolerant. One would have to study if seed to seed transfer (by some manner) is possible in a seed processing setting before jumping to any conclusions but according to second link there are many plant hosts (both flower and vegetable-i.e pepper,for one) and many companies offer these various seeds together without problems.

I am going to have the plant tested.

The thread will be removed.

Carolyn, you have said many time that no one be concerned about smoking or handling tobacco and transmitting TMV (contrary to all the university literature which you said were outdated). Are you now inferring that heirloom tobacco may be a source for TMV based on one undiagnosed plant? I can see how heirloom tobacco could be a source of TMV as you said it was only in the last 20 years that tobacco was developed that was TMV tolerant. One would have to study if seed to seed transfer (by some manner) is possible in a seed processing setting before jumping to any conclusions but according to second link there are many plant hosts (both flower and vegetable-i.e pepper,for one) and many companies offer these various seeds together without problems.

Yes, I am suggesting that there's very little TMV these days and almost only in large greenhouse operations, and the Seminis Tomato Pathology book says the same and yes, most Univeristy web sites go into the same long doo dad admonition about not smoking around toamto plants, etc., justg as many of them still haven't updated their BER info,

What they fail to recognize or haven't updated their info, is that most current strains of tobacco are TMV tolerant.

I see this situation a bit different b'c of the use of so called heirloom tobacco and even reading thru those offerings I see inbetween the hybrid varieties said to be disease "resistant".

I said above I didn't know if contamination could be direct, from handling TMV seeds or indirect from handling TMV infected plant material but noted that many places offering these heirloom tobaccos weren't in those kinds of growing areas.

I also said I'd not heard of any problems before re tobacco seed and contaminated tomato seed.

So that's where I stand on this, so far, and Tree, I really wish you'd let this thread stand for other folks to read it.

I just can't see things, I guess, from your point of view, and found the whole situation to be very interesting.

Carolyn

Well,
the monitor won't delete the post.

Let me say that all sources... say TMV is very unlikely.
It's probably CMV. Plant has been removed and material packed for shipping to lab. I won't know until weekend what it is. If I'm lucky it will remain the only plant effected out of 350.
(Lab guy says they've had three samples tested for CMV...none have been positive this year)

So...sorry if I seemed to overreact. I have a large field and we just don't see viruses in this area. There are also around 20 viruses the plant 'could' have....joy....the lab has tests for 4.

I did contact the company in question....I'm sure they'll say TMV from them is preposterous.
It's not unthinkable that only one plant got the virus among 350, apparently....I still think that's weird but...::shrug::

later,
Tree

Oh....no....I only planted about.....8 seeds from this company.

Then help me understand when you say:

It's not unthinkable that only one plant got the virus among 350, apparently

350 plants from 350 seeds but only 8 of those plants from the company in question and only 1 of the plants from those 8 seeds gave rise to the plant in question?

Carolyn, who will mention that CMV is almost everywhere; sometimes causing infection, sometimes not, but you're saying it was seedborne on one seed out of 8 from that company the way I see it. Or perhaps TMV as you've been concerned about.

Well.....

Yes. I planted 350 plants. I planted One variety, only, from this company. One plant of that variety has got a virus. I planted 70-80 varieties from approx. 12 sources.
There is no sign of a virus on anything else on the property. I saw the one plant, noted the variety and source, remembered the tobacco, and worried the virus came with the seed.

Coincidence? I thought not, but everyone says: Coincidence? Yes.

I'm not 'saying' the virus came from that company, but thought it might have. For the virus to be seedborne, it would be TMV, yes. I truly hope and expect it is not.

I was informed CMV is NOT seedborne in tomatoes, at least, so if it's CMV it came from here.

OK? or have I added to the confusion, LOL

:D

Tree

I was informed CMV is NOT seedborne in tomatoes, at least, so if it's CMV it came from here.

I think the person who told you that is absolutely correct. It is seedborne in many other veggies/fruits, but not tomatoes.

Me not thinking straight when suggesting that and I apologize.

Carolyn

The ONLY way to know if it's tmv is through testing. Viruses can evolve into different strains within hours, let alone over years. There are many mosaics out there and only a few names to categorize them. I only skimmed the posts, but it seems there is disinformation here concerning the level of tmv occurrence. Mosaic viruses are very common. They will continue to be very common. Plants that evolve a defense and are unnaturally selected for this property will only stay that way for the amount of time that the virus fails to evolve. Despite what some seed companies lead us to believe, what was resistant 5 years ago is likely not so resistant this year. It's not a loss of resistance, but an evolution of the virus just as all viruses do in all walks (or rootings) of life. That's why we don't have virus cures for humans, animals, or plants. Only vaccines.

Mosaic viruses are very common and there is no cure. I had a mosaic virus on my tomato plants. All of them that were infected were from a very reputable company, Territorial. I also planted some from Ferry Morse and none were infected or became infected later. Does that mean that all of the Territorial seeds were infected as seeds? No, of course not. It means that the Ferry Morse plants had a resistance to the particular strain of evolved virus that hit my plants while the Territorial plants didn't have as good of resistance. I called Territorial, though, as a courtesy to let them know that I had this virus and that just in case it was a seedborne issue they would be aware. But, I do know that virus transmission is natural and a company can only control the issue when informed. Territorial is in Oregon while I am in Indiana. The strain of virus I got is likely not in Oregon and thus the reduced resistance. Also keep in mind that resistance doesn't mean virus free. The Ferry Morse may very well have had the disease. They just weren't affected. Many living things have viruses and never show symptoms, including humans, but can transmit the virus to a less resistant variety resulting in fatal symptoms.

By the way, even though the fault did not lie with Territorial, they sent me seeds of a different variety to replace my other seeds without me asking for them. I thought that was very kind of them. I will continue buying my seeds from them.

I know it's been 3 years since the last post on this thread, but in case anyone else runs into this I thought I'd share.