Nicotine kills Tomato and Potatoes plants? My Tomatoes aren't doing well. I have a few green ones. The leaves are dying back every day they look worries . They get plenty of water and sun. The cold front didn't do anything to them. I was told because I'm a smoker that the nicotine in my body is killing them. My Potatoes are died . So should I not have touch them or is my friend pulling my leg.
I have grown tomatos for years and smoked for 40 some years and I have never heard of that, and have never had that problem. I don't think your friend is pulling your leg, he is yanking on it with both hands!
I have heard something about this, but I think it's a misunderstanding that it's the nicotine that might cause any problems. In fact, as odd as it seems, Tomatoes are one of a group of food plants that actually contain small amounts of nicotine naturally, and because of that, they are susceptible to TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus) which, it is thought, can be transmitted through touch. From K-State Research and Extension publication:
Your friend is definately having you on!!!! I smoke and handle my tomatoes and potatoes and have never had any problems with either. You'll have to think up a good practical joke to play on your friend I think Gizmo.
I am a smoker I have smoked since I was 12 years old .My Mom and Dad were smokers (I never heard of this) and they had huge gardens with lots and lots of potatoes and tomatos growing.They handled all the plants when they planted them. I have grown potatos every year but this year and have huge Big Boy tomato plants and they are fine.I handle them with know problem.
Today was the day :'( pulled all my Big Boy II hybrids tomato,gourt,potatoes. The only thing left is a banana tree and its not looking well. The drout we r having is killing all the veggie and fruits :'( . If I new this was going to happen I would have left the Canna in the bed for something to look at
I'm so sorry your plants have died.I don't think it was caused from your smoking.Lack of rain sounds more like it.
One of the pesiticides commonly used on tomato plants is nicotene. Get a pack of unfiltered cigarettes, tear the ends off the package, and soak it in a gallon of water. Pour this over the plants and it will get rid of the bugs. You need to do this before the tomatoes start to develop or the tomatoes will pick up the taste of tobacco.
This was discussed on another forum and Carolyn Male (100 tomatoes for the American Garden) and several other breeders stated that the only tobacco that has TMV is Turkish tobacco. All other types of tobacco are no danger for the transmission of disease. LoreD
Sorry to dig up such an old thread - but there was a lot of good info on here. I've come to the conclusion that one of my tomatoes had a mosaic virus. The fruit looked like it was pitted, almost like tiny nibbles over the skin, and once cut open, there were brown areas inside. I did eventually pull the plant out before summers end, and unfortunately I most likely tossed it into the city green waste, so I've spread it! My question now is what do I do with that planting area? From what I've read the virus lives for many years on dead plant material in the soil. The area it's in is a 4x4 raised bed. Should I clear all the planting medium out? Should that go into the trash? I know some sites say to use steam to sanitize, but I do not really have that ability. Would pouring boiling water over the area work? I need to sanitize my clippers for sure. I will be much more careful next season choosing resistant plants.
Sanitizing the soil is a method of laying clear plastic down and trenching (or if you have raised beds- staple the plastic down to the sides of the boards) it tight so there is no air exchange from side to side, but you must keep it moist while sanitizing the area and this makes the soil temperature high enough to kill off the virus' and bacteria in the soil. The sunshine is what actually makes this work. It overheats the soil to the point that these "bugs" die off. It is actually called solarization. You need to keep the area covered for several months to accomplish this.
We did have tobacco virus on our plants last year. We pick a few mis-shaped fruit but they tasted great, most of the tomatoes looked fine. It mainly caused the leaves to become deformed and changed the color. Next season we are planting tomatoes that are resistant to it.
