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TMV and smokers

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8Ton

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Speaking with my extension agent, he mentioned he does not allow any tobacco use in the fields/greenhouses or while handling tobacco because of tobacco mosaic virus. He also said 70-80% of most commercial processed tobacco products (cigarettes) contain TMV. I smoke a pipe and cigars occasionally, but not cigarettes so this isn't much a issue for me. But, some of my farm hands/workers are cigarette smokers. Reading this article, TMV sounds like a tough one. How do y'all prevent TMV? Do you now allow tobacco use in the field? What about while seeding trays? Near greenhouses? How far must should I take this? I am assuming if TMV is that stable a virus that a heavy cigarette smoker would have it on their clothing, not just hands. If a farm worker takes a smoke break and then washes just their hands, is that enough?

When we have other livestock farmers visit our farm, we sanitize their boots before walking into our pastures, so I'm no stranger to biosecurity for my livestock.

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/common_question_and_answers_about_tobacco_mosaic_virus
 

deluxestogie

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I consider Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) as a significant problem for commercial growers who aren't planting TMV resistant varieties. For a home grower, the financial risk is much lower, the pressure for high yield is less, and your equipment is not touching many acres of tobacco plants.

TMV apparently cannot spread in clean (chaff free) tobacco seed. I've had a small number of TMV infected plants during one growing season. They were all of the same variety, though grown in two different, separate beds. My best guess is that the TMV was introduced on purchased tomato transplants (from Bonnie, if I recall), and that I may have planted the subsequently affected tobacco (Havana 263) after handling the tomato plants. I did not remove the plants, and it did not spread to its neighbors. For the past few years, I've avoided Bonnie veggie plants, and carefully inspect peppers and tomato plants that I'm considering buying.

If you identify a suspect plant, you have the option to observe it or remove it. I decided that I wanted to see if it would spread to neighbors. I've done the same with Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV), which seems to affect several adjacent leaves on seemingly random, scattered plants, but does not appear to spread to its neighbors. In the case of TEV, it likely is transferred from solanaceous weeds by insects early in the growing season.

To answer your specific question about tobacco use while working in the growing tobacco, I'll confess that I smoke cigars all the time that I'm out there. That includes my hired hands (they would be my left hand and my right hand). You'll notice in many tobacco plantation videos, somebody (usually the boss or a guide) is smoking a cigar.

Some tobacco varieties are more susceptible to TMV. One benefit that I've enjoyed is that I always plant more than a dozen varieties of tobacco each year--sometimes several dozen. With multiple varieties, I've been able to identify differing susceptibilities to a number of pathogens (TMV, TEV, Brown Spot, Blue Mold, etc.).

So, relax, enjoy the grow, and keep your eyes peeled for abnormalities. A good source of identification photos for tobacco pathogens is: http://www.ipmimages.org/browse/AreaSubs.cfm?area=62

Bob
 
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