Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Before and After, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
I always listen to what Kell says! Always a wise word from her.

Sherry, brugs are in the same family as tomatoes and potatoes and are indeed susceptible to the same viruses. Many are in the soil. There is the tomato mosaic and the tomato spotted wilt and the cucumber mosaic and other mosaic viruses as well. I want post a link to a good web site about viruses, but I don't think I'm allowed to link to it any more, but if you do a search for brugmansias and viruses, you may get a match on it.

From what I understand, and others know more than I do, viruses can be spread by sucking insects like aphids, by using an infected cutting tool, and by soil that contains the virus. Open wounds from mechanical cuts are also vulnerable to disease and viruses which can be transmitted by insects as well. The only way brugs could pass a virus to the tomatos or vice-versa would be if the same infected cutting tool was used or aphids passed a virus from one plant to another. I have tomatoes growing in a big wooden half barrel this year in the same vicinity as my brugs, but they are in the way back, and I'm not worried...yet.

Here is a picture of my brugs in the back. You can see the tomato plant in the front.

Edited to fix spelling.

This message was edited May 6, 2005 3:36 PM