can you eat tomatoes from diseased plants?

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by zenthumbs

Newbie question: I was just wondering if it is "safe" to eat the tomatoes from plants that are diseased. BER, obviously, I won't eat, but if it's confined to the leaves or stems, is it safe to eat?

Also, am I correct to assume that it's not recommended that the seeds be saved from these plants also? Thanks

As far as I know, it's ok to save the seed from infected plants. That's the point of fermentation (or other methods): to remove the pathogens.

Practically speaking, the only problem I'd see in eating cherry tomatoes right from the plant in your own garden is the rare case that birds poop on the tomatoes and you don't notice it. I have some tall cages that birds love to perch on, so I get pooped-on tomatoes. If the poop is on unbroken tomato skin, I wash it off. If it's a split cherry tomato, I compost it. (If it's a larger tomato, I just cut away that part of the tomato, but I still save the seed from it.) Still, the chance of not noticing bird poop on a tomato, and eating it, and getting some disease, seems very slim to me.

I'm not a dog (but who'd know? it's the internet), but I know lots of dogs who are connoisseurs of bird poop. They inhale deeply when they encounter it on a sidewalk, and even give it a lick.

[zenthumbs]

I was wondering more in terms of diseases that tend to attack tomatoes like septoria, wilt, curly leaf, etc. and not topical contamination like e. coli. I didn't mean to open up a whole new can of worms :0

Habitat, thanks for answering the 2nd part of the question about seed saving. That makes sense to me.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by zenthumbs

I was wondering more in terms of diseases that tend to attack tomatoes like septoria, wilt, curly leaf, etc. and not topical contamination like e. coli. I didn't mean to open up a whole new can of worms :0

Habitat, thanks for answering the 2nd part of the question about seed saving. That makes sense to me.

I assumed that's what you were talking about when you first posted which is why I said that none of the bacteria, fungi and viruses that can infect tomatoes are pathogenic for humans, pets, etc.

You aren't opening up a new can of worms at all. It's good for everyone to pitch in and make suggstions b'c that how most of us learn new things.

It's OK to save seeds from plants that have certain diseases but not others. I prefer fermentation b'c it's natural and some others use oxidizing agents, acids and whatever.

But it's known that fermentation can lessen the amount of pathogens on the surface of the seeds as shown by Dr, Helene Dillard, but not all of them. However, since infection is a quantitative process that lessened amount helps prevent seedborne diseases mainly of the fungal pathogens.

Most viruses where data is known and especially the bacterial systemic pathogens such as Bacterial Wilt, Canker and the like are in the endosperm of the seed and only hot water treatment, which should be done by professionals, can help inactivate them.

So what fermenttion works best for are the two most common fungal foliage diseases of Early Blight ( A. solani) and Septoria Leaf Spot as well as the fungal systemic diseases such as Verticillium and Fusarium.

Hope that helps.

[dustdevil]

Originally Posted by mjc

Attitudes like yours are one of the reasons we have 'superbugs' in the first place.

Illogical. I have no "attitude"...I merely state the facts. Your subtle insult has no place in an intelligent debate.

[TomatoDon]

Aw, come on Dust. Admit it. You're not only responsible for super-germs and biological warfare, but for Third World illiteracy too.

[carolyn137]

The original poster has clarified the original question by saying:

(I was wondering more in terms of diseases that tend to attack tomatoes like septoria, wilt, curly leaf, etc. and not topical contamination like e. coli.)

So I think it's time to move forward.

Thanks for you cooperation everyone.

And zen, I didn't notice at first that you're brand new here at Tville so welcome, and please just take it in stride that sometimes there will be disagreements on a particular issue and differences of opinion, and often that can be a good thing. And sometimes not depending on how a post is worded. Stuff happens.

Your questions were good ones and as far as I can see have been answered, so onward we go and don't hesitate one minute to keep on reading and posting here at Tville.

[rnewste]

OK Carolyn, It is 2:05 am over there in N.Y. right now. NO tomato topic can be THAT important!!!

Raybo

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by rnewste

OK Carolyn, It is 2:05 am over there in N.Y. right now. NO tomato topic can be THAT important!!!

Raybo

And now it's 2.24 AM and I hear you Ray. I just don't want to see the thread continue as it has been with some of the more recent posts and some of the exchanges made between folks.

it happened, and as I said, time to move forward.

Hmmm, I wonder how we DO define an important tomato topic per your comment.

[zenthumbs]

Thank you Carolyn--yes, I've gotten my answers. In my lurkings, I've taken to seeing you warmly as the "house mother" (hope that doesn't offend you) and I appreciate you looking out for all of us. I've been bitten by the tomato bug, so I will definitely be sticking around and asking questions for a while.

[Timmah!]

I've read that Salmonella & E. Coli can be taken up by via the root system of some plants & infiltrate the edible tissues of the plants: eg. lettuce. (Solomon et al., 2002b) Don't know if it would make it into the actual fruit of a tomato, though. But that's outside the scope of any contamination by common tomato pathogens.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Timmah!

I've read that Salmonella & E. Coli can be taken up by via the root system of some plants & infiltrate the edible tissues of the plants: eg. lettuce. (Solomon et al., 2002b) Don't know if it would make it into the actual fruit of a tomato, though. But that's outside the scope of any contamination by common tomato pathogens.

Yes, I spoke about the situation with lettuce in a post above:

(Yes, E coli has been shown to get incorporated via the roots in lettuce and another crop I've forgetten right now, but I've not seen any data to show that human pathogens are talken up via the roots of tomatoes.)