It is definitely possible to infect susceptible species of plants
with TMV via tobacco extracts. In fact, this is a standard laboratory
exercise that I have had my undergraduate microbiology classes perform to
test Koch's postulates regarding disease production by microbes. The
commercial tobacco is not treated in any way that would "kill" the virus,
and TMV lasts a pretty long time post-harvest. One professor I had in
graduate school formerly worked as a microbiologist for one of the tobacco
companies, and described how careful they had to be about not cross
contaminating live plants after handling dried leaves.
With regards to the concern over a tossed cigarette butt, there is
a minimal infective dose. One careless discard probably wouldn't carry
enough virus particles to be a problem. As was mentioned, the concern
arises when a more concentrated solution is applied directly to the leaves
of a susceptible plant. A sufficiently high number of viruses might then
be present to cause infection.
I can't comment on how likely you would be to infect your CPs with
TMV since I'm not aware of any specific references to their susceptibility
(I've never actually looked). However, tobacco extract at low doses
combined with dishsoap is a pretty standard home remedy for all sorts of
other house plants and a number of home garden crops.
BTW - What's all this about CPs being a male-dominated enterprise? ;-)
Regards,
Liane
Liane Cochran-Stafira
Dept. of Ecology and Evolution
The University of Chicago
1101 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637-5415
phone: 312-702-1930
e-mail: lcochran@midway.uchicago.edu