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Herbicide damage?

DWB

DWB

On May 26 my neighbor sprayed his peanuts with 2,4-DB that drifted to my property in a high wind. A few pots of peppers that were close to the property line ain't looking so great and I'm thinking it's herbicide damage. I hauled all of my plants to the pumphouse and sprayed them down with a mist but I think maybe it didn't help in all cases.
 
Three pots, Trinidad Scorpion, Carolina Reaper and a 7 Pot Douglah are not looking all that fine. The new growth is a nightmare. The pictures are of a normal leaf and new growth with stem elongation from the scorpion. All new growth on these plants is like this. Small, shriveled and very distorted.  Does this look like herbicide or could it possibly be something else?
 
Out of around 30 pots, three are showing heavier damage like this, a couple are showing minor damage and the rest are fine. I've been waiting for a nice day to take pictures of the plants themselves but we have no nice days any more.Always dark, windy and raining. so I just cut off a sample and brought it in to photograph.
 
Any advice on these plants? Cut them back and hope for the best? Give them a shot of any antidote?
 

 

 
 
 
I don't have any experience with herbicide, so I don't know how long it takes to work. It seems like you would've seen signs a long time ago if herbicide drifted your way May 26th. I've read that herbicide damage and broad mite damage look similar or exactly alike. Have you scoped for mites or bugs? My plants were looking that way, so I sprayed a soap solution once and Neem twice so far. All of my plants are on the rebound now.

-Adam
 
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DWB said:
Any advice on these plants? Cut them back and hope for the best? Give them a shot of any antidote?
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Prognosis is bad, from NCSU Extension:
 
Sadly, the injury of these two herbicides will either lead to the death of the plant or very poor production.  It is usually recommend to simply plant another tomato and learn from your experience. 
 
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No bugs under 400x.
 
It would be a shame to lose these plants. I started the seeds in November. I have other copies of all but the scorpion.
 
Would it be possible for you to start a clone? I'm not sure if the clone would carry on the effects of herbicide, just a thought. 
 
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DWB said:
No bugs under 400x.
 
It would be a shame to lose these plants. I started the seeds in November. I have other copies of all but the scorpion.
Click to expand...
 
I feel for you 100%. Very irresponsible of your neighbor to spray such a volatile herbicide in high wind. Only thing worse would be dicamba.
 
JustDucky said:
Would it be possible for you to start a clone? I'm not sure if the clone would carry on the effects of herbicide, just a thought. 
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Doubtful
 
It was 2,4-DB. It's less harmful to the peanut crop but I guess it's just as deadly to tomatoes and peppers as 2,4-D. The application was done with a boom spray rig that's so big it looks like an oil platform on wheels. About a 75' wingspan.
 
This really honks me off. One plant that got hit was one of my third year reaper mothers.
 
Looks like herbicide damage to me.  I used horse manure on my tomatoes one year and the residual 2,4D caused exactly that kind of damage.  
 
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LTCM said:
Looks like herbicide damage to me.  I used horse manure on my tomatoes one year and the residual 2,4D caused exactly that kind of damage.  
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Jeez, that's awful. I won't be feeding my horse any peanut hay this year.
 
 
JustDucky said:
Would it be possible for you to start a clone? I'm not sure if the clone would carry on the effects of herbicide, just a thought. 
Click to expand...
 

Two of my favorite clones are also getting hit. A reaper and a 7 Pot Douglah. I took branch cutting off of both to see if they'll root and find out what will become of them.
 
I would over water and spray with water often.  What ever you can to get residue out of the soil and off the plants.  Not saying they will be 100% but they still have plenty of time to recover.
 
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Thanks AJ. They got plenty of water without my help. Since Memorial Day we probably got a total of 30" rain with quite a few 3 to 5" days. And that's not counting the 8" we got this week from TS Cindy.
 
The county horticultural agent confirmed herbicide damage by 2,4-DB and had his associate do a diagnosis with no prior heads-up. He said either Dicamba or 2,4-D and wasn't at all surprised when he was told the drift was 2,4-DB.
 
I believe the plants will survive but now trying to find out if the plants will be safe. Nobody knows if growth regulator toxins will goof with the DNA or otherwise make the flowers, pollen, fruit or seeds unsafe.
 
Tropical Storm Cindy got to this pine tree...
 
WSkAZJo.jpg

 
It wasn't really the wind.  The ground is just too soggy.
 
Luckily, my plants all made it through OK.  :)
 
 
Hi! Welcome to the forum!
 
Sorry about the pine. Makes for a lot of work for you and it's not even good for firewood. Looks like the live oak in the background almost went over too. I'm glad that stayed up.
 
All we lost were a few big limbs from longleaf pines but I'm thankful we didn't get much wind because our ground is saturated. Every little depression on our property is still full of water today.
 
DWB said:
Thanks AJ. They got plenty of water without my help. Since Memorial Day we probably got a total of 30" rain with quite a few 3 to 5" days. And that's not counting the 8" we got this week from TS Cindy.
 
The county horticultural agent confirmed herbicide damage by 2,4-DB and had his associate do a diagnosis with no prior heads-up. He said either Dicamba or 2,4-D and wasn't at all surprised when he was told the drift was 2,4-DB.
 
I believe the plants will survive but now trying to find out if the plants will be safe. Nobody knows if growth regulator toxins will goof with the DNA or otherwise make the flowers, pollen, fruit or seeds unsafe.
Click to expand...
 
The plants affected by 2,4D won't pose any risk, how could they? As for the chemical, its a skin irratant, sure, and a non-carcinogen. As for the debate about its endocrin-disruption, I think its overblown.
 
I don't know how they could or if they could pose a risk. I'm not a plant genetics or physiology expert. The county agent didn't know either but he had concerns.
 
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