Blight In Tomato's ???

[ApertureF11Sniper]

Hoping I spelled that right......I was forewarned of Blight by my mom and she will burn anything she suspects has it. So we have had a bad week of weather here in Washington state. COLD and rain. I am wondering how do you tell if your plant has blight or if it is just stressed or otherwise. Some of the plants I got were on clearance at the store, lack of water and care. So does blight look REALLY distinct from plant stress? One plant the leaves are partially curled and it has some small brown edges on some leaves. Another plant the leaves are yellowish with small spots on them.....Some of my plants did all right through the cold. My SunSugar plant looks amazing, it's a dark green and big and bushy. The one with the partially curled leaves with small brown edges is a Roma.....My Champion looks great. I have a Aunt Ruby's German Brown that is struggling to say the least....

I did trim all the lower limbs so that nothing is touching the dirt....Should I try fertilizer? I have some Alaska Fishfood fertilizer but was told not to use that on my plants else they will have a fishy taste to them...

[pepperhead212]

I just had this show up on just one variety out of 17 or 18 I have growing, and it may have been triggered by the sudden moisture I am getting (not just rain, but dew on many mornings), after almost no rain all spring. I noticed several dead branches on one Hippie Zebra a few days ago, and had to wait a few days because of the raining, and I went out, and snipped off all the dead branches (from either a blight, gray mold, or any other similar disease), only one on the second plant, of the same variety, and fortunately, absolutely no signs of this, or any other fungus, on any other plants. So I made up a half gallon of Serenade, which is an organic fungicide, and soaked those two plants, and the one next to them, as well as my cucumbers - other plants usually prone to fungal diseases. If it just keeps getting the blight, I'll pull the plants, and get rid of them.

[applestar]

It’s always best to stay ahead of the problem. So when the weather conditions turn humid, muggy, wet, start applying some kind of preventive, as spray and soil drench.

Mine are showing first signs of septoria and early blight too, even though I did spray them last week with probiotics.

Neither of these are fatal and leaves with signs of infection can be cut off (with clean sterile scissors/pruners) as long as upper new foliage growth is strong. Healthy plants can outcompete and outgrow past the infection.

I’m going to start alternating between less toxic chemicals like potassium bicarbonate and light oil/neem oil based solution as well as super dilute lime or vinegar 1:200 water (depending on pH preference) to kill or slow down the fungal spores and clean vs. probiotics/beneficial microbes (Serenade fits in this category) and plant tonics to strengthen their immune system. Once a week or twice a week if I can.

[pepperhead212]

I've been putting them the potassium bicarbonate on the plants as a prophylactic, when I also applied the surround. It mixed with it well, since the surround is basically inert, so it won't react with it.

[applestar]

I thought Serenade is a single organism Bt strain? Maybe I’m mistaken.

…Oh wait, you said you’re mixing the Potassium Bicarbonate with Surround (clay). Got it.

[Gary350]

If what you see that looks like blight only on the lower plant leaves that is natural. If the entire plant is covered with bad leaves that could be blight. But if plants get to dry from no rain in hot sun leaves on the entire plants will turn brown and start to like bad. Symptoms on the plant will tell you what is wrong. If lower leaves and a few others near them look bad cut them off.

Tomatoes get rope from the bottom up. Each time tomatoes grow large in a certain location, green leaves near those tomatoes are no longer needed so the plant allows those leaves to die.

[imafan26]

Tomato blight usually starts on the lower leaves after the first fruit set. The leaves yellow and you get the target spots. There is no saving a plant with blight and it is better not to have it around period.

However, tomatoes are susceptible to a number of fungal diseases especially in warm wet conditions.

Fusarium, verticillium wilts are more common.

1. Select resistant varieties, especially if you live in a humid area.

2. In warm , wet, and humid conditions, use preventive fungal sprays. Fungicides are better at prevention, than cure. Spores will spread and infest more plants and some will persist if they are soil borne.

3. Always remove the lower leaves on the tomatoes that are not needed. Mulch to avoid splashing on the leaves and water the base of the plant. If you have to water the leaves, then do it early in the day so it can dry off.

4. Make sure your plants get enough room to grow, prune the indeterminates, and provide good air movement.

5. Realize, if the weather is against you or the plants have more disease than you can keep up with. They are not worth trying to save. If you have time you can plant another crop. If not learn what diseases are a problem and look for cultivars with better disease resistance next time.

6. While some people never rotate crops and it works for them. If you encounter severe disease or pest problems, it is better not to plant the same family in the same space from year to year. Otherwise, you are just setting up a buffet for the pests next time.

7. Always keep things as clean as possible around the plants. If you have problems, solarize the soil, and sanitize equipment. Next time keep a note of what problems showed up in your journal and scout ahead of time and take preventive measures next time.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/veg ... er/leaves/
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs547/
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-shee ... fungi.html
https://plantpathology.ces.ncsu.edu/wp- ... pdf?fwd=no

[ApertureF11Sniper]

Update......My Tomato plants seem to be recovering....So this was all weather related.