So I think its dead..help!

[Aya]

Hello All

I was asking the other day if anyone knew if stalks turning brown on my tomato plants was a disease..and I didn't get many responses, so I'm trying again. My large cherry tomato plant is still in good shape, but my Cherokee purple is plagued with brown stalks and yellowing leaves. Any insight? Can it be saved?

[img]https://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p121/WereAya/Disease.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p121/WereAya/Dieingtomato.jpg[/img]

[gardenvt]

It looks like late blight to me.

https://organicgardening.about.com/od/diseases/p/tomatoleafspot.htm

[DoubleDogFarm]

Most likely a bacterial or fungal disease. For me, it usually means death of the plant.


Eric

[gixxerific]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9A09WRrLAg&feature=player_embedded

I kind of thought that it was late blight myself but didn't want to say in case I was wrong. It is bad if this is the case DO NOT compost that plant. Pull it and cook that sucker in a black trash bag if possible to try and kill the disease before throwing it away. This can at least help curtail the spreading of the disease since it is very resilient.

I hope I'm wrong and good luck.

[johnny123]

Brilliant, Brilliant Indeed!!!

I posted that once to burn the plant and one said he can't burn outside.
I said burn it in the BBQ and one said she didn't have a BBQ.

Boil it!!!! Everyone has a stove and a pot of hot water-Right.

Brilliant, Brilliant Indeed!!!

[Aya]

Darn! My big cherry tomato plant has a few of the spotted leaves, but not the dark brown stems yet..guess there's no heirlooms for me this year

What causes Blight?

[rainbowgardener]

It's a fungal disease. There are a variety of anti-fungals for plants:

milk solution
baking soda solution
Neem oil
Tea tree (maleleuca) oil
3% hydrogen peroxide straight out of the bottle sprayed
cinnamon and chamomile tea
garlic solution spray
copper sulfate

Before you give up on your plants, I'd try removing the diseased leaves and then trying some of the above.

[johnny123]

Remove all the leaves that you think might be infected on the cherry tomato plant.
If it is spotted leaf disease you can control it by trimming.

Boil them. LOL

[garden5]

Remove all the leaves that you think might be infected on the cherry tomato plant.
If it is spotted leaf disease you can control it by trimming.

Boil them. LOL

You can also bury them. However, I found that if you bury lots of diseased tomato leaves/stems and then place the sod back over them you will be left with a sink-hole in your yard after a few weeks of underground decomposition .

[johnny123]

Probably get someone saying thet don't have a shovel or a yard. LOL

[Aya]

Thanks everyone, I'll try the milk solution. Any particular dilution rate that everyone favors?

[rainbowgardener]

For prevention 10% milk, for treatment 50%. Type milk solution into the Search the Forum keyword box and find lots of recipes/ how to's. However, the milk solution is good for powdery mildew, a different fungus. If you really have blight, that's a serious and tough one, I'm not sure the milk solution will be effective against it. Even with powdery mildew, the milk works best preventatively or if you catch it early, not so much if you have an advanced case.

I'd try one of the more potent ones, like peroxide (test it on one area first before spraying everything, to be sure it doesn't burn your plant), or Neem.

Here's an off the top of my head guess (with NO research behind it) of strength of these:

milk
cinnamon//chamomile
garlic
baking soda
peroxide
Tea tree oil
Neem oil
copper sulfate

Whatever you use, I'd be prepared to either go down the list or at least repeat the treatment every week or so until your plant is healthy again (and then continue at lesser intensity preventatively)

Another good prevention and maybe treatment for mild cases is compost tea used as foliar spray.

[applestar]

When you cut the diseased leaves and stems/branches, have some rubbing alcohol in a mini-sprayer ready (I get the little plastic atomizer usually sold for packing a personal kit when traveling). Thoroughly spray your pruner BEFORE and AFTER each cut.

Examine the cut ends of the plant both in your hand and on the plant. With late blight, you'll see the brownness spreading just inside the "skin" of the plant. Cut several inches past where there are no more hint of infected tissue, and spray that cut with the alcohol.

This may or may not help cure the plant, but might allow the plant to hang on a little longer. Once the brown reaches the main trunk/vine, the plant is done for and "amputation" will not help. RIP.

I think bagging and attempting to sterilize is a good idea since you are going to bag and toss anyway, take the extra step to prevent the disease from escaping. From the discussion on solarization, I think clear plastic bag may help cook the diseased plant material better. I believe the best way to get maximum heat is to enclose black plastic bag INSIDE a clear plastic bag.

Burning is certainly an option where such an activity is allowed. But is there any chance of toxicity when it comes to green solanacea (nightshade family)? People allergic to poison ivy is affected by the smoke when if they come in contact with burning poison ivy smoke, especially bad when smoke is accidentally inhaled.

--
@johnny123, let it go, OK? Different areas have different regulations that people have to abide by.

[Aya]

Thanks for all of the tips! I'll be sure any try them out. This year has been a great learning experience!