Spores invade the plant tissues either through direct penetration or through injured/damaged areas.ĭespite its name ‘early blight’, symptoms usually develop on the older leaves, mostly, nearing the end of the season.

Older leaves and those under stress are more susceptible. The fungus produces a lot of spores under cool and moist conditions which are then blown by wind or splashed by water to adjacent plants to initiate infection.Įvery part of the crop can be infected with this disease, eventually forming lesions. The pathogen overwinters in infected plant materials in the soil or even on solanaceous weeds. The disease can also occur on other solanaceous crops like eggplant, capsicum etc. I picked them as soon as they blushed, to finish ripening, indoors.Early blight is a fungal disease caused by a fungus Alternaria solani, which mostly affects tomato and potato plants, causing significant losses if not effectively controlled. What would you recommend? BTW, my Romas were from you, and the fruit was fantastic and held on even though i had to cut away most of the foliage, by the end of the summer. I have about 20 buckets, so the potting soil volume is significant. My question is, after our typical artic winter comes and goes, and spring is back, should i discard the soil used in the buckets? Would the fungus still be in the soil to reinfect my new plants for 2024? In the spring, I normally remove the leftover soil, amend, then replace back into the buckets. I believe all of these contributed to the blight and I will never use the leaf mulch again. I also mulched the buckets with dead leaf mulch (first time i did that). However, 2023 was the year of the Canadian ‘smoke’ out, followed by several weeks of cloudy, rainy weather and the blight reared it’s ugly leaves. I have been growing tomatoes this way for years, with great success. It was especially bad for my Roma’s which I grew in 5 gallon self wicking buckets, here in upstate NY (zone 5B). Hello MIgardener Team! This is the first year I experienced rampant blight of my tomatoes. You can clean your tools like pruners simply with a little rubbing alcohol. Proper Sanitation: Clean your tools and hands after handling infected plants to avoid accidentally spreading the pathogen. Remove Infected Plants: If you find plants with late blight, remove them immediately to prevent the spores from spreading to other plants. You may compost or burn these plants since blight spores are found in most soil, the nutrient value is worth more than the risk of additional blight. Early morning and night are best times to spray. Place ingredients in spray bottle and shake until combined and spray ONLY when sun is not peak. Here is a recipe that we use with great success! Using your own fungicide from a homemade spray can often be just as effective as store bought on the home-garden scale. The earlier you detect it, the better your chances of managing it effectively.įungicide Application: Applying fungicides can help prevent the disease, especially if conditions are favorable for its development. Regular Monitoring: Regularly inspect your plants for signs of the disease. Typically on tomatoes the recommended pruning height is around 12 inches.

Pruning: Pruning lower leaves will reduce splashing from the soil as well as increase airflow.

Proper Spacing: Proper plant spacing can enhance air circulation around your plants, reducing humidity and making conditions less favorable for the pathogen. This can help prevent the buildup of the pathogen in the soil. The disease can be carried in infected tubers, seed potatoes, and tomato seeds.Ĭrop Rotation: Do not plant potatoes or tomatoes in the same spot where they or their relatives were grown in the past two years. Healthy Seed Material: Use only certified, disease-free seed potatoes or seeds. Plant Resistant Varieties: Breeding programs have developed potato and tomato varieties that are resistant to late blight. Also, heavily defoliated plants will produce fewer, smaller fruit. This disease does not typically affect the fruit directly, but by defoliating the plant, it can lead to sunscald on the fruit. The center of these spots later turn white and tiny black specks, which are the fruiting bodies of the fungus, can often be seen in the white centers. These spots darken and enlarge to form circular or angular grey or tan areas that may be up to 1/4 inch in diameter. The disease begins as small, water-soaked spots. Septoria leaf spot usually appears on the lower leaves after the first fruit sets.

It is caused by the fungus Septoria lycopersici. Septoria leaf spot, also known as Septoria blight, is a common fungal disease that primarily affects tomatoes but can also occur on other plants.