![]() ![]() Late blight is the least common blight on tomatoes, but it is, by far, the most destructive. To prevent tomato blight from invading next year's crop, burn everything the fungus may have touched including fruit and foliage. Because the crop is almost ready for picking, this may be the most disappointing tomato blight. Black spots on the almost ripened fruit turn into large bruised spots and the fruit begins to fall. Rings resembling targets develop first on the leaves and cankers soon grow on the stems. Early blight appears after heavy fruit set. Solutions to the problem include watering only at the base of plants, and avoiding the garden while foliage is wet. Overall, it is the least harmful tomato blight. While fruits may remain uninfected, the leaf loss can affect yield as well as exposing the fruit to sunscald. It usually appears at the end of July with small black or brown marks on the lower leaves. Septoria blight, also called leaf spot, is the most common blight on tomatoes. Pro tip: Make sure not to use fungicides in weather warmer than 80 degrees.What is tomato blight? It's actually three different fungi that attack tomatoes in three different ways at three different times. Repeat this treatment after 7-14 days, or as the label directs you to. Wait 24 hours after spraying your plants and remove the lower branches and leaves. Both of these treatments are organic and will not harm your plants. You will also want to keep fertilizing your plant.Īnother way to fight early blight is to thoroughly spray your plant with a fungicide like Bonide Liquid Copper Fungicide concentrate or Bonide Tomato & Vegetable. After removing all the dead and infected leaves make sure to keep leaves dry to reduce the spreading of the disease. Removing more than one-third of the plant's leaf will risk killing it. When trimming your plant to remove all infecting or dying leaves, stems, and fruit, it is okay to remove up to one-third of the plant's leaves. Note, many other plants can be infected with early blight, not just your tomatoes. If you use tools, you will need to wash and sanitize them as well when you are done so they do not infect any other plants. If you touch the infected leaves, make sure to wash your hands well before working in healthy tomato plants. Do not leave them in the soil or near the plant. The first thing you should do when managing early blight is cut leaves with leaf spots and get rid of them. Managing or getting rid of early blight can be difficult but there are some things that can be done. This will keep your soil healthy and in turn keep your plant healthy.Īnd each season when you're about to plant your garden again make sure that it has been at least two years before you plant tomatoes in the same spot. Pruning the bottom leaves of your plant can also prevent early blight and its spores from splashing up from the soil onto leaves when you water your plant.Īnother thing you can do to help prevent early blight is to increase the airflow by trellising your plant, removing weeds and dead leaves, and spacing plants apart giving them plenty of room to grow. Letting water pool around the bottom of the plant and on the leaves can cause a number of different problems for your plant so it's best to avoid it altogether. There are a few things you can do in your garden and an easy thing to start off with is covering the soil under your tomato plants with mulch, and there are many different varieties to choose from (organic, inorganic).Īnother way to prevent early blight is to make you are always water at the base of each plant, being careful not to overwater or let water collect on the leaves. Since early blight is so common on tomato plants and how quickly it can destroy your plants, it is good to know how to prevent it.
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