I didn’t know the name of the disease so I started to seek for an answer using Google. I never had this problem with my tomatoes before, so it was an issue I didn’t know how to handle.Īt the time I was able to identify the source of the problem, it was too late to treat the plants with an antifungal. Always read and follow directions on the label.This year, my tomatoes were struck by early blight. Preventative fungicides can also be used to control fungal diseases in the home garden. Mulching tomato plantings this way may also reduce weeds and prevent loss of soil moisture during the growing season. The soil beneath and surrounding the tomato plant should be covered with at least 6 inches of mulch early in the tomato season. The use of a soaker hose to irrigate completely eliminates regular wetting of the leaves.Ĭover crop mulches such as composted leaves or straw mulch can be placed on the soil surface to help reduce soil-borne fungal diseases such as Buckeye rot and Anthracnose fruit rot by keeping developing fruit from coming into direct contact with the soil surface. Watering should be performed in the morning to allow sufficient drying time. Staking or caging tomatoes brings the plants up off the soil and allows more rapid drying of the plant. Tomatoes should be grown in full sun with good air circulation to dry the leaves. Fungi thrive in moist, humid conditions, in particularly on leaves that remain wet for long periods of time. A minimum rotation of three years is considered essential to help reduce populations of soil-borne fungi.Ī second line of defense against leaf spot diseases is to alter the microclimate surrounding tomato plants. ![]() These vegetables all have similar disease problems. ![]() Each year plant tomatoes in a new location away from areas where tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes or peppers have grown in the past. Thoroughly burying the residue will keep the spores below the soil surface and away from tomatoes.Ĭrop rotation is another means to help reduce disease in tomato plantings. At the end of the growing season all tomato refuse should be removed and discarded, composted (if the pile is hot enough to kill the spores) or tilled into the soil. Proper sanitation measures can keep spores from infecting the next crop. ![]() During the next growing season overwintering fungal spores are splashed from infested tomato or weed debris in the soil on to newly planted tomatoes restarting the disease cycle. Fungal spores can overwinter in infected plant debris and on weeds related to tomato, such as horse nettle, ground cherry, and night shade. The first cultural practice is to remove old plant debris. There are a number of cultural practices that can be used to help reduce tomato disease in the home garden. Control Measures for Fungal Diseases in the Home Garden Over time, infected fruit will become soft and mushy. ![]() In moist conditions, white fluffy fungal growth will develop on infected fruit. On green fruit, buckeye rot will produce distinct brownish-black lesions that have a definite concentric or target-like appearance. Buckeye rot of tomato with distinct concentric rings on mature green infected fruit.īuckeye rot typically affects immature and mature green fruit that lay on the soil surface.
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