Be on the lookout for blight
on tomatoes, potatoes and petunias.
This item comes from the Cornell Horticulture blog, via Garden Rant:
"Home gardeners need to be on the lookout for Late Blight, a very destructive and very infectious disease that’s killing tomato and potato plants in gardens and on commercial farms in the eastern U.S.
"Late blight is the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s. It has never occurred this early and this widespread in the U.S. One of the most visible early symptoms of the disease is brown spots (lesions) on stems. They begin small and firm, then quickly enlarge, with white fungal growth developing under moist conditions that leads to a soft rot collapsing the stem.
"You need to act quickly to protect your garden-grown tomato and potato plants and to make sure that your plants don’t become a source of spores that could infect commercial farms, as late blight spores are easily dispersed by wind.
"Here are the steps you should take:
1. Examine your tomato and potato plants thoroughly at least once a week for signs of late blight.
2. Spray fungicides preventively and regularly and/or
3. Be prepared to destroy your plants when late blight starts to become severe. Seal them in a plastic bag. Do not put them in the compost pile.
"If you want to try to control late blight with fungicides, you need to begin spraying fungicide now – even before you see symptoms – and you need to continue spraying regularly. Use a product that contains chlorothalonil. Copper is not very effective on late blight.
"Petunias, which are closely related to tomatoes and potatoes, can also be infected by late blight and show similar symptoms.
"Late blight is very destructive. Uncontrolled, it will kill plants faster than any other disease. And it affects tomato fruit — especially green ones. Considering how early it is in the growing season, how long it will be until tomatoes peak and potatoes are at a size worth harvesting, and how much spraying you may need to do in an attempt to prevent loss to late blight, seriously consider growing more of the other vegetables instead of tomatoes and potatoes this year.
"One source of late blight in New York has been traced to tomato plants imported to garden centers from production facilities in the south. If you started your own tomatoes from seed or bought locally grown plants, they are unlikely to be infected, at least initially.
"On Thursday July 2, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., vegetable specialists from Rutgers University and Cornell University will be holding a webinar on late blight and other important diseases of tomato will for interested homeowners, master gardeners and extension personnel in the Northeast.
"All are invited to log-on by clicking on the following link at 7:30 on Thursday evening: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=783&password=M.0F6AA3BB4AF839F512A8243F881332
"To participate in the webinar:
1. Click on the above link by clicking on the hyper-link (You can join the session up to _ hour before it begins).
2. Type your name or nickname in the box.
3. Click login button.
4. Follow on-screen directions.
"We recommend that you make sure that your computer is configured properly to use Elluminate software. Simply click on this link (http://www.elluminate.com/support) before the session date and follow steps 1 and 2.
"For more information on the webinar, please contact Steven Komar, Sussex County Agricultural Agent, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at skomar@aesop.rutgers.edu or at 973-948-3040."
"Home gardeners need to be on the lookout for Late Blight, a very destructive and very infectious disease that’s killing tomato and potato plants in gardens and on commercial farms in the eastern U.S.
"Late blight is the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s. It has never occurred this early and this widespread in the U.S. One of the most visible early symptoms of the disease is brown spots (lesions) on stems. They begin small and firm, then quickly enlarge, with white fungal growth developing under moist conditions that leads to a soft rot collapsing the stem.
"You need to act quickly to protect your garden-grown tomato and potato plants and to make sure that your plants don’t become a source of spores that could infect commercial farms, as late blight spores are easily dispersed by wind.
"Here are the steps you should take:
1. Examine your tomato and potato plants thoroughly at least once a week for signs of late blight.
2. Spray fungicides preventively and regularly and/or
3. Be prepared to destroy your plants when late blight starts to become severe. Seal them in a plastic bag. Do not put them in the compost pile.
"If you want to try to control late blight with fungicides, you need to begin spraying fungicide now – even before you see symptoms – and you need to continue spraying regularly. Use a product that contains chlorothalonil. Copper is not very effective on late blight.
"Petunias, which are closely related to tomatoes and potatoes, can also be infected by late blight and show similar symptoms.
"Late blight is very destructive. Uncontrolled, it will kill plants faster than any other disease. And it affects tomato fruit — especially green ones. Considering how early it is in the growing season, how long it will be until tomatoes peak and potatoes are at a size worth harvesting, and how much spraying you may need to do in an attempt to prevent loss to late blight, seriously consider growing more of the other vegetables instead of tomatoes and potatoes this year.
"One source of late blight in New York has been traced to tomato plants imported to garden centers from production facilities in the south. If you started your own tomatoes from seed or bought locally grown plants, they are unlikely to be infected, at least initially.
"On Thursday July 2, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., vegetable specialists from Rutgers University and Cornell University will be holding a webinar on late blight and other important diseases of tomato will for interested homeowners, master gardeners and extension personnel in the Northeast.
"All are invited to log-on by clicking on the following link at 7:30 on Thursday evening: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=783&password=M.0F6AA3BB4AF839F512A8243F881332
"To participate in the webinar:
1. Click on the above link by clicking on the hyper-link (You can join the session up to _ hour before it begins).
2. Type your name or nickname in the box.
3. Click login button.
4. Follow on-screen directions.
"We recommend that you make sure that your computer is configured properly to use Elluminate software. Simply click on this link (http://www.elluminate.com/support) before the session date and follow steps 1 and 2.
"For more information on the webinar, please contact Steven Komar, Sussex County Agricultural Agent, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at skomar@aesop.rutgers.edu or at 973-948-3040."
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12:18 AM
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