Help! Is this tomato blight?

My previously healthy tomato plants have, in the last week, developed extensive brown, crinkly leaves (moving up from the bottom to mid-plant by now) and even worse, soft brown disfiguring spots on the green tomatoes themselves. Nothing is really ripe yet (very wet and cool June & July.) They are several heirlooms (raised from seed) in the ground and next to each other and almost all have developed this problem, which looks like it's moving rapidly up towards the top of each plant.
My five tomatoes in Earth Boxes (away from the affected plants) are still fine. Only the EB Stupice is ripe yet, but these five seem to have only the usual minor yellowing of the leaves at the very bottom of the vine.
What is this, and what do I do now? Pull up and discard the affected vines? ;-(

That is so sad to look at. I'm sorry CCG. Without seeing the plant, I would guess LB. shame :(

Spray your toms in EBs immediately.

Thanks, Ray. I have now looked up Late Blight photos on the Web, and that's what I've got, all right.
Thanks for the response, and for the advice about spraying the apparently healthy toms in my EBs ASAP. I garden organically, and the only preventatives listed seem to be Serenade and something using copper. I'll go by my local Agway to get more information.
I thought I was "protected" against LB because my toms were all grown from seed, but the prolonged wet weather must have been the perfect "nursery" for spores that blew in from elsewhere. And I wasn't maintaining a vigilant preventative spraying program against it because I thought I was immune! NOT!

The pictures look like my tomato plants also. I'm in the area affected by Late Blight.

What is the spray EB?

there are threads describing LB .. check the vines - they frequently have blackening from blight as well. I will try to find the link to help you diagnose.

if you di spray, I used ortho disease control and have had no issues this year... people in NY are having a horrific time.

-joe-

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1025016/

a good discussion on blight... i am still looking for the disease id chart

-joe-

I cant seem to find how to start a 'new thread' but would like to know whether I can still eat/cook the tomatoes from a plant that has something (possibly) wrong with it! I found about a 4" black piece of stem and some odd looking leaves on one plant, although the tomatoes themselves looked just fine. There were two similar possibly infected plants so I have got rid of them, but am still wondering whether the fruit is edible?

I don't see why not. if the tomatoes are sick they would show signs even after you pick them.. after a day or so.
someone has a thread here.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1022067/

if you need to start a thread go to the main page of beginner vegetables. scroll all the way down and the form is at the bottom. fill out the subject and than your post. hit the preview button than post it...

either way.. I have never had a problem eating tomatoes off a sick plant.. if I get a sick tomato, I cut off the bad part and if the inside looks good - it's off to dinner! - if it has late blight the tomato will die on your windowsill in a two or three days.. take all the fruit (even the green ones) if you are pulling out your plants.. most tomatoes will ripen on the windosill.. be as sure as you can before pulling the plants out.
-joe-

Thank you very much for the advice. I'm not sure whether it is tomato blight exactly - the plants may have had 'something' though I'm not quite sure what. I kept the tomatoes outside in a separate bag for a couple of days and I've cut a couple open, and they seem just fine. Fingers crossed! Thanks again.

i will try to find this link I have .. it has pictures of every disease...

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/diagnostickeys/TomWlt/TomWiltKey.html

found it.. it is dry but comprehensive...
(some things i can never figure out ) if it is just the leaves, I usually let them go and just pull off the dying ones. your problem is fruit .. i'd start spraying.


this one is a little easier but less comprehensive

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/tomatoproblemsolver/

Thanks JJ & Capecod
Thanks for the link to the other thread, Capecod. Unfortunately I'm not a subscribing member yet. (yep, I'm a n00b)

The problems I'm having most closely resemble LateBlight. The conclusive pics are the ones of Green tomataos, both in the pic & my tomatos are rotting from the stem.

At what point is trying to save the plant hopeless? I've got 7 close together, most of them seem to be a loss. All tho there are some unaffected stems & green tomato's.
4 other plants are farther away & have considerably more foliage left. On the 4 plants, I've trimmed the brown & yellow stems off & spayed with a fungicide spray recommended by the local extension office. I don't remember the name.

JJconcepts - thanks very much for the links. I think if I have got tom. blight - it's fairly mild but I got rid of a few plants, just in case. The other plants seem to be ok, though I'm keeping an eye on them. I picked the fruit from the plants I pulled up, left them in a bowl and after a few days they seem just fine. I'd always thought tomatoes were so easy!

Fodee, you are doing a great job.. and tomatoes are easy. What we have is an extreme case this year, like the swine flu - in that once in a blue moon something comes along and is crazy- at least that is what is happening in the northeast U.S... well. being that you are in the U.K. you have similar issues that will occasionally pass thru. you do have to care for the soil like it is your child (sounds funny) if you care for it, organically or not, all your crops will seem 'easy' and be extremely rewarding.

Adapa.. great to meet you. ... We are very wet in New England this year - and there is a lot of hype for late blight... justified, but be sure that is what you have because unless plants are too far gone they can and will rebound or reproduce. EXCEPT for late Blight (i am sure there are others, i am speaking from experience - not education) if your plants are yellowing, it may not be late blight - look at the stems - they may turn grey before they get a chance to yellow with LB. yellowing can be too much rain or early blight, or a host of others. If you have Late blight the responsible thing is to pull the plants and toss them into regular garbage so they never see the light of day again.

Keep spraying.. spray the soil as well and be sure to spray after each rain.
good luck - I hope you get to harvest something during this unusually wet year.
-joe-

Thanks for your kind words JJ. No, there is no graying, just browning of the stems, rot on the stem end of some tomatoes and a progressive browning of the foliage in a pattern exactly like the LB pictures.

If it is LB and some plants only moderately effected, can I aggressively trim the browned leaves & spray according to the directions. Or are all the tom's a loss?

Also, after spraying the soil can I plant another crop, say of carrots? or should I let it sit for a while?

I've had this small (10'x20') garden for 10 years with occasional success. Actually this year was shaping up to be a very successful year. I've got exceptionally well draining soil despite all the massive amounts of organic matter I've added over the years. My beans, peas, cuks & summer sq have been *very* productive.



This message was edited Aug 19, 2009 6:50 AM

it is my understanding that LB will devastate everything and spread for miles.. It is also my understanding that the disease gets inside the plants and therefore you will most likely be unable to recover.. I have been spraying diligently since the warnings came out..and am still having some issues due to the rain. many others.. especially in NY state have seen total losses. I am not a botanist by any means - just lucky sometimes. if Carolyn or some of the other knowledgeable users stops by this thread - they have been extremely helpful to everyone in Identification of diseases and there are several others who can give you advice to hang your hat on .

if you leave them in and it is LB - you may lose every tomato and possibly potatoes as well. If it isn't LB you (in my experience) you have a shot. My guess - reading about how fast LB moves.. If you still have plants in a few days it might be something else...by no means is that advice .. i am just calling it a guess.

JJ, that aggie-horticultural thread with photos that you listed was really helpful. Thanks. I'm bookmarking it for future reference in my garden.
The responses to my question on the other DG thread (which you cited above) helped me decide that I actually had a severe case of Early Blight plus leaf wilt. I didn't have the tell-tale LB blackened spots on the stems. But I still had 30 plants in all that were so decimated that I decided to pull them up anyway. ;-(
Still have five 'maters in Earth boxes that I am nursing along (pulling off leaves, spraying with Serenade) and I'm getting some ripe toms finally--now that the weather has finally warmed up. But I still have crispy brown leaves and brown fruits developing. Not a good year for tomatoes!
Thanks for all your good advice.

i didn't even consider a combination of diseases.. I am glad it is working out.. I have a lot going on as well, but the tomatoes keep coming. Just hoping to keep them perky for a few more weeks..

-joe-

joe,
I pulled up the worst of the tom's. I'm gonna try the fungicide on the lesser problem plants to see if maybe the problem isn't LB. We'll see, I'm not optimistic.
I've got some of it replanted already with bush beans. I had some seed leftover. ;-) They'll freeze but who knows maybe I can get a harvest. What I really need to find is that package of kale seeds I had a few weeks ago.....

We're working up a plan to deal with the clean up/sterilization.
thanks for the advice on the botany of LB! I do need to look into going 'subscriber'
alyssa

I found subscribing to be immensly useful.. as far as later ceops .. it is late for broccoli for you, beans were a good idea. Peas might make it, but the best - if you have use for them - are root crops like carrots, turnip, swede, parsnips for winter soup and stews. You may be able to get dwarf cabbage but you are right with the kale - i'm not a fan - but some people love it.

keep spraying, I am using otho disease control and it is working out well ..

goog luck and i hope you are inland enough that if this hurricane goes inland your tomatoes will stay up. (i'm on the shore and nervous about a nor'easter like effect)

-joe-

thanks for the suggestion of parsnips. I hadn't thought of them. i've got to get some carrot seed anyway I might as well look for parsnips seed too.
I'm well inland, almost in the mountains, zone5a ish in a easy winter. Yeah, the hurricane is worrisome, the last thing the coastal tourist industry or healthy tomato plants need.

Putting my garden to bed this fall will include a healthy dose of fungicide. Along with bleaching my tools & tomato cages. I think I will also add some of the fungicide to my compost heap- just 'cuz.
Good thought to preemptively spray my tomato plants next year. thank you

Hi all, I too have had a tough time with tomatoes. I have many things going on. Japenese beetles, flea beetles, and what I believed to be bacterial leaf spot or blight.

I was told after growing season to solarize my soil by using a tarp or black plastic to cover the garden spot bury the edges and put a couple rocks in middle so it will stay put. Leave on until ready to start next spring. Supposedly the heat buildup is suppose to kill any spores in the ground.

Nothing to lose so am going to give it a try. Good luck with your toms. So far mine are still alive but been raining so much haven't been able to spray for a couple days that it don't get washed off. I also pull all bad leaves and stems. New leaves keep coming on so haven't pulled any

I actually tried solarizing my soil one summer, 2 years ago I think. I wasn't worried about fungus but particularly annoyed about bugs. Plus it was a busy summer & the garden had not been very productive.
It was moderately successful. My lack of success turned out to be a fertilizer problem as apposed to a insect issue.

I do put black plastic over my garden after I put it to bed, primarily to keep acidic pine straw out of my garden. It would be super cool if doing the the plastic would sterilize the soil!
Thanks

This message was edited Aug 22, 2009 7:44 AM

I am an upstate New Yorker and once I heard about the late blight I started spraying with Bonide Fungonil. I tried to be as organic as I could but this year it is impossible.

At least I have tomatoes. I put in 50 plants I started from seed and cared for more lovingly than I did my DH. If it took fungicide to get tomatoes I was okay with that.

We also have a problem with Blight here in the UK. I have salvaged most of my tomatoes and made lots of chutney (yummy) with them. I found the tomatoes I'd grown in pots seem to be fine, but the ones I'd grown in the garden itself, were suspect - so have bagged them up and watered the soil with Jeyes Fluid and wont grow tomatoes there next year.

CCGardener I was told to leave tarp on all winter and that even with our cold temps it will get hot enough under the tarp. Don't know if it works this will be first year to try it. Figured it couldn't hurt anything.
Good Luck

Good luck to you, too. jjsgramma. I'm very tempted to do the tarp thing with my veggie garden. Usually I sow winter rye for a green manure crop over the winter, but I'm nervous this year since I had such a bad case of Early Blight--maybe solarizing my garden under a tarp would be a good thing.

isn't it airborne though?

wow thanks! guess I missed that.. good thing to think about for next spring

it would seem, from my experience that is is airborne and settles on or in the soil. the plants are generally affected from the bottom and it works it's way up. I planted a new area on the other side of the house where there was only grass.. tomatoes still showed signs. With fungicide, I am having a very productive year. A gentleman from ct. dept. of agriculture came today to test my chickens. He has seen at least half of the people he visited (residences) lost everything.

JJ, that makes sense--that the funguses arrive in the air and can settle in the soil.
I staked my in-ground tomatoes AND used black plastic mulch underneath them (watering by drip) and still they were so badly affected that I had to pull them up, which is an indication that the diseases arrived via air. Planting mine too close together in a very wet summer just made it worse.

Wonder how long the fungus stays in the soil particles? A season? A year?

i have been growing for years... I learned to work with it.. most years get dry much earlier. I water only in july and august 1 time per week. I will always lose some lower parts of the plants but that is usually all i lose. when the diseases get bad every fer years i spray regularly until it dries up and again and in the following spring I spray the soil--- things clear up pretty well for 4-5 years after that

So how did my upside down plants get it if it comes from the ground up? just curious :)

-Dave

spores are airborne.. I don't know the pathology.... do you know what in fact they got? My personal devils are EB and grey mold.

I don't know the exact name... but I do know I lost 13 tomato plants :( 3 hung and the rest in the ground