how do you deal with early blight?

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
lssfishhunter Jonesville, SC(Zone 7b) May 15, 2009

How do you deal with early blight on tomatoes? I have a problem every year with it. My plants receive the early/midday sun and are shaded from the evening sun. Thanks.

Post #6551394
Quote
feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) May 15, 2009

Watering — Water plants in the morning or early afternoon whenever possible, and water the soil, not the foliage. Soaker hoses are recommended.

Location — If at all possible, site your plants where they get good early morning sun so that foliage dries out quickly from any accumulation of overnight rain or morning dew.

Mulch — Mulching can help in limiting splashback of fungal spores onto the foliage from the soil. Just be careful not to pile up too much mulch right up next to the stem — be sure to leave a gap of an inch or two to avoid the plant stem rots. Several inches of pine or wheat straw, coastal hay, shredded newspaper, and untreated pine bark are possible mulch choices.

Spacing — Space plants 24″ to 36″ apart for proper airflow. This will tend to limit the chances of disease from spreading from plant-to-plant and will also avoid areas of dense foliage between plants where insects may hide.

Removing diseased foliage — Remove and dispose of diseased foliage on your plants periodically to minimize the possibility of fungal disease spreading to the rest of your plants. Do not add diseased foliage to compost piles.

Selective pruning — We generally don’t prune our plants to a specific pattern such as a central leader or “suckering”. However, we do perform some light cleanup and thinning out of the foliage — especially the bottom 12″ of the plant below the first fruitset — as this can be helpful in allowing the plants to dry out more quickly after rains and morning dew.

Daconil — Early in the season, we usually use a fungal preventative called Daconil (Chlorothalonil). Daconil is a non-systemic fungicide that coats the foliage in order to limit fungal spore attachment. Daconil is not a cure-all, and will not reverse existing disease present on foliage. It is best used as a preventative from the get-go, applied early and regularly.

From SETTFest.com Pests & Diseases article:
http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/pests-and-diseases/

This message was edited May 15, 2009 10:47 AM

This message was edited May 15, 2009 10:48 AM

Post #6552150
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Beginner Gardening Threads

Go to all Beginner Gardening threads
BACK TO TOP