Late Blight may be among us already.

Late Blight Update 5.2.11

Late Blight Diagnosed in Connecticut

Late blight was found on April 22 on tomato and potato in a greenhouse in Connecticut. The plants have been destroyed and none had been sold to the public.

This is a good opportunity to remind everyone that potato tubers are the source of overwintering late blight inoculum in the Northeast. It is not carried on tomato seed and at this point the pathogen is not known to produce overwintering oospores in the Northeast. Planting both tomato and potato in a greenhouse or high tunnel puts the tomato plants at risk of infection.

Most of the late blight found in 2010 was the same strain as was widespread in 2009, suggesting that inoculum got through the winter in infected potato tubers.

Reduce the risk of late blight in 2011 by destroying any potato tubers from 2010. This includes plants coming up from tubers missed at harvest last year, and discarded potatoes in cull or compost piles.

It�s best to plant phytosanitary certified seed*. Purchasing certified seed minimizes but does not eliminate the possibility of infected seed. Inspect seed tubers for late blight lesions before planting, and potato plants regularly for late blight symptoms, especially on the stems as that is where lesions originating from infected seed pieces may first appear.

Check out the links at the right under �Late Blight Resources� for photos of infected potato tubers, and symptoms on potato and tomato plants.

*Phytosanitary potato seed certification programs are state programs designed to regulate the quality of seed produced in that state. Regulations vary from state to state but generally involve inspection of seed production fields and may also involve growing a sample of seed lots in the south during the winter to determine if disease problems are present.

May 2, 2011 : category: Update

Here is a link that might be useful: Late Blight Alerts