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george_23

Blight???

19 years ago

There are many people in this area (south Arkansas) who have problems with tomatoe plants dying. The very top of the plant starts to turn a dark green and shrivle. The leaves curl up and the plant stops growing. I've been told to pull it up and burn it. I've also been told that the blight can stay in the soil for 2 years. I've tried epson salt and powdered skim milk mixed with water and poured on the roots of the plant weekly. So far this year I have not had any plants die, so maybe it works, but is there something better and more fool proof? I've noticed some leaf curl as of late, but not like in the past. I was very late planting this year. I did not plant until mid April, and now they are about 2 to 3 foot high. That's usually when the blight starts. I'm worried and don't know what to do if it reoccurs.

HELP me - someone!!!!!

Comments (4)

  • 19 years ago

    There is a product, Oxidate, that you can dip the plants before transplanting and even treat the soil before planting. It comes in 2.5gal jugs at a price of $149.00 from Johnny's seeds. I emailed the manufacturer and they told me that by the end of the year they would have a smaller size for the home market.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Oxidate

  • 19 years ago

    I wish I could be of help, but I'm too wondering if I'm having blight problems again. I live in Ca. and we had some cool wet weather late in April when I noticed the leaves on my tomato plants were curling and turning dark green and even dark purple. So I destroyed all my plants. I started over again using a good anti-fungal copper soap once a week or when the rain comes to help with the disease. Everything was just fine until yesterday when I used my organic pest control spray which is made mostly from lemon and clove. I noticed the leaves on my plants were doing the same exact thing. So I dont know if this pest spray is burning my plants or giving my plants blight, but I'm not using the dam pest spray anymore. The copper anti-fungal soap has been fine. So take that for what it worth.

  • 19 years ago

    I don't know, but in my area--Seattle--I get a deadly early blight that kills seedlings, but clears up with warmer, drier weather.

    The survivors among same seedlings that were ravaged earlier in the year are doing fine now.

    It hits them extremely fast, and the spores must blow right into my house because this year they got it indoors. I set them out for a few hours so I could spray them, and they deteriorated even faster. They look like they're melting and they're dead in a few hours.

    Nothing I have tried seems to clear it up except warmer, drier weather. It seems to be extremely resistent to fungicides. I am guessing it is probably one of the cooler-growing Phytophthoras.

    I am also suspicious that one variety of seeds carried some sort of pathogen on them, because they were sickly and chlorotic from the time of germination.

    The only thing that seems to work for me is to count on planting out my tomatoes no earlier than mid-May, and being careful not to wet the leaves.

    Red peppers growing in the same seed trays as the tomatoes were unaffected. Whatever it is, red peppers (Capsicum) are more resistent despite being in the same family.

  • 19 years ago

    From your description - "The very top of the plant starts to turn a dark green and shrivle. The leaves curl up and the plant stops growing." this doesn't sound like the typical blight we get in Arkansas. It sounds more like one of the viral wilts to me but couldn't be sure without seeing.

    Can you possibly post a picture? I would also contact the county AG extension office and see if you can take in a sample for ID. The link below provides pictures of the more common bacterial and viral diseases. Check them out and see if you can make an ID from any of them. Especially take a look at the one of tomato spotted wilt virus and compare it to the stems and leaves on your plants. Just click on the pics to enlarge them for a better view.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Common Tomato Diseases

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