Bacterial canker in raised vegetable box

9 years ago

Hello, we are first time growers and have just discovered our tomatoes have bacterial canker. They are in a raised vegetable box alongside capsicums, chillies and down the far end zucchinis. I understand we need to remove the infected plants, do all other vegetables in the box need to be disposed of as well? And can we replant other veggies in there afterwards or is the soil no longer useable? And finally, before we discovered the infection my young family sampled the tomatoes that had ripened, does this pose any threat to our health? Thank you for any help in advance!

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Comments (4)

gorbelly
9 years ago
Clavibacter michiganensis pv. michiganensis, which causes bacterial canker of tomato, is very host-specific, so it shouldn't cause disease in other plants.

It's usually spread on infected seed, so do not save seeds from your affected plants. If you grew this year's affected plants from seed, I would discard any remaining seed and get fresh seed next year.

You can use the soil for other veggies, but don't use it again for tomatoes, even if you live somewhere where it freezes. It used to be thought that the bacterium couldn't overwinter in soil, but now some researchers are saying that it can do so as long as there is decaying host material for it (which would include tomato roots that don't get pulled up, any foliage or fruit that you miss which decays in the soil, etc.). So to be safe, get fresh soil for your tomatoes next year.

Your containers shouldn't pose a risk next year if you clean them and disinfect them (bleach solution should work well).

There is no record of infected fruit harming people, so I wouldn't worry about it, but don't can any fruit from affected plants. Many diseases alter the pH of fruit, and if the fruit isn't acidic enough, canning it can be dangerous
missyhunt thanked gorbelly
missyhunt
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you very much for your help. We've ripped out the plants now. Was more than a little disappointing for us on our first attempt..and we had such a nice little crop coming on until that nasty thing took hold.. but onwards and upwards! Thanks again.
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gorbelly
9 years ago
Yeah, this sort of bad luck can happen to any gardener. A shame it happened your first year, but next year could be great. If you haven't gotten a definitive diagnosis on the bacterial canker, just know that it could have been something else. Tomatoes are susceptible to a lot of different diseases and aren't the easiest thing to grow (though not the hardest, either). If the fruit developed the characteristic "bird eye spots", then that's pretty definitive, IMO. If not, a lot of diseases could look similar.
Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a)
9 years ago
Good advise from Gorbelly except that Bacterial Canker can also infect bell peppers. I wouldn't get rid of any soil as a matter of controlling the disease; just rotate out to a different crop for a few years.
missyhunt thanked Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a)