Help! Tomato Blight???

[NBC3Mom]

All of my tomatoes were started from Martin's seeds (thankfully), not bought at Walmart. We have had 8" of rain in June and 90+ temps for weeks. The bottom leaves are turning brown and yellow with brown spots on others. Is this the dreaded Tomato Blight? If so, are there any organic remedies.
The tomatoes are planted near 5 long rows of potatoes. Could they become affected?

While I have the experts attention, I planted a peach tree last summer but have not pruned it yet. I was reading an article yesterday explaining how to prune the first year--take off all of the side shoots, top it off, etc. Is it too late now? Should I do it in the fall or wait until next year?

Thank you for any/all help!

[kbshorts]

Sounds like blight, I am sure Martin will be along with some guidance soon, for me I use a copper fungicide with a spreader sticker in the mix at least once a week. If it is a bad infection I will alternate the copper with Mancozeb and occasionally mix in a bit of fish emulsion to give them a boost. I never stop it but usually hold it at bay long enough to harvest. I can't help with the peach issue.

Keith

[NickieL]

I feel sorry for you folks that get that stuff....I don't know what I would do if I ever got it. i've been lucky my whole life and have never had to deal with any kind of blights at all.

[Paquebot]

Don't worry about the bottom leaves turning brown or spotted. If you don't like the looks of them, simply remove them. At this time of year, there are a number of other things which cause that and late blight is not one of them. The color that you don't want to see is black. That's the color of the lesions on the stems and fruit. That would be late blight.

After over a foot of rain just this month, went through the plots this morning to check for blight. Lots of yellow lower leaves including my own. It's only cosmetic and no danger. After the mild winter, there's no question about if we'll see late blight but when we'll see it. It simply must show up again in any area which grew potatoes and had it last year. So far, no sign of any.

Martin

[MaineFarmMom]

Here's an interesting article on the late blight life cycle.

According to Purdue University, late blight has been confirmed in Florida, Michigan, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky this year.

[woodsy]

That was an interesting article.
Last years strain of late blight affected tomatoes more than potatoes.
Different strains of late blight, hmmmm, learn something new everyday.
So, with confirmed strains of late blight being reported, will anyone be spraying copper fungicide this year ?
If so, any particular brand of product recommendations ?

[Use Less]

could be "septoria leaf spot". the same fungal treatments are recommended for early blight, leaf spot & late blight.

[Use Less]

fungal diseases tend to start low & spread up. the initial infection comes from the soil. (except late blight, which is airborne). so removing the bad leaves of early blight, leaf spot can be helpful if only to open a little airspace. I clean my hands between plants in a bucket of soapy water and if using pruners, dip them in a bleach solution.

[VT Chicklit]

I started spraying a copper fungicide today. We have had alot of rain and we have alternated between hot and cool temps. I found white foamy looking fungus on a couple of stems of my tomatoes as well as on some of the hay that I have planted the plants in. I am not sure of the type of fungus but any fungus is bad! I hope copper fungicide treatments weekly will either kill the fungus or keep it at bay.

[PrettyPaisley]

I've been using copper fungicide as well but it's only slowing things up not getting rid of them.

Mine started with just the lower limbs but it is definitely working it's way up the plant. I had to throw away 2 plants this week. We have 55 total so 2 isn't much but at this rate we won't have anything left soon.

[used2bcool13]

Bring a sample in to your local extension office if thats possible or take a picture and email it to them. I get yellowed leaves on the bottom branches sometimes and I think its because of the water splashing up. I just remove them, like Martin said, and move on.

I would like to say watch it a little longer but I don't want you to have alot of problems if it is a fungus or blight.

If it is just one plant maybe you could dig it up and put in in a pot in another section of the garden etc for a while. If it is a fungus or lots of rain has been a problem then choose a sunny place and see if that helps.

Aren't Martin's seeds great?... sigh... I really have to take some pictures.

[frankva]

Originally Posted by VT Chicklit

I started spraying a copper fungicide today. We have had alot of rain and we have alternated between hot and cool temps. I found white foamy looking fungus on a couple of stems of my tomatoes as well as on some of the hay that I have planted the plants in. I am not sure of the type of fungus but any fungus is bad! I hope copper fungicide treatments weekly will either kill the fungus or keep it at bay.

http://www.google.com/images?client=...ed=0CDUQsAQwAw

Any chance that the foamy goo was from this?

[Paquebot]

Remember what I said about anything working up from the bottom. It's not good but also not usually fatal. They primarily just affect the leaves. That's not how late blights work. Their spores come in via the air and initially only affect wherever they land. That may be a single leaf, single fruit, or single spot on a stem. But then it gets into the plant's vascular system and the plant has no defense for it. It takes over and the plant becomes a nursery for more spores to be released into the air. Then it can move on to the next field or garden.

Martin

[VT Chicklit]

The "Foamy Goo is not from a spittle bug, unfortunatly/ This stuff only looks foamy. It is actually solid and kind of crumbly.