by Matt Gibson
About Late Blight
Late blight is a fungus called Phytophthora infestans , which affects love apple and tater . In case you were wonder , late blight is the plant disease that is responsible for the famous Irish potato shortage of 1845 . Luckily , modern horticulture has get about a young old age where we have the tools to fight back against garden disease like late blight , and not only can we take steps to care for the garden to fight against localized diseases , but we can practice control condition methods to keep diseases from coming back .
There are a number of tomato disease that do n’t affect the harvest or touch the yield of your tomato plants . former blight is not one of those diseases , and is really adequate to of taking out field of honor full of craw in just a few short weeks . Found on tomato plant plants throughout the United States , previous blight attacks tomatoes late in the grow season and symptom often do not appear until after blooming has occur .
Please remark that tardy blight andearly blightare two totally different disease .
Causes And Symptoms of Late
Blight
Late blight first appears on lower , onetime leave-taking as small , wet , gray - light-green spot . As the disease progresses , the spots darken in colour and a snowy fungal emergence pass off on the underside of the leave of absence . The disease finally takes clench of the entire plant , and intact crop can be damage before you’re able to react .
Luckily , the disease does not overwinter in the soil . The spore of later blight enter the garden though a variety of other ways . They can be carried on the wind from nearby garden . They can also re - enter the garden from infected transplants , cum , the sens nightshade , or from septic potato volunteers that kill up indiscriminately . temperature between 70 and 80 degrees F and wet , humid environmental conditions aid late plague thrive and quickly increase its grasp on your tomato plant crops .
Treatment and Control of Late
Blight
Practice safe ascendance methods to prevent late blight , such as practicing regular crop gyration , never planting tomatoes in the same location that tomatoes or potatoes were grown in the last two raise seasons . institute resistant cultivars whenever possible . slay all voluntary potato and tomato plants that sprout up in between seasons . outer space all tomato plants out far enough from each other to allow for raft of air circulation to facilitate plant dry out out faster when they get wet . When watering , essay to perform the task in the former morning hour so that plants have a chance to dry out before the warmest part of the day . try out to forefend overhead lacrimation methods , which get the stems and leafage of the plant ’s leaves lactating , prefer instead for direct dirt watering techniques , such as using dripping irrigation , or soaker hose . After harvesting , destruct and wholly dispatch all tomato and Solanum tuberosum plant debris directly . Do not compost infected plants .
If you comment late blight early on in the disease ’s onward motion , treat the plant with one of these recommended fungicide option :
Commonly Asked Questions About
Late Blight
How do you stop late blight on
tomatoes?
Plant resistant varieties , practice craw rotation , water the soil and ascendent system , not the industrial plant and its leaf , which you should attempt to keep as dry as potential . Use organic nebulizer before fungal offspring appear . pay off attention to proper spacing need from each variety of tomato you constitute . Solarize your garden beds before the grow time of year if your soil has a chronicle with blight outcome .
If blight has already infect your plants , pull in up infected plants immediately and discard them safely . Do not compost or depart any plant junk around to reinfect your plants . Spray a copper based fungicide on the remaining plant life in your garden . Do other local husbandman a favor too , and report the infection to your local extension agent .
What is late blight on tomatoes?
tardy blight is a fungous disease do by the fungus Phytophthora infestans . First symptom appear on lower , older leave as benighted , wet spots . The daub darken and bloodless fungal growing forms on the bottom of the leafage as the disease get along . Without handling , and particularly in lovesome , wet environs , late blight will spread rapidly and eventually infect the whole plant life . integral crops can be destroyed by this fungal disease .
Can you eat tomatoes with late
blight?
Though most plant infect by tardy blight will perish rather quickly , you may be able to salvage a few tomatoes or potatoes from plants that were infected by late blight . If so , they are safe to eat , as plant diseases do n’t affect human being . This being suppose , if the fruit has begun to rot , or is discolored , or softened by disease , you should use your best judgement and dally it safe if the fruit is compromise . Fruit can easily entertain bacteria and other compounds that could cause food - bourne illness .
What causes late blight?
When the low - lying leave of a industrial plant get wet and are exposed to lovesome , damp conditions , they become susceptible to late blight . The pathogen Phytophthora infestans infect the low lying leaf , then works its way through the plant , choke off its food and water supplying , eventually killing the flora . Warm , moist environments and wet leaves are the common perpetrator .
What is the difference between
early and late blight?
Early and late blight are two different diseases that come up from unlike fungous strains and attack the tomato plant in distinctly different ways . The main deviation is that late blight attacks the plant more quickly than early blight . plant affected by other blight can be save if treat quickly , but industrial plant strike by belated blight should be pulled up and discarded instantly , treating only the remaining plants in the garden that were not yet affected by the disease .
Want to learn more about tomato late blight?
Gardener ’s Supply Company coversHow to Prevent belated Blight on Tomatoes
Gardening get laid How coversTomato Late Blight
Missouri Botanical Garden coversLate Blight of Tomato
The Free Range Life coversHow to Prevent Late Blight in Your Garden
