![]() ![]() Mulch also helps suppresses weed growth, moderates soil temperature extremes and helps retain soil moisture. Apply a 2–3 inch layer of mulch, using clean straw, black plastic, newspapers topped with wood chips or any other coarse organic material. Prevent rain splash in your garden by covering the soil with mulch. During a rainstorm, water droplets hit the soil surface, splashing water and soil up onto the lowest tomato leaves. All of the diseases mentioned above overwinter on infected plant debris in the soil. If your vegetable garden is not mulched, then mulch it! One of the most common methods of tomato leaf infection is through rain splashing on bare soil. Proper plant spacing allows leaves to dry after rain as quickly as possible. There isn’t anything you can do about leaf wetness from rain or heavy dew, but you can avoid contributing to leaf wetness with your irrigation practices. Water on the leaf surface promotes germination of fungal spores and leaf infection. Keep tomato leaves as dry as possible by applying water to the base of plants through soaker hoses, instead of using an overhead sprinkler. On tomato fruits, bacterial spot results in slightly raised, brown, scabby lesions. Bacterial speck appears as tiny, pinhead sized, raised black specks on tomato leaves and fruits.īacterial spot is very similar to bacterial speck, but the leaf and fruit spots are slightly larger. Early blight occurs in midsummer during warm, humid periods and can spread very rapidly.īacterial speck and spot are both spread from infected plant debris during periods of humid, wet weather. These symptoms appear about 10 days after infection. Dark brown, sunken lesions form on stems and petioles. Elongated lesions develop on stems and petioles.Įarly blight appears as irregular, dark brown areas on the leaves with concentric, black rings developing into a target-like pattern as the spots enlarge. Septoria leaf spot begins as tiny black dots on the leaves, enlarging to small circular spots with a dark margin and gray center. Bacterial infections are spread primarily through rain splash and human activity. Fungal spores are spread during the growing season by wind, water and human activity. They all overwinter in the vegetable garden on infected plant debris. Septoria leaf spot and early blight are two common fungal leaf diseases, while bacterial leaf spot and speck are caused by bacteria. Severe foliage loss can lead to sunscald on developing tomatoes, which are suddenly exposed to more intense sunlight. If too many leaves are killed, then tomato production and quality will be affected. If foliage diseases are not controlled, they can lead to death of the plant. Loss of foliage due to disease, causes the tomato plant to be less productive or vigorous. Foliage diseases weaken infected plants by killing the leaves, which are the plant’s factories for carbohydrate and energy production. Tomatoes are attacked by both fungi and bacterial diseases that affect the leaves, petioles and stems, and cause blemishes on the fruits. Tomatoes are subject to many diseases, both leaf spots and wilts. Nothing is better than a home-grown, garden tomato, but growing tomatoes does have its pitfalls, including disease problems. Early blight appears as irregular, dark brown areas on the leaves with concentric, black rings developing into a target-like pattern as the spots enlarge.
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