Bacterial specs on my green tomatos

Elliot · July 16, 2008

I used the references given and a bunch of my plants have what seems to be bacterial specs on all of the green tomatos. The literature says use a copper based spray. Do you know of any such spray commercially available?

Elliot

LI, New York

bcday · July 16, 2008

I used Bonide Liquid Copper that I got at Agway. It comes as a concentrate in a pint container and you mix 4-6 teaspoons per gallon of water and spray it on the plants. There might be some brand of ready-mixed available too. Even a big box store should have a copper spray of some sort on the shelves.

Be careful, it stains everything it touches blue.

It wasn't really all that effective either. Also, copper stays in the soil and accumulates every time you apply it and it's toxic to beneficial organisms in the soil, so I'm not a real big fan of copper sprays.

The only time I had a problem with bacterial speck was several years ago when we had rain or cloudy weather almost every day for weeks on end, and this year the weather has been very dry with below normal precipitation -- not favorable conditions for bacterial speck. Are you 100% sure that that's what your plants have? Are the specks on the leaves or just the fruit?

Elliot · July 16, 2008

The specs are on the green tomatos. I looked at the pictures and they are typical.

Oddly enough the specs are only on the plants located on the part of our yard where there is less sunlight

bcday · July 16, 2008

Bacterial speck wouldn't be only on the fruit. You would see it all over the plant, on the leaves and stems as well as the fruit. And the weather we're having really does not favor bacterial speck, which needs cool and moist conditions.

Not much use spraying copper if what's on the fruit is something else, because copper doesn't cure everything. Can you post pics of the leaves, stems, and fruit?

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r783101611.html

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/IPM/veg/htms/tombacdis.htm

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3120.html

Elliot · July 18, 2008

. Can you post pics of the leaves, stems, and fruit?

Give me a week. I have to take my dynasour camera and get the film developed and then put on a cd.

July 16, 2008	#1
Elliot Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hicksville, New York Posts: 503	Bacterial specs on my green tomatos I used the references given and a bunch of my plants have what seems to be bacterial specs on all of the green tomatos. The literature says use a copper based spray. Do you know of any such spray commercially available? Elliot LI, New York

July 16, 2008	#2
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	I used Bonide Liquid Copper that I got at Agway. It comes as a concentrate in a pint container and you mix 4-6 teaspoons per gallon of water and spray it on the plants. There might be some brand of ready-mixed available too. Even a big box store should have a copper spray of some sort on the shelves. Be careful, it stains everything it touches blue. It wasn't really all that effective either. Also, copper stays in the soil and accumulates every time you apply it and it's toxic to beneficial organisms in the soil, so I'm not a real big fan of copper sprays. The only time I had a problem with bacterial speck was several years ago when we had rain or cloudy weather almost every day for weeks on end, and this year the weather has been very dry with below normal precipitation -- not favorable conditions for bacterial speck. Are you 100% sure that that's what your plants have? Are the specks on the leaves or just the fruit?

July 18, 2008	#5
Elliot Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hicksville, New York Posts: 503	. Can you post pics of the leaves, stems, and fruit? Give me a week. I have to take my dynasour camera and get the film developed and then put on a cd.