Blight?

duajones · April 27, 2012

I have a friend that lives in Austin that sent pics of her plants and I identified the problem as blight, which is what it looks like to me. She took a sample to a local nursery and they told her it wasnt blight but probably a nutrient defieciency.
Your thoughts?

sfmathews · April 27, 2012

I've got plants that look like that and I can tell you mine don't suffer from nutrient deficiency. Looks like blight to me.

saltmarsh · April 27, 2012

Looks like the top plant is suffering from a nutrient deficiency and the second plant has a case of early blight to me.

RayR · April 27, 2012

Older leaves turning yellow - Nitrogen deficiency. Over-watering can cause that too, roots drowning will cause nutrient deficiency, so can root burn from too much fertilizer.
Bottom picture looks like insect damage to me, maybe attracting pests because the plants are in a weakened state.
There's a lot of excess room in those containers for more soil.

duajones · April 27, 2012

I already told her she needed bigger containers and more soil but she didnt listen. I still believe it is blight but dont doubt some insect pressure as well.

feldon30 · April 28, 2012

Second picture looks like Early Blight and some insect activity. Careful, if you say just "Blight" then you'll get the horticultural police called on you.

First picture does look like a nutrient deficiency and I would not rule out the container soil being too dense and thus preventing proper root growth and water uptake.

rsg2001 · April 29, 2012

On the first plant, is the yellowing stem you show the ONLY yellowing stem on the plant? If so, then I agree that it is likely older leaves which can turn yellow and look like that, and/or overwatering.

If you have other branches turning yellow scattered throughout the plant, I would diagnose fusarium wilt. The second photo looks like early blight; you might spray Serenade to help keep it from spreading any more.

Annie · April 29, 2012

This is what my plant looked like and I sprayed it a week it last Tuesday and they look much better. I was afraid it was that horrible wilt but since it is better after I sprayed it with dacomil it is looking better. I have blight on my potato plants, can that spread to the tomatoes? Also when are you suppose to harvest potatoes. This is the first time I have planted them. They are near the tomato plants that got the blight. Could it have spread from them to my tomato plants ? I have also sprayed them and they are looking better.

janezee · May 9, 2012

Late blight definitely can spread from potato to tomato and vise versa. Late blight caused the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840's.

Annie · May 9, 2012

Thanks, I will know better next year, don't plant potatoes near my tomatoes.

April 27, 2012	#1
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Blight? I have a friend that lives in Austin that sent pics of her plants and I identified the problem as blight, which is what it looks like to me. She took a sample to a local nursery and they told her it wasnt blight but probably a nutrient defieciency. Your thoughts? __________________ Duane Jones

April 27, 2012	#5
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	I already told her she needed bigger containers and more soil but she didnt listen. I still believe it is blight but dont doubt some insect pressure as well. __________________ Duane Jones

April 28, 2012	#6
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Second picture looks like Early Blight and some insect activity. Careful, if you say just "Blight" then you'll get the horticultural police called on you. First picture does look like a nutrient deficiency and I would not rule out the container soil being too dense and thus preventing proper root growth and water uptake. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

April 27, 2012	#2
sfmathews Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Allen, TX Posts: 398	I've got plants that look like that and I can tell you mine don't suffer from nutrient deficiency. Looks like blight to me.

April 27, 2012	#3
saltmarsh Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: 2 miles south of Yoknapatawpha Zone 7b Posts: 662	Looks like the top plant is suffering from a nutrient deficiency and the second plant has a case of early blight to me.

April 27, 2012	#4
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	Older leaves turning yellow - Nitrogen deficiency. Over-watering can cause that too, roots drowning will cause nutrient deficiency, so can root burn from too much fertilizer. Bottom picture looks like insect damage to me, maybe attracting pests because the plants are in a weakened state. There's a lot of excess room in those containers for more soil.

April 29, 2012	#7
rsg2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Zone 6 Posts: 479	On the first plant, is the yellowing stem you show the ONLY yellowing stem on the plant? If so, then I agree that it is likely older leaves which can turn yellow and look like that, and/or overwatering. If you have other branches turning yellow scattered throughout the plant, I would diagnose fusarium wilt. The second photo looks like early blight; you might spray Serenade to help keep it from spreading any more.

April 29, 2012	#8
Annie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Katy, Texas 77493 Posts: 67	This is what my plant looked like and I sprayed it a week it last Tuesday and they look much better. I was afraid it was that horrible wilt but since it is better after I sprayed it with dacomil it is looking better. I have blight on my potato plants, can that spread to the tomatoes? Also when are you suppose to harvest potatoes. This is the first time I have planted them. They are near the tomato plants that got the blight. Could it have spread from them to my tomato plants ? I have also sprayed them and they are looking better.

May 9, 2012	#9
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	Late blight definitely can spread from potato to tomato and vise versa. Late blight caused the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840's.