Name this malady - tomato leaf diagnostics needed

[Reelcharacter]

OK. So I've spent a bunch of time surfing photos / descriptions - including a Cornell plant diagnostics site and reading up on tomato leaf symptoms and am still really not sure what is going on with several of my tomato plants. Lower older leaves are most affected. Planted in a raised bed so air circulation should not be a problem, unless thinning some foilage is recommended. Two plants exhibit wilting of upper new growth but seem to be holding their own and may be coming back. Have been watering at the base to avoid wetting the leaves. Nearby Zucchini have white mold on upper leaf surfaces. Any suggestions based on the photos and description?

[ginger2778]

My guess is going to be Septoria, but could also bacterial spot. Either way, liquid copper fungicide at the weakest recommended dose( I use it at half of weakest) every 4 days, early in the am, thoroughly on all leaf surfaces and stem down to the soil line should do the trick. Dont forget to trim all infected leaves off, and sterilize your trimmers between plants.
Then go on copper spray preventive every 7-10 days, and after a heavy rain.

The wilting ones could be bacterial wilt, which is a bit of bad news.

[AlittleSalt]

Any branch that is growing downward that is infected - cut it off. It's not going to produce a flower or tomato anyway. It is actually called, "Leaf" Why someone called it that - who knows.

[RayR]

Clearly you have Septoria Leaf Spot.

Not sure what the wilting is in the second photo but check for broken branches first.

The white growth on the top surface of your squash leaves would be Powdery Mildew. It will also be on the bottom of the leaves and will spread to the stems also if left uncontrolled.

[Carriehelene]

Reel, all that rain we had in June really upped disease pressure here. Do you grow a lot of plants? I'm west of Albany, about 35 miles. Septoria missed me this year, had it last year, it sucks! Have Early blight this year, I'll take that over Septoria any day. Good luck to you. All hope is not lost, but it will be a battle for you till the end of the season if you decide to fight it.

[Reelcharacter]

Originally Posted by RayR

Clearly you have Septoria Leaf Spot.

Not sure what the wilting is in the second photo but check for broken branches first.

The white growth on the top surface of your squash leaves would be Powdery Mildew. It will also be on the bottom of the leaves and will spread to the stems also if left uncontrolled.

Ginger - you had it right by the looks of the link Ray sent. The leaves in the bulletin photos look identical and could have just as easily been taken of my plants. You are right, more pruning of the infected "leaves" and a lot more spraying are in the future for me by the looks of things.

Thanks again for the advice and assistance!

[zipcode]

Prespraying and morning sun are the most important weapons against septoria. Once you get it doesn't go away even if the weather gets better.

[Reelcharacter]

The plants are in a new raised bed made this spring. My son built a bed as well at his house a couple of miles away. Didn't intend this as a control, but its kind of the way its working out. The only common things were compost and seasoned wood chips (from our local county compost site) and sand from the local gravel pit as we were building up the new "soil". We mixed in our own compost and topsoil from each of our yards. We mostly planted different plants obtained from different sources but we did share one six pack of tomato plants. His browning leaves showed up first and he pulled the two plants since he had excess plants. Mine stayed looking better longer but I was spraying pretty regularly with compost tea, worm casting tea, a mild borax fish fertilizer mix and etc. I think with my more vigorous flowering and growth it took longer to show up. Anyway, the common denomitator seems to be the farmer's market tomato pack.

Think I will start my own seeds next year and do a good seed pretreatment.

And yes Ray - I'm about to give up on battling the zucchini powdery Mildew.

[RayR]

Why would you give up battling Powdery Mildew on the zucchini? That's a pretty easy pathogen to control.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by RayR

Why would you give up battling Powdery Mildew on the zucchini? That's a pretty easy pathogen to control.

I agree. The copper spray will work on that too. very easy to control. BTW- I have very successfully gotten completely rid of Septoria in my garden many times, so I know it can be done. Just keep up with the prevention after.

[Reelcharacter]

Guess I could give the Zukes one more try. Was defeated last year, as soon as the mildew showed up production dropped to nothing no matter what I tried. In part went to brand new soil in a brand new raised bed to help avoid it this year.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Reelcharacter

Guess I could give the Zukes one more try. Was defeated last year, as soon as the mildew showed up production dropped to nothing no matter what I tried. In part went to brand new soil in a brand new raised bed to help avoid it this year.

The best way to stop the mildew on squash is with the diluted bleach spray. It must be started early and used regularly so that leaves aren't heavily infected when they are sprayed. If the leaves are heavily covered in mildew they will die when sprayed with the bleach spray but any healthy leaves will be fine. I have been using this for years and no longer have problems with mildew on my squash and with our humidity that is saying something. I also spray them with copper or Daconil whenever I am using it on my tomatoes as a preventative.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray

Bill

[ginger2778]

Bill, with all due respect, and having tried your bleach spray, I went back to the copper spray, which works the best on mildew, and Septoria. The bleach spray was just too destructive in my garden, and my plants suffered greatly, never fully recovered. I wish to re emphasize that I respect you very much, but I personally will never use the diluted bleach spray again. To everyone reading this, this is only my personal choice.

[Salaam]

I think this is what my Asian pear has, and has spread to its neighbour Carolina Gold. I'll post pictures when I get home. Both are in fabric pots about two feet apart. The in ground tomatoes are about three yards away. I hope it doesn't spread to them.

Both plants, especially the Carolina Gold, are still productive. Can I let them go till the end of the season? Is it enough to get rid of the soil in the fabric pots at the end of the season to ensure the Septoria doesn't come back?

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by Salaam

Both plants, especially the Carolina Gold, are still productive. Can I let them go till the end of the season? Is it enough to get rid of the soil in the fabric pots at the end of the season to ensure the Septoria doesn't come back?

You can minimize the amount of spores that way, but they overwinter all over the place, so there's no eradicating them. You can do cultural practices to minimize disease pressures, but they will always be there.

Sometimes it seems as if Septoria spores are in the air and just decide to say hello to a privileged few. Preventative sprays (daconil, serenade) can really help you manage the episodes.

If they're productive let them go, just remove as many of the affected leaves as you can, which will probably give you a palm tree.