Quote:
Originally Posted by b54red
That could just be older leaves near the soil. I always start pruning off all the lower leaves frequently up to the first set of blooms as early as possible but even then some of them look like that. Could be the just the beginnings of Early Blight or just the natural dying of older leaves. Leaves that come in contact with the soil will frequently be the first to go but it is the natural order of a tomato plant that the lower leaves fade as new growth and fruit develop. Don't be afraid to just remove sick looking leaves as soon as you see them. Use a fungicide like Daconil and alternate a copper spray being sure to use the lowest recommended dose of copper because it can stunt growth if too strong. The bleach spray if used at the proper mix will usually cause diseased leaves to shrivel up and die if the disease is extensive enough. The bleach will have no lasting fungicidal affect because it is gone so fast due to the quickness with which it oxidizes; but it will kill or slow down most foliage diseases as long as they are not systemic.
The whiteflies are another thing all together. Good air flow and light help keep their numbers down so don't let plants become too bushy if whiteflies are a problem. You may later have to resort to more drastic methods to remove them or slow them down because they do spread diseases and can suck the life out of plants when they become too prevalent on your plants.
Bill
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Thanks Bill
I just turned my 20 plants into palm trees. I trimmed the older lower leaves. I have been trimming the lower leaves and most of the problems are the lowest branches.
After todays pruning I will do a bleach spray tomorrow and daconil on Sunday.
My biggest concern was something that I could not stop with bleach.