Early bight?

[barryla61]

Every plant in one garden has this.
Never seen it before.
Am I doomed?

[Cole_Robbie]

That's what it looks like to me. Has it been unusually wet this year for you? It has for me. Blight likes it wet. Some of my outdoor plants have it a little bit. I'm hoping they will grow out of it. I will spray them with Daconil if not. There are several other non-chemical blight spray recipes on here as well.

[saltmarsh]

If you want to use fungicides, remove the diseased leaves, bag them and put them in the gargage, don't compost them. Then use Spectracide Immunox Multi-Purpose Fungicide and follow label directions.

I you want to use a natural fungicide, remove the diseased leaves, bag them and put them in the garbage, don't compost them. Then use Horsetail tea. This is more effective as a preventative than after the disease has a foothold. As a preventative use 2 1/4 cups of tea mixed with water per gallon of spray with 1 teaspoon of molasses per gallon of spray added as a sticker (helps to keep the tea on the leaves when it rains, so you don't have to spray as often). For an active infection like you have, use 4 1/2 cups of tea and 1 teaspoon of molasses per gallon of spray. Reapply each week or after heavy rain until the disease is under control, then switch to the preventative rate of 2 1/4 cups. Claud

[kevn357]

It's not a big deal if you stay on it and get some dry weather.

Bleach spray worked great for me last year to recover from some really nasty early blight from a very wet June. When I got a dry spell i would use a copper spray. I'm not sure which worked better but the bleach saved me a ton of money compared to spraying copper when it rained 23 days straight last year while fighting early blight and septoria.

Luckily for me I forgot the bleach dilution rate as it has been a very dry year so far but a quick search here will get you the info you need. Good luck

[brooksville]

When using 8.25% bleach the tank solution is 5.25 ounces of bleach to 1 full gallon on water, I used it yesterday.

[RootLoops]

bleach water won't kill fungus, it will at most hamper it for a little bit and possibly kill some of the live fungus but it won't kill the spores, as soon as the bleach water is dried and something else wets them the spores will open up and go right back to work. i've tried to kill multiple fungal infections since i started growing mushrooms about five years ago, i've tested bleach water, 3% h2o2(very high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide will kill a fungus but are very corrosive), and simple green D3. of those only the simple green disinfectant had any effect on fungi, and it was only a knock down at best. straight bleach might work but that would harm the plant as well. bleach works fine for bacterial or viral infections or for disinfecting surfaces but i've seen little evidence in my own experience that it will kill a fungus when diluted in water. spores are very strong to kill them you pretty much have to subject them to 250 degrees at 15 p.s.i. or burn em.

actinovate contains a strain of streptomyces lydicus that can destroy fungi in the soil and on foliage, including pythium(root rot) and fusarium, i've never used it for blight as i ran out early last season but this year i will have some cash to order more, i'm almost out of this packet lol

[dpurdy]

For more information on control and identification of the Blight, check out http://usablight.org/. There's lots of useful information on this site.
dpurdy

[b54red]

Originally Posted by RootLoops

bleach water won't kill fungus, it will at most hamper it for a little bit and possibly kill some of the live fungus but it won't kill the spores, as soon as the bleach water is dried and something else wets them the spores will open up and go right back to work. i've tried to kill multiple fungal infections since i started growing mushrooms about five years ago, i've tested bleach water, 3% h2o2(very high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide will kill a fungus but are very corrosive), and simple green D3. of those only the simple green disinfectant had any effect on fungi, and it was only a knock down at best. straight bleach might work but that would harm the plant as well. bleach works fine for bacterial or viral infections or for disinfecting surfaces but i've seen little evidence in my own experience that it will kill a fungus when diluted in water. spores are very strong to kill them you pretty much have to subject them to 250 degrees at 15 p.s.i. or burn em.

actinovate contains a strain of streptomyces lydicus that can destroy fungi in the soil and on foliage, including pythium(root rot) and fusarium, i've never used it for blight as i ran out early last season but this year i will have some cash to order more, i'm almost out of this packet lol

I was able to stop Late Blight with the bleach spray several years ago. I sprayed every other day for a week and only lost a couple of plants and the spores did not move to the surrounding plants like it usually does. I sprayed not only the tomatoes but the mulch, all surrounding plants and the ground in between the beds. It seemed extreme but it worked and nothing else ever stopped Late Blight before for me. If it doesn't kill the spores it does seem to stop their spread if the spraying is adequate and the solution is strong enough. Gray mold though a hard one to control is minor compared to Late Blight and I have usually been able to stop it with the bleach spray if I begin using it soon enough and there isn't too much rainy weather. The problem with stopping any disease is recognizing it soon enough to take action before it is too late. When I have had the most severe problems with diseases other than during long rainy spells has been when I delayed treating the plants immediately upon spotting the problem.

The bleach spray will wipe out Early Blight fairly easily but it will destroy the badly infected leaves in the process. It has no residual preventive action so a good fungicide should be used afterward to prevent new infections. I have found Daconil fairly effective at preventing Early Blight if frequent rains don't keep it washed off.

Bill

[Labradors2]

Claude,

How do you make the Horsetail tea? I have lots of Horsetail growing here, and no use for it. I know it's very high in silica.

TIA,
Linda

Originally Posted by saltmarsh

If you want to use a natural fungicide, remove the diseased leaves, bag them and put them in the garbage, don't compost them. Then use Horsetail tea. This is more effective as a preventative than after the disease has a foothold. As a preventative use 2 1/4 cups of tea mixed with water per gallon of spray with 1 teaspoon of molasses per gallon of spray added as a sticker (helps to keep the tea on the leaves when it rains, so you don't have to spray as often). For an active infection like you have, use 4 1/2 cups of tea and 1 teaspoon of molasses per gallon of spray. Reapply each week or after heavy rain until the disease is under control, then switch to the preventative rate of 2 1/4 cups. Claud

[saltmarsh]

Linda, I use fresh green mature fronds of Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) 30 - 36 inches in length. 6 fronds per gallon of tea.

This is the only species which is not poisonous. Be sure of your identification. The common or field horsetail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_arvense

I make the tea in large stock pots. Each pot makes 3 gallons of tea. The tea is shelf stable and requires no refrigeration. Stored out of direct sunlight it will last for over a year.

To make 3 gallons of tea, chop 18 fronds of Horsetail into 1/2" pieces (I use a paper cutter and chop 6 fronds at a time.)

Put the chopped Horsetail into a large stock pot and add 3 gallons of hot water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and slow boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool overnight. After the tea has cooled, strain and store in bottles until needed. I use stockings and gallon pickle jars to strain the tea, then pour it into 2 litre drink bottles for use. The drink bottles don't break bouncing around in the truck.

You can also chop the Horsetails up and freeze them in freezer bags for later use.

After you make the tea, spread boiled chopped fronds around the base of your tomato plants.

To use: preventative - 2 1/4 cups of tea mixed with water per gallon of spray.
(Note: The preventative rate will stop an active bean blight infection dead in its tracks)

For an active infection double the normal rate to 4 1/2 cups per gallon of spray.

Spray to the point of runoff and respray every 7 to 10 days or after heavy rain. Try to cover all areas of the plant including underside of leaves. Be through.

The Horsetail tea is compatible with the other teas I use allowing one spraying to apply everything. Claud

[travis]

That does not look like Early Blight to me. No yellow halo or concentric brown rings.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by travis

That does not look like Early Blight to me. No yellow halo or concentric brown rings.

That's what I was thinking too. A close up of one of the leaves would be helpful to see if there are concentric rings but I don't even see any yellowing around the affected areas that would make suspect it may be Early Blight.

[Labradors2]

Claude,

Many thanks for the info on Horsetail tea. Now I have a use for my Common Horsetail! It's great that I can freeze it for later use, AND add it to the base of my tomato plants after it has been steeped.

Linda

[Cole_Robbie]

My spots of blight do have more yellow than that.

Bacterial leaf spot, then?

[ramapojoe]

does the whole plant look like that or just a few stems on every plant?
hard to tell whats going on with just a picture of one branch you picked off.
if you only have a few limbs like that on every plant but the rest of the plant lokks healthy i would just cut them off.