Gray mold, GRSV, other?

[Dewayne mater]

We've had record setting rainfall in the month of May and I really only remember 2 days in May with sunshine, the rest raining or at least overcast. It is pouring again as I write. Earlier this week I spotted gray mold on a few plants and used bleach spray to try to control it. I have already done that once and have used neem, daconil, and a combination of Copper and Mancozeb previously.

Since spraying bleach the second time, I've had lots of leaves still dying. Others yellowing with ugly patches of dark colors on them and even some stems that have a gray/brown look to them. The stems have me officially concerned. I keep removing the affected leaves and have removed a lot of affected leaves. I'm unsure whether to double down and hit them with bleach again or if I burned them somehow, though I carefully measured the 5 ounce per gallon amount an mixed it by shaking the entire time I sprayed. I believe it was just that I had much more mold that I knew, but, now I'm not sure.

I've been battling thrips this spring and they are winning! I know what they can do (infect plants with TSVW) so I've been employing numerous means to try to control them.

In looking at images for leaves that look like mine by searching TSVW, I found this page. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/pesta...t_ringspot.htm

My leaves look somewhat like these images and some of the stems look like those in figure D. I also see that thrips are a vector for this condition GRSV and am wondering if this is going on.

After all that, here as some pics, awful pics. Your input appreciated!

Dewayne Mater

[b54red]

It definitely looks like you have gray mold but that isn't your only problem. Continuous heavy rain along with nice warm weather can create a perfect storm for foliage diseases that cannot be controlled no matter what you do. I had the same situation a few years ago but it rained hard every day from mid June into mid July. My plants were so riddled with disease despite constant use of fungicides and bleach spray that many just got yanked and replaced with new seedlings for the fall. The few plants that survived came back in August and produced through the fall but most did not recover.

The continuous rainfall caused incredible leaching of nutrients which only makes the problem so much worse. The only way I could get any nitrogen to the plants was to just throw ammonium nitrate out just before a rain and hope the plants could get a little N before it too was leached out.

What you really need is some dry weather and low humidity for a couple of weeks so your efforts at stopping the foliage diseases will have a chance to work. Good luck.

Bill

[Dewayne mater]

Thanks Bill. It started off as a fantastic year and has turned into Epic rain year. We had another 4 inches of rain today and now its about 62. I fault myself for not be more aggressive earlier when it was raining so often. Live and learn.

It cleared in time for me to clear diseased foliage and hit with bleach. Was thinking I'd go right back in with Copper in the morning. Is that enough time for the bleach to work? Any problem with bleach and copper so close to each other? I really need to get these plants under control.

Dewayne Mater

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

Thanks Bill. It started off as a fantastic year and has turned into Epic rain year. We had another 4 inches of rain today and now its about 62. I fault myself for not be more aggressive earlier when it was raining so often. Live and learn.

It cleared in time for me to clear diseased foliage and hit with bleach. Was thinking I'd go right back in with Copper in the morning. Is that enough time for the bleach to work? Any problem with bleach and copper so close to each other? I really need to get these plants under control.

Dewayne Mater

The bleach works really fast and oxidizes very quickly so you can follow up with the copper easily the next day with no worries. I have been using the bleach spray for years and even spraying something within a few hours afterwards have never encountered a problem. Always make sure the sprayer is rinsed well before adding any other chemicals to it after using the bleach spray because it is so reactive.

Bill

[Dewayne mater]

Thanks as always Bill! It coated them this morning, top, bottom and stems with a copper/mancozeb mix and a couple of hours later it started a ground wetting mist that I'm hoping won't wash off the good I just did!

So far every plants seems to be healthy in the top couple of feet (at least) so, if I can keep that going, it should at least provide enough energy to ripen all of the tomatoes that are now exposed by the Defoliator (me when I'm getting rid of affected leaves!) I don't think I will ever get my nails clean again!

Dewayne