Disease concern turning to panic. Help appreciated! - Page 3

babice · May 9, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfmathews

Maybe the mites like a hint of garlic with their mater leaves?

LOL!

Well - so much for that! Darn. I'm sure sorry!

sfmathews · May 9, 2012

You know, though, there are garlic and pepper oil sprays that I haven't tried. I don't know if they kill, but I think they are supposed to deter them. Maybe I should try some of that.

babice · May 9, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfmathews

You know, though, there are garlic and pepper oil sprays that I haven't tried. I don't know if they kill, but I think they are supposed to deter them. Maybe I should try some of that.

This recipe I'm talking about is something like that. DARN it I wish I could run home for you! I do remember reading something about sprinkling red pepper flakes on the leaves as well.

babice · May 9, 2012

Dewayne mater - I'm attaching a PDF you can browse thru to see if any of the pics or descrips in this help you. I know there's some like this saved in sticky threads in the disease forum here but I went looking for something that talked specifically about diseases that are prevelant in Iowa and I found this PDF.

The description of Septoria Leaf Spot caught my eye in your behalf. And you mentioned Gray Mold, which is on page 8.

DogsandDirt · May 9, 2012

Dewayne, how do the plants look after the bleach spray? My Sungold, Better Boy, and Superfantastic need a good spray. I have some of the Grow Big as well and will try that next after the bleach. I thought a higher P product would encourage more blooming this week since the temperatures and humidity are more conducive to fruit set.

I've been thinking of trying some natural deterent sprays - thanks for the recipes, Babice. I have onions growing in the raised beds and the blooms do smell like onions. I wonder if it does mask the smell of the tomatoes? I also have dill and parsley blooming which are supposed to invite parasitic wasps to the garden. The cardinals help with hornworm control. Unfortunately, the also eat the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.

Tracy, I've thought of trying sulfur for the mites, it's supposed to help with fungal problems, too. However, you're right, it does burn in hot weather and we hit 97 last weekend - yuck! Also, oil based products can't be used for several weeks after sulfur application. I guess it amplifies the burning effect? Like sfmathews, I haven't had a lot of luck with neem either.

babice · May 10, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogsandDirt

The cardinals help with hornworm control. Unfortunately, the also eat the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.

Hey! This is good to know (although am sad about the butterfly). Been having a Daddy cardinal out there scolding me every day for about a week. I think his lady friend and his children are in one of the bushes. Hey you don't have your blooming dill close the the toms in the ground do you? I've read mature dill will attract tomato hornworm!

Tracydr · May 10, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogsandDirt

Dewayne, how do the plants look after the bleach spray? My Sungold, Better Boy, and Superfantastic need a good spray. I have some of the Grow Big as well and will try that next after the bleach. I thought a higher P product would encourage more blooming this week since the temperatures and humidity are more conducive to fruit set.

I've been thinking of trying some natural deterent sprays - thanks for the recipes, Babice. I have onions growing in the raised beds and the blooms do smell like onions. I wonder if it does mask the smell of the tomatoes? I also have dill and parsley blooming which are supposed to invite parasitic wasps to the garden. The cardinals help with hornworm control. Unfortunately, the also eat the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.

Tracy, I've thought of trying sulfur for the mites, it's supposed to help with fungal problems, too. However, you're right, it does burn in hot weather and we hit 97 last weekend - yuck! Also, oil based products can't be used for several weeks after sulfur application. I guess it amplifies the burning effect? Like sfmathews, I haven't had a lot of luck with neem either.

I had pretty good results with Adams flea spray last summer on mites. It was hot and didn't burn my plants. Pyrethrins, piperonly butoxide and IGR. Pretty safe stuff, although may hurt the beneficials.

Dewayne mater · May 10, 2012

Corina - 24 hours later and the worst infected plants look pretty bad. I would put it at 50/50 if 3 of them will make it or not. Only one of them concerns me a JDs special C Tex. It has been small from the start, but still it set 4 fruit and appeared to be a plant that could set a lot, it it remained healthy. I think what is happening is the diseased leaves are going to shrivel up and die, which on most my plants is still a very small number of leaves. The fact that 3-4 plants were advancing very quickly (the same ones that may well not make it) lead me to the drastic action of bleach to try to see if those not as greatly affected could be headed off now. So far, those mostly healthy looking to begin with seem not to mind the bleach a bit.

I did removed diseased leaves and hit them hard with Daconil this morning, hoping to stop the spread where it is.

Looking at the great PDF Babice shared, my symptoms (other than gray mold...confirmed imo) look most like Septoria or verticulum. However, I do not see any browning in stem areas which both Vert and Fusarium are said to cause...so...best guess is Septoria. Still, whatever this is spreads quite rapidly, so, I don't have confidence in this diagnosis.

On a happy note, I picked my first two tomatoes of the year this morning....black cherry...the one growing in the ground. I'm very pleased my ground garden, which is just on the other side of the house, is showing no signs of what hit the tainers. The tainers are in an area that is exposed more to the front of the house and the winds that blow in stuff from who knows where and all I can figure is something blew in, presumably an insect, that infected one plant, then another. I will report back on this as significant changes happen or hopefully, to report getting things under control!

b54red · May 10, 2012

Dewayne the first time you spray the bleach solution on a very diseased plant it can be quite a shock to see just how far the disease had progressed. Even after losing most of its' leaves if there is no systemic disease of some sort many plants will come back strong after some pruning and a little dose of MG.

I am going to spray with the bleach solution on all my tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and onions this afternoon. It has been 3 weeks since I used it last and I am sure some diseases have slipped under the Daconil radar by now even though all I have seen is a little Late Blight and a lot of fusarium wilt. We have had 3 very rainy days in the last week with no chance to even use Daconil except one day and it got washed off that night.

Dewayne it is much better to spray before a disease takes good hold of a plant than to wait til it gets bad. That way you have minimal foliage loss and slow the spreading of the diseases to other plants as well.

Dewayne mater · May 11, 2012

Yes, I definitely let it go too long before resorting to bleach. My faith in other products proved to be misplaced, unfortunately. As of this morning, the 5 worst diseased plants have a huge number brown leaves with only the top few leaves looking good. Still, I'm hoping the plants might bounce back, at least enough to ripen the already growing tomatoes. I was surprised that pretty healthy looking plants have a significant number of dying leaves, I'd guess 25%-40% range. My thought with them is, if this bleaching stops the disease, it is very well worth the sacrifice of leaves, as the disease was progressing quickly. We shall see.

Do you recommend going back in and removing all the dead and dying leaves now? My thought was to do that, then hit the plant with a spray of seaweed and actinovate and try to stimulate as much new growth as possible. I already used daconil 24 hours post bleach to try to save anything not already infected. I guess next year I must be more proactive (thought I was already doing that) with antifungals and get things stopped before they started, which was the plan, it just didn't happen for me. Thanks again.

Dewayne mater

b54red · May 11, 2012

No matter how much I spray fungicides the diseases always get through to some extent. I made the same mistake last year with Gray Mold. I saw it starting on a few and kept up my spraying with Daconil but after a few weeks realized I was in real trouble and went to the bleach treatment. I should have known better from past experience. It took several sprayings to get rid of the stuff and I even lost a couple of plants that literally had no uninfected leaves left on them. I'm not ever going to wait again. When I see that a disease has gotten past the fungicide then I will use the bleach spray right away. With the humidity and heat here it is just too risky to wait.

As to removing the dead stems and leaves; I usually do because it just looks better. I have also not removed them and it made no difference and they eventually just fell off.
A couple of years ago when I was ill for a couple of weeks and my plants got badly infected with Early Blight and Septoria I sprayed them twice and then went in and did some fairly severe pruning. I then fertilized them and watered them well and most of them came back nicely and made tomatoes right up til they froze.

Good luck with them.

Bill

Crandrew · May 11, 2012

I would personally prune the dead growth.
Ami also recommended doing your disease prevention and nutrient foliar sprays seperate. So if you want to spray actinovate. I would personally spray Actinovate + Exel LG + spreader/sticker. Then do your seaweed spray as a seperate spray giving the plant time to take in the nutrients.

Dewayne mater · May 11, 2012

If molasses is the spreader sticker, isn't that already including a "feed" with the disease preventative? I.E. it is sugar. Should another option be used for S/S or surfactant? Such as what? Also, what is your typical surfactant?

Dewayne Mater

sfmathews · May 11, 2012

Dewayne, when I'm spraying a fungicide or insecticide, I use liquid soap, like Dr. Bronner's soap. It's all natural, in that no added anything like antibacterial, or oxy this or that. They are pure castille soap. I think Dawn or any other plain dish soap would work fine.
When I'm foliar feeding, then I use the molasses.
Susan

rnewste · May 11, 2012

Susan,

What amount of Dawn soap would you recommend per gallon of water, also with the Daconil to act as a surfactant?

Raybo

May 9, 2012	#32
sfmathews Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Allen, TX Posts: 398	You know, though, there are garlic and pepper oil sprays that I haven't tried. I don't know if they kill, but I think they are supposed to deter them. Maybe I should try some of that.

May 9, 2012	#35
DogsandDirt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Dallas/FortWorth, TX Posts: 116	Dewayne, how do the plants look after the bleach spray? My Sungold, Better Boy, and Superfantastic need a good spray. I have some of the Grow Big as well and will try that next after the bleach. I thought a higher P product would encourage more blooming this week since the temperatures and humidity are more conducive to fruit set. I've been thinking of trying some natural deterent sprays - thanks for the recipes, Babice. I have onions growing in the raised beds and the blooms do smell like onions. I wonder if it does mask the smell of the tomatoes? I also have dill and parsley blooming which are supposed to invite parasitic wasps to the garden. The cardinals help with hornworm control. Unfortunately, the also eat the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Tracy, I've thought of trying sulfur for the mites, it's supposed to help with fungal problems, too. However, you're right, it does burn in hot weather and we hit 97 last weekend - yuck! Also, oil based products can't be used for several weeks after sulfur application. I guess it amplifies the burning effect? Like sfmathews, I haven't had a lot of luck with neem either.

May 10, 2012	#38
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Corina - 24 hours later and the worst infected plants look pretty bad. I would put it at 50/50 if 3 of them will make it or not. Only one of them concerns me a JDs special C Tex. It has been small from the start, but still it set 4 fruit and appeared to be a plant that could set a lot, it it remained healthy. I think what is happening is the diseased leaves are going to shrivel up and die, which on most my plants is still a very small number of leaves. The fact that 3-4 plants were advancing very quickly (the same ones that may well not make it) lead me to the drastic action of bleach to try to see if those not as greatly affected could be headed off now. So far, those mostly healthy looking to begin with seem not to mind the bleach a bit. I did removed diseased leaves and hit them hard with Daconil this morning, hoping to stop the spread where it is. Looking at the great PDF Babice shared, my symptoms (other than gray mold...confirmed imo) look most like Septoria or verticulum. However, I do not see any browning in stem areas which both Vert and Fusarium are said to cause...so...best guess is Septoria. Still, whatever this is spreads quite rapidly, so, I don't have confidence in this diagnosis. On a happy note, I picked my first two tomatoes of the year this morning....black cherry...the one growing in the ground. I'm very pleased my ground garden, which is just on the other side of the house, is showing no signs of what hit the tainers. The tainers are in an area that is exposed more to the front of the house and the winds that blow in stuff from who knows where and all I can figure is something blew in, presumably an insect, that infected one plant, then another. I will report back on this as significant changes happen or hopefully, to report getting things under control!

May 10, 2012	#39
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Dewayne the first time you spray the bleach solution on a very diseased plant it can be quite a shock to see just how far the disease had progressed. Even after losing most of its' leaves if there is no systemic disease of some sort many plants will come back strong after some pruning and a little dose of MG. I am going to spray with the bleach solution on all my tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and onions this afternoon. It has been 3 weeks since I used it last and I am sure some diseases have slipped under the Daconil radar by now even though all I have seen is a little Late Blight and a lot of fusarium wilt. We have had 3 very rainy days in the last week with no chance to even use Daconil except one day and it got washed off that night. Dewayne it is much better to spray before a disease takes good hold of a plant than to wait til it gets bad. That way you have minimal foliage loss and slow the spreading of the diseases to other plants as well.

May 11, 2012	#40
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Yes, I definitely let it go too long before resorting to bleach. My faith in other products proved to be misplaced, unfortunately. As of this morning, the 5 worst diseased plants have a huge number brown leaves with only the top few leaves looking good. Still, I'm hoping the plants might bounce back, at least enough to ripen the already growing tomatoes. I was surprised that pretty healthy looking plants have a significant number of dying leaves, I'd guess 25%-40% range. My thought with them is, if this bleaching stops the disease, it is very well worth the sacrifice of leaves, as the disease was progressing quickly. We shall see. Do you recommend going back in and removing all the dead and dying leaves now? My thought was to do that, then hit the plant with a spray of seaweed and actinovate and try to stimulate as much new growth as possible. I already used daconil 24 hours post bleach to try to save anything not already infected. I guess next year I must be more proactive (thought I was already doing that) with antifungals and get things stopped before they started, which was the plan, it just didn't happen for me. Thanks again. Dewayne mater

May 11, 2012	#42
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	I would personally prune the dead growth. Ami also recommended doing your disease prevention and nutrient foliar sprays seperate. So if you want to spray actinovate. I would personally spray Actinovate + Exel LG + spreader/sticker. Then do your seaweed spray as a seperate spray giving the plant time to take in the nutrients.

May 11, 2012	#45
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	Susan, What amount of Dawn soap would you recommend per gallon of water, also with the Daconil to act as a surfactant? Raybo