Help - septoria or bacterial speck? (pics)

cleo88 · June 26, 2012

Looking for a definitive diagnosis... See pics attached.

All my plants have this to some degree or another, except perhaps the few I have in containers. I'm in Southern Massachusetts, and we've had some weird weather here since I planted out in May - cold, hot, humid, dry - you name it. So foliar disease was not unexpected.

Depending on what you think I have, what should I do about it? I've been removing the affected leaves but haven't sprayed anything yet, and I didn't spray anything proactively before this started.

Also, is this the sorta thing where I shouldn't plant tomatoes in that location next year? That would be really tough for me because I have no other place to plant - that would basically be saying I can't plant any tomatoes!

Crandrew · June 26, 2012

i have leaves that exhibit the same thing. I've had it for over 1 month on one plant. I had a few folks say septoria but I wasn't sure.

JamesL · June 26, 2012

Septoria or early blight. they always look real similar to me.
Get to spraying!!! And pruning immediately.
You won't eradicate it, but if you manage it well you can get to harvest.

Treatment is effectively the same for both.
Look at actinovate with molasses as a spreader sticker, serenade, daconil, or a copper based fungicide.
Search for any of the above on tomatoville or google.

For next year start a proactive spray campaign.
A few links from tomatodirt basically describe what I wrote, and will no doubt be echoed on t'ville. Good luck!!!
http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-blight-early.html
http://www.tomatodirt.com/septoria-leaf-spot.html

RayR · June 26, 2012

You can plant in the same location year after year, the spores are airborne and they can also splash up from the ground, just get the infection under control, clean up and dispose of all plant debris at the end of the season and always mulch with an organic mulch like compost and shredded leaves. Inoculating your transplants with mycorrhizae and fungal fighting beneficial bacteria helps greatly to minimize future infections from my experience. Colonizing your leaves and stems with beneficial bacteria with regular sprays of products like Actinovate and/or Serenade help greatly also. It's either that or chemicals, I just prefer the organic methods that have worked best for me.

fortyonenorth · June 26, 2012

IMO, Actinovate works well when you're in preventative mode. If you already have EB or septoria, you will not effectively manage it using only biologics. Use Daconil. If you really want to be "organic" go the copper route.

bcday · June 27, 2012

That looks like Septoria, not a bacterial disease. Bacterial speck looks like little raised black bumps, not the flat gray and brown spots in your pic. One rainy summer several years ago, some of my plants had so many of the raised black specks that they looked (and felt) like very coarse black sandpaper, even on the fruit. Also look at any green fruits on your plants. Bacterial speck will usually affect the fruit just as much as it does the foliage, while Septoria may show up on the calyx but rarely appears on the fruit itself even when the foliage is heavily infected.

You do need to start a regular -- should I say aggressive -- spray and sanitation program to get this under control. Otherwise your plants can end up with just a few green leaves at the top of the plant with stunted and sunburned fruit on bare stems below. Septoria is difficult to stop and can defoliate a plant over the course of the season. Concentrate on preventative treatment of the healthy foliage with antifungal sprays of your choice (I prefer daconil, aka chlorothalonil) and remove as much of the diseased foliage as you can without defoliating the plant yourself. Put the diseased foliage in a plastic bag, seal the bag closed and put it in the trash to cut down on the number of spores floating around the garden. Do the same with the plants after frost at the end of the season. Don't compost them, bag them with the household trash and get them out of the area to cut down on the number of spores released into the air next spring.

June 26, 2012	#2
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	i have leaves that exhibit the same thing. I've had it for over 1 month on one plant. I had a few folks say septoria but I wasn't sure.

June 26, 2012	#3
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Septoria or early blight. they always look real similar to me. Get to spraying!!! And pruning immediately. You won't eradicate it, but if you manage it well you can get to harvest. Treatment is effectively the same for both. Look at actinovate with molasses as a spreader sticker, serenade, daconil, or a copper based fungicide. Search for any of the above on tomatoville or google. For next year start a proactive spray campaign. A few links from tomatodirt basically describe what I wrote, and will no doubt be echoed on t'ville. Good luck!!! http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-blight-early.html http://www.tomatodirt.com/septoria-leaf-spot.html

June 26, 2012	#4
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	You can plant in the same location year after year, the spores are airborne and they can also splash up from the ground, just get the infection under control, clean up and dispose of all plant debris at the end of the season and always mulch with an organic mulch like compost and shredded leaves. Inoculating your transplants with mycorrhizae and fungal fighting beneficial bacteria helps greatly to minimize future infections from my experience. Colonizing your leaves and stems with beneficial bacteria with regular sprays of products like Actinovate and/or Serenade help greatly also. It's either that or chemicals, I just prefer the organic methods that have worked best for me.

June 26, 2012	#5
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	IMO, Actinovate works well when you're in preventative mode. If you already have EB or septoria, you will not effectively manage it using only biologics. Use Daconil. If you really want to be "organic" go the copper route.

June 27, 2012	#6
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	That looks like Septoria, not a bacterial disease. Bacterial speck looks like little raised black bumps, not the flat gray and brown spots in your pic. One rainy summer several years ago, some of my plants had so many of the raised black specks that they looked (and felt) like very coarse black sandpaper, even on the fruit. Also look at any green fruits on your plants. Bacterial speck will usually affect the fruit just as much as it does the foliage, while Septoria may show up on the calyx but rarely appears on the fruit itself even when the foliage is heavily infected. You do need to start a regular -- should I say aggressive -- spray and sanitation program to get this under control. Otherwise your plants can end up with just a few green leaves at the top of the plant with stunted and sunburned fruit on bare stems below. Septoria is difficult to stop and can defoliate a plant over the course of the season. Concentrate on preventative treatment of the healthy foliage with antifungal sprays of your choice (I prefer daconil, aka chlorothalonil) and remove as much of the diseased foliage as you can without defoliating the plant yourself. Put the diseased foliage in a plastic bag, seal the bag closed and put it in the trash to cut down on the number of spores floating around the garden. Do the same with the plants after frost at the end of the season. Don't compost them, bag them with the household trash and get them out of the area to cut down on the number of spores released into the air next spring.