Say it ain't so...PLEASE!

[kath]

These are lower leaves from my Austin's Black Cherry plant. It looks like Late Blight except that I've always found that higher up on the plant and also on the stems which are still clean. It's also missing the white fuzzy stuff on the bottom of the leaf. But the green halo seems to be there.

Last time I posted pics that were similar to these, the consensus was frost damage- there's zero chance that could be an issue now, so what do you all think?

kath

[BucksCountyGirl]

Hey Kath, I am right around the corner from you so maybe we are having similar issues. All of my black tomatoes this summer have been suffering from similar looking leaf issues...but none of my other plants have. I read somewhere on the 'ville that black varieties are more susceptible to grey mold than other varieties. I have also read that grey mold will mimic the symptoms of LB but you will never get the stem lesions. I have been treating my blacks for mold and hoping for the best. Best of luck with your's.

[rwsacto]

Hi Kath,

I'm not the expert but I had that on some of my potato leaf varieties earlier in the season. I treated for mold (serenade, green cure, daconil) and it stopped. It re-appeared on one when I put sunshade on it during the last heat wave. Picked the leaves, sprayed, and has not returned.

BTW the fish lake oxheart you sent me is large, juicy and one of my wife's favorite. We call it big FLO.

Rick

[Tania]

Kath,

I hear you! But this may not be late blight. Are all your plants affected?

I would remove the affected leaves and see what happens in the next couple of days.

I am hoping that there is nothing serious, and all your tomatoes will thrive and you will be able to taste lots of great varieties you are growing this year!

Tatiana

[JamesL]

Kath,
My vote would be for mold.....

[kath]

Hi, Kelli, Rick, Tania, James- I feel better already just hearing from all of you!

Kelli, I hope your plants are doing better now. That's my plan, too, for now- just keep on treating for mold and see what happens. I've had a few plants get gray mold before- usually determinates and it starts in the center of a caged plant so it always got going pretty well before I caught it. Maybe that's why it looks eerily familiar.


Rick, I don't care if you're an expert or not- I value your opinion because you've had experience with it and you cared enough to respond. I'm happy that your wife is a FLO fan! This year I'm growing the real deal red version and I'd be happy to send you some seeds later in the summer if you'd like.

Tania, this is the only plant that I found it on and I just went over every single one of them carefully, removing all leaves with any hint of disease. I started out the year with Exel-LG/Actinovate but have been using Daconil for quite a few weeks now because the humidity and general wetness level here has been pretty awful. That's one of the reasons I was surprised to see it.

James- thanks for chiming in- the more people that vote for grey mold, the less concerned I am about it.

Thanks!

kath

[tjg911]

oh kath my heart sunk when i saw the title of your thread cuz i knew what it meant.

i agree, this doesn't look like LB. i noticed the exact same thing on a brandywine sudduths this morning near the top of the plant. i thought the same thing as you. i immediately turned over the leaf to look for the fuzzy crap but there was none. no streaks on the vines, no other leaves had this tho a lot of yellowing at the lower levels. no other plants have this based upon a quick look as i pulled branches thru the crw squares.

it's been as humid as any gulf coast state here for weeks. i detest this weather. it's rained like noah's flood in june but it hasn't been cold so i don't think LB is an issue right now.

let's cross our fingers, toes and anything else and hope this pestilence doesn't surface this year.

tom

[kath]

I hear ya, Tom- everything's crossed! This annual LB thing is getting really old. Glad to hear your plants are ok so far and I really appreciate your opinion and your post.

kath

[lakelady]

Kath, I had that a few weeks ago on some of my plants and just pulled the leaves off and sprayed . Seems okay now. Septoria is setting in with this awful humidity though. Every day feels like a Sauna!

Are you getting anything ripe yet? I haven't had much gardening time, but everything is still green except 1 little 4th of July, yet so many look to be the size of bursting so I am wondering why they won't turn lol

[Got Worms?]

It isn't so. If you've had LB before, you know that LB's delivery system is by airmail. If what you have is starting from the lower leaves and working it's way up...it's more than likely something that resides at least part of the time in the soil. Not that I know what it is that you've got, but I don't believe you have LB.......yet.

[kath]

Originally Posted by lakelady

Kath, I had that a few weeks ago on some of my plants and just pulled the leaves off and sprayed . Seems okay now. Septoria is setting in with this awful humidity though. Every day feels like a Sauna!

Are you getting anything ripe yet? I haven't had much gardening time, but everything is still green except 1 little 4th of July, yet so many look to be the size of bursting so I am wondering why they won't turn lol

This moldy affliction seems pretty common this year, huh? All this wetness and heat! I'm hoping to have a spraying opportunity tomorrow or Sat. depending on what happens with the rain in the forecast.

I have a Dixiewine that now is resembling a palm tree because the Septoria is moving up the plant despite my spraying. If it continues to have new spots, I'm going to take the plant out and try again next year. It managed to infect 4 other plants in its vicinity but their symptoms seem to be spreading more slowly so we'll see. That stuff is nasty once it takes hold.

We've been eating from the Chello, Yamal and Cyril's Choice plants that I started very early in DH's cactus greenhouse but aside from that only Sungold and today, Ted's Pink Currant, have ripened anything. The greenies are getting huge but it'll be later in the month, I think, before any turn. Last year the bulk of them were turning around the 3rd week in July but this year I had a lot of hurting transplants so it could be a late year for many.

We started feasting today on wild red raspberries and are getting quarts of blueberries every other day so I'm content with that and the Rattlesnake beans for now...yum.

Hope you can find enough time to relax in your garden a bit sometime soon, Antoinette.

kath

[kath]

Originally Posted by Got Worms?

It isn't so. If you've had LB before, you know that LB's delivery system is by airmail. If what you have is starting from the lower leaves and working it's way up...it's more than likely something that resides at least part of the time in the soil. Not that I know what it is that you've got, but I don't believe you have LB.......yet.

Thanks, Charlie- I think you're right- maybe I was just looking for reassurance. It's hit my garden twice and I wish I never had to see it again- ever.

kath

[efisakov]

I am with you, Kath. I already premixed Actinovate. Besides what you were thinking is too fast. Tomorrow if all look almost the same, that means it is not LB.

[Iva]

Judging by the photos above, I'd say it's EARLY Blight! Not as dangerous as the dreaded Late Blight...

[kath]

Originally Posted by Iva

Judging by the photos above, I'd say it's EARLY Blight! Not as dangerous as the dreaded Late Blight...

The concentric circles in the lesions, especially in pics 2 and 4 look like EB but there's no yellow showing up on the leaves that are afflicted in this way. Many of my other plants have already lost lots of lower leaves to EB but none of them showed the thinning wet looking darker green areas that first appear with this, Iva.

Either way, the spray's the same and I think I'm going for it today. It's supposed to be cloudy from about 9 am on and although they're calling for showers later today/tonight, they've been saying the same thing for the past 2 days. I haven't sprayed because of it and we haven't had a drop.

kath