Fuzzy spots on stems...

[SummerSky]

I just noticed that some of my tomato seedlings have what looks like fuzzy spots on their stems and even on the underside of some leaves. The spots scrap off easily and show what looks like healthy tissue to me. They are only showing up on some of my Polish Linguisa and Opalka seedlings. I have about twenty other varieties that look normal. I haven't grown these two varieties before.

They are almost a month old, and I just planted them up with an organic potting soil (Green Envy brand) a few days ago. They are inside under lights (the weather is not working with me). The other night, my husband turned the fan on and didn't realize it was blasting right on my seedlings, so they got knocked around for a few hours but they seemed to recover just fine.

Can anyone tell me what's going on? I've started tomatoes from seed only a couple times, but I don't remember any looking like this...

This is the first time I've tried attaching pictures to here, so I'm hoping they show up...

The first picture is of a Grandma Mary's Paste that has a normal stem. Same age, same potting soil, same pot up date, same flat. The other two are of two different Polish Linguias seedlings.

[clkeiper]

Looks like powdery mildew to me. You will need to spray for it. if you are organic Neem oil should do it or Daconil if you aren't. Maybe others will have other choices to use, but you will need to do something.

[ginger2778]

Agreed. I like copper spray at half of the weakest strength they suggest on the bottle. Still works great, higher strength in my garden gets me stunted leaves, but half strength does very well and no distortion. Copper spray is considered organic, and plants need copper.

Marsha

[luigiwu]

Marsha,
DO you have recs for a copper spray readily available at a big box store?
Thanks!

[SummerSky]

Holy cow, really? I've seen powdery mildew on mature plants, but I figured it was a fall thing. I can honestly say I've never had disease issues with seedlings before...

I noticed my younger flat has some spots and they are really curling around the leaves and stems

I will try a spray tonight (probably neem oil, I doubt my local superstore has anything with chlorothalonil in it), but should I even have hope for these guys? I'm not sure I have time to reseed, since I usually plant out at the end of May to the first week of June...

[RayR]

Chlorothalonil is a preventative, it's not a cure for an active infection.
The Neem Oil spray should work OK.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Marsha,
DO you have recs for a copper spray readily available at a big box store?
Thanks!

I use Southern Ag brand, which I get at HD or Lowes.

Marsha

[luigiwu]

I don't think we can get that up here... . by googling I found this Bonide stuff which is available at HD. Will it work the same? I also have Serenade already at home, will that work?

[ginger2778]

Luigiwu, I found this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/360122737863?lpid=82
I just did research on Bonide VS Southern Ag, here is what I found:
Southern Ag liquid Copper Concentrate, active ingredient is Copper Diammonia Diacetate Complex 27.15 %
Bonide ready to use spray that you have pictured, active ingredient copper Salts of Fatty Acids 0.8% ( not very cost effective, won't go very far)
If you were to get the Bonide Copper liquid Concentrate (so as to compare apples to apples), active ingredient,Copper Octanoate, same as ready to use spray, but at 10% instead of 0.8%.
I have lots of plants so a ready to use spray is useless for me, and far too expensive. Southern Ag's formula appears to have nearly 3 times the amount of concentration at 27% VS 10%. Now I understand why I found that 1/2 of their weakest recommended concentration was best.
If you use the Bonide brand, I suggest you use it at full strength of their weakest recommended dose, and I suggest you avoid the ready to use, because as those plants get larger,and you have to spray under and over the leaves and all of the stem down to the soil, it won't go very far, and your hand will probably get carpel tunnel from all the nozzle squeezing!
Thanks for asking this question, the research was worthwhile!
Marsha

[Marcus1]

It looks like botrytis, grey mold, to me. I've had outbreaks in my greenhouse before when we had several cloudy days with cool temps and the humidity got pretty high. Neem and soap works but I've had better luck with potassium bicarbonate, sold as mill-stop or green cure. I know you don't want to delay treating because it will spread quickly and form lesions on the stems that never seem to heal and the stems never seem to grow bigger in diameter. Penn State's website also has some recomendations for biological controls. Good Luck !!

[SummerSky]

All my superstore had was Neem oil, so I sprayed them with that last night. As of this morning, there is no change in the bigger plants, except that the fuzzy spots are gone. One of the larger plants has noticeable indents where the fuzzy spots were. Foliage is still distorted on some of them, but it's still green and full.

The younger tray (a week behind the older plants) is looking worse for wear. My two Ernesto seedlings are wilting. Even one of the Celebrities I planted has twisted leaves. I'm totally shocked that the Jersey Devils in that tray are looking perfectly normal. Knock on wood, but so far the babies from my saved seeds appear to be ok. It's the first time I've saved seeds, and I was really excited about them...

My other two flats look perfectly normal, and are actually booming in growth. I moved them to a different room after transplanting because I ran out of space where I had them before. I also have a flat of peppers and eggplants, which look totally normal but they are just getting their true leaves (got started late and they took forever to get going). Should I spray all my healthy flats with Neem oil, or leave them be?

[RayR]

I would spray all your flats as a preventative. Since you also have Seranade, I would start with that as long as it is within it's 2 year shelf life.

[SummerSky]

Update on the plants...

After a thorough spraying with neem oil, most of the plants haven't changed much. One Polish Linguisa had flipped a leaf upside down, but it appears to be going back to normal-ish. An Opalka totally dropped a lower leaf and isn't looking too hot, and another looks close to wilting. The younger tray started pushing against their lights this morning, so they are growing, but the foliage is quite twisted and some leaves are turning yellow.

I have a couple newbie questions I need to ask though:

1. The younger flat really needs to be potted up. Their roots are starting to surface and they are very crowded. I was going to do that this weekend, but I don't want to stress them out more. Should I pot them up, or should I give them a few days to recoup a little?

2. Should I start trying to harden off my seedlings? I was planning on putting them outside tomorrow in the shade, since it will be in the 60's and not windy. Would the fresh air do them some good, or should I coddle them under lights for a bit longer?

Thank you for all the help, everyone!

[nancyruhl]

I came over here from your other thread. I am surely no expert, but I think the fresh air is just what they need.

I wouldn't wait to pot up the seedlings and pot them up very deeply as new roots will form all along the buried stem, maybe bypassing some of the weakened area.

I think that hardening off only takes a few days, and you probably won't be planting out anytime soon. I like to take the plants outside, though, if I am around to take them in and out. To prevent sunscald on the leaves, start with a somewhat shaded area first, then working out to full sun.