26 August 2017 Tomato Blight

[Durgan]

http://durgan.org/2017/August%202017/26%20August%202017%20Tomato%20Blight/HTML/ 26 August 2017 Tomato Blight
Tomato blight struck about one week ago. All plants shriveled up and died within a few days. The fruit got ever expanding ro. I harvested about 60 pounds and canned prior to the outbreak. The season has been old and wet all Summer.

 

[Chuck]

That's awful and what's worse is there is nothing you can do about it. Luckily we only have early blight here in Texas. Late blight is much worse.

 

[Durgan]

Never had this blight in the past. But never had a
Summer like this one. Cold and and rain almost daily.

 

[Chuck]

From what I understand about this disease it is windborn and comes from potatoes left in the ground which sprout the next year and the plant produces the spores which then are spread by the wind. So I guess that means no potatoes left in the ground or in a compost pile for miles around. I am not sure if the weather has anything to do with it or not.

 

[Beth_B]

Wow sorry Durgan. Early blight here but that is manageable; never dealt with late blight.

I agree it's been a horrible year for tomatoes. We've been in the 40s the last few nights and it's August ffs.

Weirdly enough my best producers this year have been heirlooms...the Cherokee purple and Old Germans have been doing great. I'm about to make some tomato-coconut curry with what I picked today.

 

[Durgan]

From what I understand about this disease it is windborn and comes from potatoes left in the ground which sprout the next year and the plant produces the spores which then are spread by the wind. So I guess that means no potatoes left in the ground or in a compost pile for miles around. I am not sure if the weather has anything to do with it or not.

Apparently the blight is all over the area.

 

[Purrfluff]

I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I've never had tomato/potato blight but I've read about it and it is seriously bad news. One of our pear trees got hit with apple/pear blight and it destroyed the entire tree in a matter of days.

I believe your blight is indeed windborne but also rain and hail borne. Again, you have my sympathies.

 

[headfullofbees]

Sorry to hear that Durgan.
Problem is, your infected fruit, even if you cannot yet see it, will not taste as good.
I'm heading south from my summer home on Wednesday, not knowing what to expect and fearing the worst, certainly with my outdoor-grown Principe de Borghese tomatoes.

 

[Durgan]

http://usablight.org/node/15

Late blight of potato and tomato caused by Phytophthora infestans is a devastating disease worldwide and led to the Irish potato famine in 1845. Under favorable weather conditions, tomato and potato crops can be destroyed within days. Yield losses caused by late blight and the cost of control measures have been estimated to exceed 6.7 billion dollars annually and the disease is a major threat to food security worldwide.

 

[headfullofbees]

http://usablight.org/node/15

Late blight of potato and tomato caused by Phytophthora infestans is a devastating disease worldwide and led to the Irish potato famine in 1845. Under favorable weather conditions, tomato and potato crops can be destroyed within days. Yield losses caused by late blight and the cost of control measures have been estimated to exceed 6.7 billion dollars annually and the disease is a major threat to food security worldwide.

Here in Europe, where late blight is a perennial problem, we have bred blight-resistant potatoes and tomatoes.

 

[Tjohn]

This area had a bad outbreak about 3 years ago. I've lost a couple tomatoes already this year to it, so apparently it hangs around for a while.