Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - 2009 Blight Decimated Tomato Plants Province Wide

bcday · December 23, 2009

Please be aware that what I said above only applies to LATE Blight, not Early Blight.

I know you probably know the difference, but many folks don't understand that Late Blight is a whole different disease from Early Blight. That's why it's so important to pin down the exact name of whatever disease your plants have.

Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans) CANNOT survive the winter on dead plants, or in the soil.

Early Blight (Alternaria solani) CAN survive the winter on dead plant material. So can Septoria, another serious foliage disease.

Clearing dead plants away from the garden at the end of the season and cleaning stakes, cages and other equipment won't make any difference to Late Blight, but it will help a lot to reduce re-infection by Early Blight and Septoria next year.

Late Blight can show up "early" in the season, as it did in 2009. And if you take preventative measures, it's possible that Early Blight may not appear until "late" in the season. So you can't distinguish Early Blight from Late Blight by whether it shows up early or late, LOL.

December 23, 2009	#6
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	Please be aware that what I said above only applies to LATE Blight, not Early Blight. I know you probably know the difference, but many folks don't understand that Late Blight is a whole different disease from Early Blight. That's why it's so important to pin down the exact name of whatever disease your plants have. Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans) CANNOT survive the winter on dead plants, or in the soil. Early Blight (Alternaria solani) CAN survive the winter on dead plant material. So can Septoria, another serious foliage disease. Clearing dead plants away from the garden at the end of the season and cleaning stakes, cages and other equipment won't make any difference to Late Blight, but it will help a lot to reduce re-infection by Early Blight and Septoria next year. Late Blight can show up "early" in the season, as it did in 2009. And if you take preventative measures, it's possible that Early Blight may not appear until "late" in the season. So you can't distinguish Early Blight from Late Blight by whether it shows up early or late, LOL.