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| Wilt infected Black Vernissage tomato plant. |
I decided a week ago that wilt was infecting the Green Zebra tomato plant, so I went ahead and ordered Serenade concentrate to treat the garden. It took 5 days for us to get the order because of the weekend, and within that time a dozen tomato plants showed symptoms of the disease.
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| It just took a day for the disease to destroy Black Vernissage, one of the most vigorous plants in my garden.
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The causal agent for wilt can be either bacterial or fungal. It infects the vascular system giving them a wilting thirsty look. By the time the plant starts dying it's too late. Even with the Serenade these plants probably aren't salvageable.
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| Green Zebra infected by wilt. It'll get dug up once it dries out a little. |
I'm starting to suspect that many of the tomato plants were stunted as they tried to fight off the disease. Last year, many of the varieties were twice as large compared to this year. I had applied Serenade early on last year due to tomato speck (bacterial). After which I had no fungal disease in the garden, not even my usual late blight.
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Potato plants infected with some kind of disease. After treating this pot of potatoes the stems are now upright.
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The garden got treated on Wednesday, but it rained 6 hours later and has rained most of the weekend. Not the most ideal conditions.
So yesterday, I went through the whole garden and removed dying or yellowing branches on plants. Hoping it would give me a better picture as to whether or not the plants are improving. All the large branches on Black Vernissage are showing signs of infection now, the plant will need to be removed or cut back to the two little suckers that aren't showing signs of disease.
Ah well, it could be worse. In other news, Berkley Tie-Dye and Jaune Flamme are ripening so juicy tomatoes are on the horizon.
6 comments:
Oh, this is so discouraging. Tomatoes almost ripe, mouth watering and the pest and diseases knock them down. I figured out last night that I had less than a 50% success rate with seeds and plants of vegetables. Pause to think about why I do it.
Oh, I feel so awful for you. All that hard work and anticipation and then wham. I know the feeling too well. I hope you can rescue some of your plants. I always get various diseases in my tomatoes too. Last year I also applied Serenade early on and had the healthiest plants ever. I think that an early treatment before any hint of disease shows up really makes a difference. Which reminds me, I haven't sprayed my plants yet.
If it’s not pests destroying plants it’s diseases. Our outdoor tomatoes and potatoes often fall foul of blight but at the moment it’s far too dry. The disease needs warmth and humidity.
Hi Jane,
Growing vegetables is definitely hard work. I way overplant the garden trying to compensate for the high amount of losses that tend to occur.
Hi Michelle,
It's good to know Serenade worked for you as well. I just had to assume that was why the garden did so well, but it's hard to know for sure.
Hi Sue,
It's crazy you're having such a dry summer. Your peas look like they're well watered and thriving with your help.
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