Susan please check the Growing Tomatoes forum here for many current discussions running there on recommended anti-fungal sprays. Assuming you are talking about the late blight (p. infestans) that affected so many last year then crop rotation isn't relevant as p. infestans doesn't over-winter in the soil, only in live tissue. If it is Early Blight (a. solani) that was your problem then yes, it can survive in the soil but it is also an airborne fungus. So it is important to fist ID exactly what was the problem last year as different prevention techniques are required. Dave

Thanks All. Harvestman, I checked back on my notes and last month's weather (from the Weather Channel- I don't keep notes on temps :) ). The tree opened first blooms on 5/2, and was likely at full bloom when we had 4 days of rain starting on 5/7. The first 3 days were mostly in the 50's, while the 4th day heated up to almost 80. I'm hoping for this to explain it, but it is also possible that the cold/wet conditions encouraged FB. I should also note that the Hudson's Golden Gem tree less than 10 feet away bloomed within 1 day of the Red Boskoop (they were two of the first trees both this year and last) and HGG is covered with apples (I've had to thin quite a bit). Sharppa, I haven't seen any other signs of FB, so I am crossing my fingers. I did a quick check for cankers and didn't see any earlier today. I'll keep an eye out for it though. Scott, how do you normally deal with blossom blight? Does it normally spread into the trees? I'm not sure how much I need to prune off, given it seems to be pretty dry and not spreading further (that I can see).

Amy, Assuming it is early blight, which is one of the problems that shows up at this time of year (May-June timeframe), there is an entire range of products available. I'll run through them, starting with the MOST TOXIC and ending with LEAST TOXIC. You can then choose what you are most comfortable with using. 1. Over-the-Counter General Use Products Containing Chlorothalonil (2,4,5,6-tetrachloroisophthalonitrile): DACONIL (actually discontinued by mfg. but still available if stores haven't depleted their stock) 29% chlorothalonil GARDEN DISEASE CONTROL by Ortho -- the replacement for Daconil I think, generally available wherever gardening supplies are sold. Costs roughly $15.00 a pint. BRAVO--available in several formulations, containing from about 30% to about 80% chlorothalonil--more of a commercially-oriented product for ag users and forest service. If you buy Bravo be sure to the 30% one. That is the concentration the government rates as safe for use in vegetable gardens. FUNG-ONIL by Bonide--essentially the same as Ortho Garden Disease Control All of these are generally considered safe for use in the chemical world, but they break down into compounds that are toxic to fish and mammals. They are very effective though, and to be honest, they are more effective than anything we organic gardeners use. That doesn't mean I would use it. If used, protect eyes and skin as it may irritate them. Generally the MOST EFFECTIVE product available for treating blights. All these products use chlorothalonil from the same manufacturer so they are all pretty much the same, although one might be 27% active ingredient and another one might be 29%. They may have different inert ingredients. 2. COPPER-FUNGICIDES Copper products are the "big gun" in the organic world and some organic people use them. However, they are technically considered an Inorganic Fungicide and are used as a broad-spectrum foliar fungicide. They are somewhat effective but are not as effective as chlorothanlonil. I don't like using them as copper can also be toxic to fish and can cause a whole host of symptons/irritations to the person putting the copper products in their garden. KOCIDE: Its active chemical ingredient is cupric hydroxide. If you decide to use a copper product, please google and do some research on it first. I honestly think it would be safer to use a Daconil-type product than a copper-type. The next three are probably equally safe (non-toxic) for use, but I put Seranade first because it might be more effective than the other two. 3. SERANADE--Organic Control For Disease, Insects and Weeds This is the HOT new product of the year in the organic world. It is NOT a chemical but instead contains a patented strain of Bacillus subtilis (a bacteria) which is an ecologically safe control used by organic growers (OMRI-listed) to control a broad range of diseases, including anthracnose, downey mildew, early blight, late blight, leaf spot disease, powdery mildew, and much, much more. I bought this at a Wal-Mart 2 weeks ago as soon as I read about its availability. It is in a red spray bottle with a yellow label and a yellow sprayhead. It has been approved by the EPA and USDA for use on food crops. Some people on the tomato forum who have already used it on blight have been impressed, so I am very hopeful this product will give us a safe, organic product to use on blights. 4. An old organic solution is to spray your plants with a solution of baking soda. There are lots of formulas floating around. Here's one: 1 T. baking soda 1 T. dormant oil (I have used the Superfine summerweight dormant oils for this purpose in the past) 1/2 t. insecticidal soap or dish soap (to serve as a surfactant) 1 gallon of water Mix together. Spray with a hand-sprayer or pump-up sprayer. Be sure to spray undersides of leaves too. This is probably somewhat effective, but I haven't been thrilled with its performance in the past. 5. Garrett Juice--This is an organic solution from Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor, from the Dallas area. (www.dirtdoctor.com) I like Garrett Juice and use it for a lot of things. It is not so much as fungicide as a multi-purpose spray used to improve plant health. For reasons I cannot explain, though, it seems to help. You can buy Garrett Juice in Texas at nurseries, feed stores, and even at some Lowe's and Home Depots, but I don't know if it is available in Oklahoma. I like buying the concentrate and mixing it up more than making it myself completely from scratch, simply because it is less time-consuming. Start with 1 Gallon of Compost Tea -- If you buy a commercial compost tea concentrate, dilute it according to label directions. If using homemade compost tea, use 1 cup to 1 gallon of water. To 1 gallon of compost tea, add the following: 1 ounce of blackstrap molasses 1 ounce of liquid seaweed concentrate or 1 teaspoon of powdered seaweed 1 ounce of apple cider vinegar That is the general formula for Garrett Juice. To use it as a fungicide, add 1/4 cup garlic tea and 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Apply to plants with a sprayer, making sure to spray undersides of leaves. Amy, are you absolutely sure it is early blight? Do you have the dark concentric circles showing up in addition to the yellowing of the leaves? If it seems like Early Blight, it probably is, but I hate to see you spraying for blight if you have something else. To add to all the confusion of is it/isn't it Early Blight, here is a list of other problems for which yellowing leaves are a symptom: too much water too little water zinc deficiency iron deficiency potassium deficiency calcium deficiency root-knot nematodes (only in sandy soil) tobacco mosaic virus aphids tomatoes grown too close to the roots of a black walnut tree, or the use of a home-made mulch containing shredded black walnut tree leaves or wood If the leaves are yellowing AND wilting it could be verticillium wilt or fusarian wilt, although I really have not seen them much at all in my many years of growing tomatoes. I have battled early blight for years and years and years. I actually have had far less of it the last 3 or 4 years since taking pre-emptive measures to try to eliminate it before it can get onto my plants. Still, I think it is virtually impossible to grow tomatoes without eventually having to deal with early blight. If you haven't had early blight before, ask yourself what is different this year. It is soilborne so it could be it just took it a while to find your plants. If you have questions, let me know. Good luck with the blight. Dawn

Linaria, if what you have is Late Blight, P. infestans, that's a whole other story since it is not related to Early Blight, A. solani, and EITHER one can occur either early or late in the season. But Late Blight is usually lethal and from the time the first symptoms appear the plant is usually a stinking mass of black within a week, or at the most two weeks. The only defense against it is to use Daconil from the time the plants are first set out and then hope for the best. And I say hope for the best b'c no pretreatment or continuing treatment is always 100% effective. What Daconil does is to cover the specific attachment sites on the upper leaf surface so that the spores cannot attach. And it has to be reapplied after rains as well. So do be SURE that what your plants have is Late Blight , P infestans) and not some other infection b'c indeed it's a very serious situation when Late Blight is around, as I know it is for several of my friends in England and certain areas of Europe and has been a problem here in the US in certain areas including my own area of the NE, aka, all the US states known as New England and many adjoining states. And also in what we call the Pacific Northwest, that's the states along the coast in western US. Hope that helps. Carolyn