Disease Prevention -- Tomatoes -- Fungicide

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

The title is self explanatory : Preventing bacterial/ fungal diseases in tomato plants. The keyword is " PREVENTION".

As the old saying goes :

------ AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE-----

This is especially true about some of the so- called "Blight" diseases that once got infected , fighting it won't result in a cure. So, in such cases , prevention offers a better chance, not to get it in the first place. It is in a way like an insurance policy.

WHAT IS FUNGICIDE ?

fungicide is substance (synthetic or organic) that can prevent fungal spores from multiply on the plants after landing, via air or soil. In some cases they can also kill/destroy or keep checked those fungi.

What are Your Fungicide Choices ?:

I am using 3 kinds :

1) Daconil >>> It is a synthetic fungicide, probably the most widely used one.

2) Neem Oil >>> This is an organic fungicide, made with NEEM oil. It might not be the strongest but is has also pesticide power too. It can be effective on a handful of pests that I know of, like aphids and flea beetles.

3) Copper Fungicide: >>> There are several brands on the market. Some are OMR approved, for those who are practicing organic method.

I personally use all 3 kind mentioed above, alternatively. So far this season I have used Daconil twice, Neem once and Copper once.

>APPLICA.TION , SCHEDULE;

Most recommend using it from DAY ONE on schedule. The recommended frequency is 7 to 15 days between applications. I am following that recommendation myself.

WHEN TO APPLY ...??

HOW TO APPLY ...??

HOW MUCH TO APPLY ...?

Now the ball is on your court, to says whatever you want, on the subject of FUNGICIDE-ing

Featured Answer

ncrealestateguy

8 years ago

I use Daconil, Mancozeb and Copper. When I spray with Copper, I tank mix it with either Daconil or Mancozeb. I rotate the two. The instructions on the Copper label even suggests to tank mix with Mancozeb for a wider spectrum of control.

I spray this rotation about every 7 days. In between this schedule I am spraying this year for the first time with 2 aspirin and 1.5 tablespoons baking soda per gallon of water. I had a friend that did this last year with no other fungicides and I and he could not believe how it kept the blights off of his large tomato farm. I mean, it was the cleanest crop I had seen of his, ever.

Anyone else ever use aspirin or baking soda?

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Comments (25)

Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
8 years ago
I though that this thread will be a hit. lol.

Sey
daniel_nyc
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I start
spraying from DAY 1, WEEKLY, and I didn’t have ANY type of problems.

I use copper.
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All tomato diseases are primarily prevention oriented. There are no real "cures" once the disease is established. But there is no blanket prevention for all diseases either and if we sprayed on all the various mixes that would be needed to try to prevent everything we'd likely kill the plants. :) Daconil fungicide sprayed weekly from the first day of plant out has a pretty good record at preventing fungus diseases or at least stalling them. But it does little for bacterial diseases and nothing for viral diseases. Copper sprays can 'help' prevent bacterial problems but does little for fungus and nothing for viral diseases. See the problem? And there are many preventative environmental controls that folks would argue are as effective as using fungicides. Things like planting the more resistant varieties, increased spacing between plants, off-season soil treatment, positioning to improve air circulation in among the plants, heavy mulching, drip irrigation, increasing sun exposure, etc. So again that all depends on what disease we are talking about? What diseases are prevalent in your garden, your area, your region? What have you had problems with specifically in the past? The link I gave you gives some recommendations for each of the many diseases but sadly there is no "one for all". If there was we'd all be using it. Dave
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Blame the guy who doesn't stick his finger in the barrel soil daily to check moisture level; the one who abandoned the barrel water needs for a full week in early July to go on that vacation; the one who thought the sprinkle last week was adequate water; the one who delegated watering responsibility to the boy who mows the lawn. Amen! Well said!! The gardener causes the BER, not the soil. _________________ I know it wasn't real intelligent to try to grow tomatoes in the same soil 2 years in a row, but I did. but am not sure what to grow in the barrels to counteract the problems I had, I also doused the barrels with fungicide and would like to still use them Could I address these two points in addition to all the good info above? First, IF that was a good potting mix in your barrels then there is no problem with re-using it for a couple of years providing you amend it well with some fresh mix and fertilizers each year. Many of us do it all the time. If it was soil rather than potting mix then that was the primary cause of your problems. So now that the barrels are empty and clean, refill them with a good quality potting mix - a soil-less mix - and grow whatever you want in them. If you want tomatoes in them, fine. Try some of the dwarf varieties - New Big Dwarf for example - of some of the many determinate varieties. Or make them into a mixed flowers and salad bar barrel with green onions, radishes, various leaf lettuces, cherry tomatoes (small plants), and some herbs. Many great "barrel garden" ideas over on the Container Gardening forum here. As to the BER, please don't buy into any of the so-called "quick-fix-guaranteed-prevention" ideas you will encounter. It is well established that they are nothing more than coincidence. And consider incorporating an auto drip watering system into your barrels. It is one of the best ways to maintain the consistent moisture levels needed to reduce the incidences of BER. Enjoy your tomatoes! Dave
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Thanks lindalana, for the link. Seems to be somebody's dissertation in Germany who had a Cuban product, nice grant and a good Danish plant analysis lab. I had difficulty getting through it since the writing style was all over the map. The research looked reasonable for a graduate student, but it's definitely something to sleep on. It would be nice to see this in its peer-reviewed final published form and to see if other researchers in the field consider the results remarkable enough for citing. I think it was a very cool project, and may well illustrate some benefits that had been known for years before (old Tami U website of Davies Googles up where they had been studying this for years before but caution it is not a panacea but say it can help. I really don't know what to make of the test setup. I have some questions on the very small pots ("3 kg"), that the plants were measured in the early vegetative stage when in my particular case, plants are usually disease free, and not when fruiting when mine show symptoms, and the generalization of the results based on some "soil" chosen was 50% sterile sand and some undisclosed 50% other soil irradiated to sterility with a powerful electron beam. Not sure how this translates, if at all. I'm not disputing the findings, I like them. I am just wondering how applicable it is to a real life situation. Thanks very much for taking the time to post the link :-) "PC, how do you cope with mold ? peroxide ?" Hi Sey, I try to keep my main plants dry and airy in a tall hoop with open ends. Daconil sprayed on them lasts a long time this way in addition to the benefit of keeping water off the leaves in the first place. I'm starting new seeds today. I only use peroxide to disinfect between crops but that helps, so soon I'll be doing that. The ground in the hoop is covered in landscape fabric and everything gets drenched in the peroxide including plastic cover pvc supports, irrigation tubing and other support hardware in there. Peroxide might provide some initial disinfectant activity if applied to the leaves, but in too high concentrations it could risk damage to the good parts of the leaf and give the fungus more openings, because the despicable mold penetrates the protective barrier of the leaf. So it all still comes down to prevention :-( Daniel wrote: "Tomatoes are subject to a number of fungus diseases which are lethal and can ruin your whole crop. [ Yes, you should rotate your tomatoes. ]" I can't resist Daniel. While we are still passing around the pear wine from rgreen, I decided to rotate your tomatoes. I hope you don't mind ;-) (EDIT: removed picture, and note tomatoes were not Daniel's) PC
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Julia_WI Zone 5b
8 years ago
I just started spraying fungicide yesterday after seeing your fellow gardeners' suggestion.I use neem oil. I now realized I should have started earlier. My tomato plants are doing OK, but my eggplants, peppers and cucumbers all have some degree of yellowish leaves due to wet/cold spring we had this year. I hope it's not too late...
lindalana 5b Chicago
8 years ago
I am thinking about aspirin. Not sure how it affects soil web though. My arsenal includes Exel LG and Actinovate, Serenade and occasional copper. Septoria and EB are main concerns here and ALWAYS happen at community plots. My goal is use least amount of sprays. I use mycorrhizal addition during the planting and multiple Aerated Compost Tea brewed weakly.
daniel_nyc
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I never
used and I will never use Daconil.

The reason is that the United States Environtmental Protection Agency (EPA) says:

> “Chlorothalonil [Daconil] has been classified as a
"likely" human carcinogen by all routes of exposure based on an
increased incidence of renal adenomas and carcinomas observed in both sexes of
rats and mice.”

For me, the word LIKELY is good enough to NOT use the
product.

I used rarely Serenade - mostly on seedlings - which is also an organic fungicide like copper.

Thank you copper!
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
8 years ago
Whatever your choice of fungicide is JUST DO IT !
The point I wanted to emphasize is PREVENTION.
Don't wait until your plants are infested. Then it might be too late or the best you can do is continue fighting with a slight chance to win. In the case of Late Blight it will be a lost battle.

Sey
daniel_nyc
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Totally agree.

Daconil might help against Late Blight.

But just don't take your chances.

PREVENT !
caryltoo Z7/SE PA
8 years ago
I sprayed last weekend, but we've had a rainy week so I should probably do it again. First really sunny day in awhile.
sjetski
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Copper-Sulfate, i forget my current brand offhand but it's a concentrate that's much heavier on the sulphur and lighter on the copper. A remote concern but i don't want the copper to build-up to toxic levels in my plots. Here's a quick read on copper build-up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_mixture

Serenade concentrate. I use this the most, both as a prevention and treatment. I have/had some chronically infected rose bushes, i yanked some but Serenade keeps the rest chugging. I use it right through the month of September.

Daconil. I'll use it one to three times in a season, often right after plant-out during periods of heavy rain. I'm looking to phase this one out eventually but need to research subsitutes first.

Plant trimming and yanking. I automatically trim off leaf tips and whole branches. If a plant looks bad enough then it gets yanked. No need for an uphill battle with a disease vector.

People here asked about aspirin water, I use one 325mg tablet per gallon. But i only use it when i've torn up roots during plant-out or potting up. I know there are some in the pepper-growing community that spray it onto the leaves but i use a couple of oz's per plant to drench the soil. I apply it to one side of the root system only as i don't know if it will harm the myco's.

Steve.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
8 years ago
I dug this thread out so it might be useful.

I am taking this disease prevention very serious. After I took my plant out 7 days ago (hardening off) I sprayed them with Daconile. will do that again as soon as they are planted our. From there on on a regular schedule every 7 to 10 days.

------ AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE-----

Sey
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
In the UK, we have something called Blightwatch...which monitors for Smith Periods, in our locality. Since both the humidity and the temperature are very specific and need to be maintained for 48hours for the spores (phytopthera infestans) to germinate, we get an early warning (near miss) when the conditions for blight are in our area. This gives us 24 hours to rush out and spray copper solution on the plants. Whilst I believe prevention is better than cure, I would never spray anything as a response to 'maybe'. Blight spores are predictable, preventable and easily controlled if you can check the daily humidity and temperature...and also, I usually only have to spray a handful of times per season.
ncrealestateguy
8 years ago
Blight is not a "maybe" here in Charlotte, NC. It WILL come, sooner or later. Some years are worse than others, but it will be there. Therefore a regular spraying program is a must.
User
8 years ago
No, it isn't a maybe in the UK either...but the precise moment when it arrives (it surely will) is down to 'maybe' but there is a a way of predicting which gives you a tiny window to take action. Obviously, if I was unable to get to the plants to spray in my small window of opportunity, I would have to follow a regular spraying regime...but if it is possible to avoid this by using the Smith Period data, it can only be a winner, especially costwise.
missrumphius
8 years ago
Has anyone had experience with actinovate? Johnny's lists it as effective against EB which is endemic here. I'd like to find an effective organic fungicide.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
8 years ago
Miss ... You want to go organic ? You can spray with Neem Oil. It comes in concentrated form. Mix it per instruction. It is claimed to work as pesticide and might act on virus too. I have 3 kinds of spray : Daconile, Neem Oil and Copper fungicide.

Sey
ncrealestateguy
8 years ago
Miss... I am using Actinovate as a garden drench. I read the lable two weeks ago, and I do not remember seeing it recommended as a foilar spray for Early Blight. I will read it again.
digdirt2
8 years ago
Here is a link to a bunch of previous discussions about using Actinovate that you might want to browse through.

Dave

/actinovate/topic=tomato
missrumphius
8 years ago
Dave - Thank you.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
8 years ago
Be Consistent ! (reminder to myself)

As I continue planting out, I spray them w/ Daconile at the end of day. I have made a small spray bottle of it. It takes a few short minutes to do it. This is even knowing that there is no air borne diseases around at this point.

Sey
FastInk
8 years ago
I know prevention is key, but it's a lot of work spraying the plants. Instead, I grow more plants, and grow them faster so that I can still make harvest.

Out of curiosity, are you guys spraying every square inch, and getting under every leaf? If not, how's that working for you? and how do you keep up with all the spraying? (it's a lot of work) I'm in terrible area for blight, haven't managed to beat it yet, gonna do an experiment this year and see what I can get away with, and how much work it actually takes to make it worth my time.
ncrealestateguy
8 years ago
Fastnik, spraying the entire plant, both the top and bottoms of leaves is the way to go. I hear you! Once the plants get large, it is a chore to spray each plant correctly. These fungicides are contact types, which means that if the fungicide does not contact the spores, it does not kill. They are not systemic. This is one of the main reasons why I have started to prune my plants to 3 stems. It makes it such less of a chore to do it correctly. I may get a little less fruit from each plant, but I can plant 33% more plants, so it makes up for it.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
7 years ago
It pays to fungicide. My story.

This year due to a lot of rainy days , being out of town , NOT being consistent, I got some minor disease problem but luckily it has been kept checked. .

In addition to Daconil I have been using LIQUI _ COP and bleach spray. These 2 seem to be more effective , especially on Gray Mold.

Yesterday I did a good soakin spray. Timing was perfect. No significant chance of rain in the forecast for days and it will be mostly sunny and warm.

I hope your garden is disease free and productive.

Sey
donna_in_sask
7 years ago
I have fungicide on-hand but have never used it. I've only experienced Late Blight on my tomatoes once, in 2010...Early Blight and other diseases might be present but I've never lost a crop to them like that LB. One preventative that I do practice is never watering from above; I try not to wet the leaves and I also trim off any yellow/dying leaves at the bottom of the plants.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
Original Author
7 years ago
Donna, some of us are not as lucky as you are. Fungiciding is like buying insurance for your car. You might not have totalled your car but there is always a chance to get involved in an accident that was your fault.

You watering and trimming practices are on track. I do the same.

Sey

Disease Prevention -- Tomatoes -- Fungicide

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