What's the soil situation like -- soil type, any amendments? Have you fed them at all? I'm thinking that's an odd pattern of yellowing you've got there... it almost never starts from the base of the leaf like that. Whitefly can cause some yellowing on older leaves and saps vigor, but you didn't mention how well the control is working. If you haven't fed them, the first thing I'd try is a balanced fertilizer. That uniform yellow color isn't early blight (EB has dark spots); Verticillium tends to make the entire plant sag during the day as if it had gone dry, and can affect some branches more than others. I wouldn't rule out V. wilt yet, but try the fertilizer first, and check the levels of whitefly on the plants. --Alison who has had some of the same problems in the past, with weak soil... until the mites would come in and demolish the stunted little plants. Too much nitrogen is bad, but it is possible to have too little as well.

Nope, won't go to the rose. Nor to the crabapple. As for your guesses re the rose and crabapple, they may be right on. But you'd need to give more detailed descriptions of the lesions in order for anyone to verify it. Neither resemble the lesions of early blight on tomatoes.

You can spray a fungicide if you wish to. Do remove the bad looking foliage. I have a yellow pear that has had a couple of branches that look like that for the whole season.(Note not the same couple of branches. I cut the bad looking ones off when I can.) It seems the plant is oblivious to it though. It is still setting fruit in the sweltering humid weather here. It is also growing quite large as well. It seems the heat has made it take off for growth. Oh and I have used neem oil twice. I have some daconil, and will be using it to slow things down once it will stop raining every other few hours here. Though I am not complaining about the rain. We have had a bad drought going for a while. Though we have been getting rain it seems to be very little, and far apart when it happens.

If you get early blight, or any other fungal or bacterial disease every year, then you need to take preventive measures. After having early and late blight savage my tomatoes last year, I'm taking some precautions this year, including: 1. Disease resistant varieties. I don't think any varieties are resistant to blight, but I still wanted resistance to other diseases. And if a plant is weakened by any disease, it will be more susceptible to blight. 2. Generous plant spacing for good air circulation. 3. Plastic mulch and soaker hoses to keep the foliage dry. 4. Pruning. I'm using two strategies. First, when the plants were about 3 1/2 feet tall, I removed all the leaves on the lower 12-14 inches of each plant, since these typically contract blight first. I sprayed all the fresh cuts with fungicide as a precaution. It may be coincidence, but the plants started to bloom heavily after the cutting, so maybe stressing the plants kicked them into the blooming phase. Secondly, I pinched off enough suckers to facilitate air circulation. My plants all have 2-4 main branches, but on the first 3 1/2 feet, my plants are open and airy. Above 4 feet, I quit pinching off suckers to form a foliage canopy that would shade the tomatoes. Of course the plants are sort of top-heavy, so I've got them well-supported. 5. Good fertility and consistent watering. Healthy plants that aren't water-stressed are less susceptible to disease. 6. Chemical prevention. I spray with the lowest recommended concentration of chemicals every 7-10 days, depending on rainfall. To prevent any resistant disease strains from taking hold, I'm alternating every two applications between a mancozeb + liquid copper mix, and a chlorothalonil + liquid copper mix. 7. Insect control. Insects are vectors for many diseases (not sure about blights), and they weaken the plant, increasing the risk of disease. I've only sprayed with BT so far, and have not observed any pests at all on my tomatoes. But if any insects do show up, they will rue the day they decided to feast on my plants. Insecticides on hand (in order of escalation): pyrethrins/rotenone, permethrin, and malathion. I tried using some neem earlier this summer, but suspected it stunted plant growth (and some research indicates it does partially block stomas), and it was nearly useless against an early aphid infestation of my beans. I've also got some carbaryl, but it seems to kill more beneficial insects than any other insecticide I've tried, so I treat it as a WMD of last resort.