Smokefree Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Ever tried this? I am still trying to save my tomato plants and the chemical spray just doesn't seem to be helping enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Lots of info here on these pages, the late blight is exspeced to hit hard this year! http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Tomato+blight&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10&fp=VEE02fthf5k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Are you sure you have bacteria speck and not late blight which is what most people are having a problem with? Late blight is a fungus and the streptomycin preparations that we were discussing earlier for bacterial diseases won't work on it. Alternately, if you are treating bacterial speck with the fungicide some of us are using on late blight it won't work either. The older copper remedies are supposed to work on both. I read a couple of Ed's articles and the most sensible thing that I read was remove the badly affected leaves and fruit. That might lower the organism count so the spray can do it's job. All of these diseases are hard to control in wet weather. Just my opinion but I don't think a home remedy is going to work better than a commercial one. Those of us who use them put up with lesser control to avoid chemicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 This is an excellent web siteto learn all about late blight. There is hope. http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/lateblighthg.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokefree Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 I don't think it is late blight because it doesn't look like any of the pictures of it that I have seen. It does however, look exactly like every picture of bacterial speck that I have ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I don't think it is late blight because it doesn't look like any of the pictures of it that I have seen. It does however, look exactly like every picture of bacterial speck that I have ever seen. It could well be as both are encouraged by cool wet weather. What are you spraying? Apparently, a 50% copper solution is the recommended treatment. Some of the sprays contain bactericides but I can't find any reputable information as to how effective they are. The copper must come in contact with the bacteria to kill it so timing is crucial. It doesn't get the bacteria that is inside the leaf. This comes from he UC web site and may help with your problem: "Copper-containing bactericides provide partial disease control. Timing is critical. Apply before rainfall and repeat at 10- to 14-day intervals when cool and moist conditions prevail. Copper is strictly a protect ant and must be applied before an infection period occurs. One or two treatments are usually enough to protect tomatoes during the most susceptible stages of growth. Spraying can stop when temperatures move into the 90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokefree Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 I haven't been able to find any product with copper in it in Dubois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Kocide 2000 and Mankocide from DuPont are what you want. Maybe someone can order them for you. The drier weather should help. I don't know what else to tell you. From what I can see even the commercial products don't totally control bacterial speck. Someone on here found a streptomycin preparation which might help. If you can't find anything commercial remove the worst plants and keep removing the badly affected leaves. You could try turning a fan on the plants or find some other means to dry them out as wet encourages the growth of the bacteria. I can't see why milk would kill the bacteria but give it a try if that is all you have. http://www2.dupont.com/Production_Agriculture/en_US/products_services/fungicides/Kocide_fungicide_brandpage.html http://www2.dupont.com/Production_Agriculture/en_US/products_services/fungicides/ManKocide_fungicide.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokefree Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 They said on the internet that milk-water promotes the growth of good bacteria. I just wondered if anyone here had tried it. I have been snipping off the affected branches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 I suppose it might help in a year when there's not a ton of rain to deal with. It's always better to reinforce a plant's immune system to fight off disease which sounds like what the milk spray might do. In normal times an all round vitamin is good for humans but in terribly stressful times they don't stop a serious disease. Plants are probably the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 They said on the internet that milk-water promotes the growth of good bacteria. I just wondered if anyone here had tried it. I have been snipping off the affected branches I guess it could promote the growth of certain bacteria by providing a medium for them to grow in. Milk turns sour and that is bacterial growth. As to what effect that bacteria would have on a more harmful one is anybody's guess. The new bacteria might change the conditions on the leaf in some way that would make it difficult for the harmful bacteria to survive. What immediately comes to mind is pH. Get the leaf surface either too acid or too alkaline and the harmful bacteria might die. Or simple crowding. Only one object can occupy a space at one time. I checked and this milk spray seems to be more used on viral diseases and powdery mildew. There isn't much in the way of real studies but the Dept. of Agriculture (in maybe Wisconsin?) has an article on it. I did find this home remedy for bacteria but I'd be very careful with it. Remember that your plants are stressed out as it is. Also check the bottle and make sure it is actually 3%. I'm not sure what concentration the hydrogen peroxide we buy is. "Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment To prevent bacterial and fungal problems on outdoor plants use hydrogen peroxide! Hydrogen peroxide will prevent the disease spores from adhering to the plant tissue. It causes no harm to plants or soil, however don't use on young transplants or direct seeded crops until they have become established. Warning: Always test on a small portion of plant tissue first to check for any negative reactions. Do not proceed if there is any damage to plant tissue. Do not substitute food grade H2O2 for the common H2O2. Spray plants with undiluted 3 percent hydrogen peroxide that you can buy most anywhere. Be sure to cover tops and bottoms of leaves. Do this once a week during dry weather and twice a week in wet weather. This works as a preventative. If you already have problems use this as a direct treatment." This comes from an commercial organic gardening web site that has some interesting home remedies on it. http://www.ghorganics.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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