Gardening Tips for Dealing With Infected Plants
What to look for: Late blight symptoms include greenish-brown, greasy-looking lesions on stems, leaves and, eventually, fruit or potato tuber. They measure one to two inches. Also look for delicate, whitish, spore-producing mold under leaves.
What to look for: Late blight symptoms include greenish-brown, greasy-looking lesions on stems, leaves and, eventually, fruit or potato tuber. They measure one to two inches. Also look for delicate, whitish, spore-producing mold under leaves.
What to do: Be vigilant. Check your plants daily.
If you see signs of blight, carefully remove infected plant, place in a plastic bag, set the bag in sun to cook spores, then put in the trash.
Do not place on a compost pile, in case spores are still alive.
If plants seem healthy, spray with fungicide to prevent late blight. Experts recommend one with the active ingredient chlorothalonil. Be sure to follow label instructions.
Whatever you do: Do not do nothing. Not dealing with affected plants is not OK. Wind-borne spores can infect neighboring gardens and cause devastation in commercial tomato and potato fields.
Information: To find your local cooperative extension office at either Pennsylvania State University or Rutgers University, go to http://extension.psu.
edu/ or http://njaes.rutgers.edu/.