Late blight update

Tomatoes (photo by Böhringer Friedrich )

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It has been more than two months since the 2009 outbreak of late blight hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast area. Cold wet June weather encouraged the disease, but how are tomato crops faring now? The dry July weather brought relief to some, but farmers, particularly organic growers, continue to struggle. Home gardeners are faring a little better. Meanwhile, early blight and fungus also hit the crops in the area.

Late blight was first discovered on June 12, when a Howard County gardener brought the plant to the University of Maryland Plant Diagnostic Lab. Since then, farmers were the hardest hit while home gardeners are reporting fewer problems than expected. Lots of media attention helped many people recognize and control the issue but gardeners and farmers are still wary. According to the Washington Post, 20 percent of Maryland commercial tomato growers reported late blight on their produce. Virginia tomato growers have about the same amount of damage as Marylanders. More tomato crops were damaged in Pennsylvania, as the weather there has been more rainy and cooler. Though the consumer might not see much change in the amount of tomatoes offer, the prices will not drop as low as usual because some growers are afraid of loosing their crops. The good news is that the hot dry weather in July also helped to discourage further growth of the fungus.

Early blight, a common yearly problem in Southern Maryland is also causing problems. Other fungi also affect Maryland farmers, particularly one called vomitoxin, which destroys grain crops. Some farmers are loosing crops badly because they can’t afford the frequent applications of fungicide that would help get rid of these diseases. Organic gardeners are having even more problems, as they can’t use the chemicals that other growers use.

Growers all over the northeast are loosing thousands of tomato plants. Plants cannot recover and must be taken up and destroyed. Fungus can spread from plant to plant on wind and the northeast was affected within days as the fungus spread very quickly. Some farmers in New York reported that usual treatments are not working as well and that the fungus is much stronger than in previous years. According to the New York Times, some farmers are loosing large portions of their plants in just a few days. In home gardens, the spread comes from buying plants from big box stores as the disease spreads quickly among the large inventory.

For information on recognizing and stopping late blight in the home garden see the Examiner article, “Watch for late blight on your tomato plants”.

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