High humidity means more fungal issues

The Relentless Gardener
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With our high humidity and high dew point continuing with these last summer rains, we can never seem to dry out. Our vegetable crops, squash, tomatoes and other warm season crops are affected.

Late blight on our tomatoes shows up on the stems first. The disease looks like dark brown lesions on stems. Then a white fungal growth develops under moist conditions. The leaves start off with a blue-gray color that turns brown. The leaves will fall off the plant. The fungal growth on the stems and on the leaves consists of thousands of microscopic spores. The spores can be dispersed by wind to healthy plant tissue. The spores only need a few hours to affect healthy tissue and create a lesion.

You can remove any leaves or stems that appear to have been affected and then wash your hands before touching another tomato plant or part of the plant affected. If a tomato plant goes untreated, then a plant can die within a week. If you want an organic treatment, use a copper spray. If you want a nonorganic fungicide, use chlorothalonil often found in Fungonil.

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Holyoke Enterprise

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Holyoke CO 80734