blight on potatoes and tomatoes
Wet and warm weather (intense rain is particularly unwelcome as infected soil can be splashed up onto the plants) can trigger a high alert for potato blight( please see the link below). It almost certainly means that outdoor tomatoes are at risk as well. Unfortunately there are no longer any chemical control treatments available to the amateur gardener.
The first sign of blight is usually ‘chocolate’ spots on the leave, and then the whole plant begins to blacken. There are many websites with images of blight on potatoes and tomatoes. The main thing is to try and protect the potato tubers and a rather drastic, but often successful, technique is to cut off all the affected foliage and put it in your green waste bin. It is much more difficult to protect outdoor tomatoes other than by removing possibly affected leaves as soon as possible. It is not recommended that amateur growers compost the affected foliage as our composting facilities rarely get hot enough to destroy the pathogen.
It is best to try to avoid blight by planting or sowing blight resistant varieties. For tomatoes a good blight resistant variety is Crimson Crush. Please click on the link below to see more information.
The first sign of blight is usually ‘chocolate’ spots on the leave, and then the whole plant begins to blacken. There are many websites with images of blight on potatoes and tomatoes. The main thing is to try and protect the potato tubers and a rather drastic, but often successful, technique is to cut off all the affected foliage and put it in your green waste bin. It is much more difficult to protect outdoor tomatoes other than by removing possibly affected leaves as soon as possible. It is not recommended that amateur growers compost the affected foliage as our composting facilities rarely get hot enough to destroy the pathogen.
It is best to try to avoid blight by planting or sowing blight resistant varieties. For tomatoes a good blight resistant variety is Crimson Crush. Please click on the link below to see more information.