Watch out: Tomato blight reaches Tompkins County

Cornell Cooperative Extension just released an announcement that potted tomato plants bought recently at Lowes in Ithaca were severely infected with "late blight" and originally came from Bonnie Plants in Alabama.  It's possible that other home and garden centers in Ithaca also have infected plants, and the disease is probably spreading through home gardens, according to the announcement.

Conventional and heirloom plants are susceptible, and infected plants have leaves with brown and yellow discoloration.

Cornell Professor Tom Zitter says that plants can be treated before symptoms appear, using the fungicide chlorothalonil, which is found in products by Ortho, Bonide, and others.  Organic growers can try Basic Copper 53 and Nu-Cop, which are registered in NY for organic use.

Late blight also affects potatoes, but whether or not this particular strain will affect Tompkins County potatoes is unknown.

According to the NYS Integrated Pest Management Program, "This disease is capable of wiping out not only your entire potato and tomato crop but also commercial fields very quickly under wet conditions, and farmers who grow potatoes or tomatoes are at serious risk of losing their entire income for the season."