How do you treat tomato leaf disease? Just as with any other type of garden disease, the answer lies in early detection. You must be able to spot the symptoms before the actual disease can set in. This is one of the secrets to preventing a devastating loss of some or all of your tomato plants. I hope you find this article helpful in learning how to identify and prevent common tomato plant diseases.
The most obvious symptom of plant disease is that the leaves will fall off. There are a couple of different reasons why leaves will fall off. First, the affected plant may have an actual infection, or it may be losing water and nutrients due to fungal infection. If the leaves suddenly fall off, you should check to see if the plant has been infected with any of these:
Symptoms of infection include white spots on the leaves and stems. These spots can be brownish or yellowish depending on the severity of the disease. Infection causes the leaves to wither away, die, and drop off. In mild cases, only a few leaves will fall off. In moderate to severe cases, hundreds of leaves will fall off over the course of just a few days.
The fungus responsible for the disease attacks young plants in the late winter or early spring. It is very important not to harvest any fruits or vegetables until the fungus has been killed. The fungus will simply move on to another plant that is in poor health and cannot support the fungus growth.
Symptoms of fungal disease of the tomato leaf will occur if the plant is exposed to cooler temperatures. As the weather warms up, the temperature will dip just enough to allow moisture to evaporate from the plant’s roots. When the leaves begin to die, small yellow spots will appear on the plant. If the leaves are white, it is a sign of mild disease but if they turn yellow and brown, the plant may be suffering from a more serious fungal infection. If the disease is left untreated, it could damage the fruit’s external appearance and cause rotting or soft spots on the skin.
A treatment solution that is commonly used by gardeners is diluted bleach. This solution should be applied to the infected plant and allowed to sit for three to five minutes. After allowing the solution to sit, the plant should then be covered with plastic wrap. This wrapping should remain in place for two weeks before being removed. Any excess bleach should be discarded. Follow these steps every year to keep a tomato plant healthy and prevent diseases.
A home treatment option for how do you treat tomato leaf disease is using diluted ozone. Ozone gas is often used as a preventative method to kill fungus. One-quarter teaspoon of the gas should be mixed into a spray bottle and then sprayed onto the plant infected with fungus. The leaves and stems should also be washed thoroughly to remove any fungus spores that remain after the treatment.
In most cases, the main concern with how do you treat tomato leaf disease is finding the right fungicide. Fortunately, there are many effective products on the market today. Companies should use their research and experience to come up with products that work best on each variety of tomato plant and on different diseases that may infect the plants. Before making a selection, a company owner should test a sample of plants. Testing the product on the plant and then applying it to a control area can help determine which product is the best at controlling the fungus.