Tomato plants are very vulnerable to disease, most of which are fungi-based and almost impossible to get rid of once a plant has become infected. The best way to save your plants from tomato plant diseases is with adequate care and preventative measures. But here is how you can identify a disease and deal with it in the best possible way:
Identifying a Tomato Disease
Most diseases will cause spots or dark patches to appear on your plant leaves or on the fruit itself. Often these patches will discolour – becoming dark brown or black in wet weather. The diseases most likely to strike in dry, hot weather tend to be lighter in colour.
As the diseases tend to interrupt the proper flow of nutrients, water and oxygen through the plant’s system. Growth of the outer-reaching areas of the plant will often be inhibited and one of the first symptoms of any tomato plant disease is the upper leaves beginning to wilt and turn yellow.
How to Deal With an Infected Plant
As mentioned, most tomato plants cannot survive a fungal disease. Once you’ve identified a disease your priority becomes to get rid of the plant carefully without allowing the disease to spread to any of your other plants.
It’s essential that you get rid of a plant in the correct way. If you uproot it there and then you will most likely help the disease to spread all around your vegetable garden.
The first step is to get some good anti-fungal spray and apply a generous amount of it to all your other plants. Do this immediately, don’t wait for the next day these diseases can spread very quickly. Next prepare a large black bag next to the infected plant, carefully uproot it, taking care not to shake the leaves too much, and place it in the bag.
Dispose of the bag in a rubbish dump far from your home.
How to Prevent Tomato Plant Diseases
This really is key. If you look after your plants properly, you may well never have the problem in the first place.
The most common causes of a disease is excess moisture or dampness, usually from a lack of good ventilation. You can help this by trimming the leaves from the lower portions of the plant, they are not particularly necessary and actually divert energy away from the fruits. Trimming the lower leaves will allow a lot of air in to dry away the moisture.
Poor climate conditions are dangerous form plants growing outside a greenhouse. This could be too much cold or even frost. A damaged plant is very susceptible to fungus. You can give plants some protection from surprise cold weather with a plastic blanket or cover. Too much exposure to the sun can also weaken your plant and make it vulnerable.
Make sure to give your plant adequate nutrition with good compost. And also make sure the soil is well-drained. One final thing is ant-fungal spray, regularly applied to all the leaves, this can make all the difference in the world.
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