Tomatoes are affected by a number of diseases. Early blight and septoria leaf spot are the most common and need serious attention.
Early blight and septoria leaf spot start from the bottom of the plant and keep on moving up the plant until the entire plant is affected. They cause spots on the leaves and the leaves turn yellow, then brown and eventually fall off. This affects the overall crop if not treated but does not affect the fruits directly as does anthracnose.
Disease identification
Septoria leaf spot appears as many small spots on leaves about an eighth of an inch while early blight appears as larger spots and if looked at closely, the spots have concentric rings.
Heavy rains, high humidity, morning dew , close spacing and un mulched grounds favour disease development and incidences of early blight and septoria leaf spot are high.
Prevention and Control
Mulching, proper spacing and spraying using a preventative fungicide helps to prevent early blight and septoria leaf spot. But once infected, we can only prevent further spread by using a preventative fungicide every 7 to 10 days.
