Late blight alert for tomato, potato plants = issued by=20 state
Home gardeners and commercial growers should be aware of the = potential for=20 late blight this growing season.
Late blight is a plant disease that causes tomato and potato plants,=20 primarily, to wilt and die. It spreads rapidly from plant to plant in = wet, cool=20 weather.
=E2=80=9CThe exceptionally cool, damp spring we are experiencing = throughout New York=20 State this year heightens our concern for late blight,=E2=80=9D said New = York State=20 Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine.
The commissioner said he wanted to alert home gardeners and = commercial=20 growers to the potential introduction of late blight this growing = season.
=E2=80=9CWe saw the devastation it can do to a tomato crop in 2009, = and we have=20 already received reports of early late blight detection in neighboring = states,=E2=80=9D=20 Aubertine said. =E2=80=9CTherefore, we want to remind our growers of = this possible plant=20 disease and alert them of the precautions they can take and how we, as a = regulatory agency, are working to protect our plants.=E2=80=9D
Last year, the Department of Agriculture and Markets upgraded the = state=E2=80=99s=20 detection and eradication efforts by additional training for its = horticultural=20 inspectors, surveying plants at the retail level and in commercial = greenhouses,=20 and working with Cornell Cooperative Extension to conduct outreach and = followup=20 in the field with growers and gardeners.
This year, the commissioner says inspection of tomato plants has been = a=20 priority, and to date, more than 150,000 tomato plants have been = inspected with=20 no signs of late blight so far.
Just recently, the department learned of two localized outbreaks, one = on=20 =E2=80=9Cvolunteer=E2=80=9D tomatoes in a greenhouse in Maine where they = had problems with the=20 disease in previous years, and one in a Connecticut greenhouse on = potatoes and=20 tomatoes where the blight was likely on the cut seed potatoes.
Late blight can sometimes be found on other crops, weeds and = ornamentals,=20 such as petunias, nightshades, and tomatillos. Spores travel through the = air,=20 land on plants, and if the weather is sufficiently wet, cause new = infections.=20 Once infected, plants may wilt and die within three days.
For more information about identifying late blight and how to control = it,=20 visit http://vegetablemdon= line.ppath.cornell.edu/.
If you suspect that the blight has infected your plants, call Cornell = Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County at 379-9192.