Blight

[dim]

All my tomato plants in Cambridge have been removed due to heavy blight. Luckily, I had loads of Sungold before the blight hit

If I grow potatoes this year/early next year, what are the chances of them getting hit with blight aswell? ... i.e. my question is does one have to wait a while before planting potatoes if your tomatoes got serious blight?

[Thelma Sanders]

You don't have to wait before planting again, you can get it any year - it arrives in the air, and it's worse in damp summers.

[Bill HH]

I have read you need to wait 4 years but i got riddled with it last year and so far seem clear this year (touch wood) Mind you I did disinfect my greenhouse and used a sulphur candle etc.

[solanaceae]

If growing in different soil/bed from last year then there should be no higher risk of blight than anywhere else (so long as you don't have any overwintering infected material about ).

If growing in the same soil/bed as last year then there could be an increased risk due to 'zoospores' which can splash up against plant foliage and live for up to 2 years in soil. I don't think these spores travel by wind though I could be wrong.

Having said that I've found my tomato plants that I planted In infected beds from last year haven't had any blight yet, whereas other beds have.

The blight has been slower spreading this year thanks to less than ideal conditions. If the same conditions are present next year then use a fungicide spray and / or remove any infected material immediately and your plants will probably be fine. Can be a bit of a hassle though.

[Alison]

Blight will only survive on living material so the soil won't "store" it but as said above the spores can come in any year.

[dim]

thanks guys ... I will plant toms in a different bed next year .... Potatoes will be grown in a large 500 litre airpot (as soon as it's time to plant them)

Blight has been a bad problem in parts of cambridge this year .... all my clients have had blight on their tomatoes .... last year, we had none

[Richard Eldritch]

As mentioned on my thread, I used asprin spray this year and didn't get any blight. Never been able to grow Toms before. Works on Tatas as well.

[Alison]

As mentioned on my thread, I used asprin spray this year and didn't get any blight. Never been able to grow Toms before. Works on Tatas as well.

Am a little sceptical about this until it's been shown to work against a test group that hasn't been treated.

[Richard Eldritch]

Am a little sceptical about this until it's been shown to work against a test group that hasn't been treated.

I'm only trying it due to proper boffins having done a lot of trials, and getting good results.

[Chippy Minton]

^^^ There's a challenge for next year I bought some Aspirin forgot to use it got blight :'(

Next year two halves of a bed, one Aspirin'd the other not....

[Penellype]

My toms in the garden are looking a little suspect in places with the odd black splodge on the stems. I've cut down the affected stems to try to slow it down but I'm not hopeful. Got a blightwatch alert for a full Smith period here today

[solanaceae]

Same here P. A few plants in the south facing end of the garden have the patches on stems, but that's mostly due to me not spotting and removing infected leaves from a few weeks back. Doesn't seem to be a problem though. The blight's spreading only a couple of mm each day on the stems, really slow. Still getting a good rate of growth from the affected plants, very pleased.

Apart from the plants that got infected a couple weeks back, there's been no new infections despite 2 smith periods this month.

[Kristen]

If I grow potatoes this year/early next year, what are the chances of them getting hit with blight aswell? ... i.e. my question is does one have to wait a while before planting potatoes if your tomatoes got serious blight?

Tomatoes followed by Potatoes is unlikely to be a problem (no residual plant material from the Toms), but if you get blight on your spuds next year take very good precautions with any volunteer spuds that you get the year after that. I always remove 100% of volunteers - partly because they are then in the wrong part of my crop rotation, but more because they might be carrying disease.

You can sign up with Blightwatch.co.uk - the essential service for professional potato growers and then you will get an email alerting you to any Smiths Periods - although little point unless you are happy to then spray the crop with something prophylactic

Early Potatoes are usually up, grown and harvested before [main season] blight arrives, so if you are anxious about it then don't plant any Main Crop varieties.

If blight was widespread in your area this year there will be volunteer spuds in allotments etc. next year, and thus the likelihood of disease, if weather is conducive, is higher than a growing season which follows a bone dry summer when blight didn't manage to spread easily, so personally I would "prepare for the worst" next year.