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| Is it necessary to cover all the surfaces of the plant or is it absorbed into the plant and gives a sort of systemic control? I usually don't spray fungicide very much, a few years I have and this looks to be one of them. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Depends on the type of fungicide used in part. But in general you try to mist all the leaf surfaces. It is the preventative coating that sets up on the leaf surfaces that prevents the fungus from attaching to the leaf surface. The type of fungicide you choose to use will give you its specific application instructions. Some fungicides have a mobile ability that allows them to evenly distribute itself throughout the leaf surface, others do not. But it isn't systemic to the whole plant. Dave |
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- Posted by Whosurtomato 6a Southern IN (My Page) on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 20:33
| Thanks Dave, that was my guess, but when I was spraying that thought kind of hit me and I couldn't find any info on exactly how it worked. Some of the damage I was seeing was actually on some of the stems and even had some gray mold on some of the blossoms. No damage to the leaves other than those that wilted on the affected stems. My first thought was insects on the stems but when I saw the mold I wasn't sure, so the two could have been unrelated. |
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| The stems is a good point as i should have said "leaves and stems" above. I tend to assume that if all the leaves are treated the spray will get the stems too and that isn't a valid assumption. Keep in mind that fungicides are not a cure. They are primarily a preventative. So best results are obtained when applied from the day of plant out. Once the disease sets in, the best you can hope for with fungicides is to slow down its progress so you can get a harvest. Of course some fungal disease progress much more rapidly than others. If Grey Mold is what you are dealing with then IMO you'll get better results from all the cultural controls for it than from the fungicides. Massively increasing the air circulation in and among the plants even if it means sacrificing a few of them, removal of all affected foliage ASAP, no overhead watering, increasing sun exposure as much as possible, tool and hand sanitation so you aren't carrying it from plant to plant, increased N to the plants (studies show it slows the spore growth), even dusting with lime or sulfur or spraying with dilute hydrogen peroxide to alter the pH of the plant surfaces can retard its development and spread. Dave |
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- Posted by Whosurtomato 6a Southern IN (My Page) on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 21:14
| Thanks for the tips, some of things I do and some I should do more of. My plants are in crw cages 5' apart in rows 5' apart and are even staggered from row to row to increase air circulation. I don't water unless it is a drought situation and then I use a soaker hose on the ground. I should spray from the beginning but I hardly ever have a problem unless conditions are just right. I am starting to grow more OP/Heirloom varieties so I am going to have to be more proactive. I guess on the bright side before I even got a chance to spray I didn't see any new occurrence. |
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