thoughts?

For fungus protection Daconil is hands down the way to go.

Neem oil will slow down whiteflies etc; never seemed to do anything against fungal problems on my plants.

Liquid copper is a waste of money.

Trying to stay organic is noble but synthetic Daconil is actually less toxic than some of the "organic" preventitives and it works.

On the other hand if organic is an absolute MUST for you then go with alternating sulfur and copper. But drop the Neem. Both sulfur and copper warn against mixing with any oil based spray ("do not use if oil applied within 1 month as it can be phytotoxic") to avoid killing the plant.

Dave

But ALL NEW infections are transmitted by wind and embedded in raindrops and are not prevented via mulch and are usually the most predominant types of infections.

I also suggest Daconil as the best preventive.

Carolyn

Yes, it's synthetic, but has less toxicity than does Rotenone which is approved by almost all organic certifying agencies i know of.

Daconi lis THE most widely used anti-fungal in the world and that means that a lot is known about it. And I do suggest it without reservation.

I don't care if products are synthetic OR organic,what I'm concerned with is toxicity to humans, pets, fish, etc.,and the impact on the environment in general..

Carolyn

It isn't as if the fruit soaks up the Daconil. And it is the leaves that are supposed to be sprayed anyway. Even the leaves don't absorb it. It coats the leaves and washes off with rain. So assuming you'd want to wash all the fungus spores off the fruit then you'd be washing all the Daconil off too.

Since its primary hazards listed on its MSDS is possible eye and skin irritation I'd suggest some more research before drawing a conclusion, perhaps from some slightly more objective sources.

Dave

Section 11 �" Toxicological Information
and carcinogens.
Maybe I misread some of the info on the spec sheet.
Do you wear protective clothing when you spray?

Not being confrontational, just asking?
This is my first year spraying... Had blight real bad last year and don't want to loose the crop again this year.

It also depends on whether the infection is a systemic one or a foliage one and I've been assuming the latter for your plants.

Long Island has also been a target spot for Late Blight (P. infestans), which is different from Early Blight ( S alternari) and LB is not a foliage disease, is far more lethal and Daconil is the best home gardeners have to help protect plants from that.

And no,.none of my tomato friends feel the need to use protective clothing when spraying Daconil and I dont either.You could use goggles if you feltt the need to.

The purpose of an MSDS sheet is to list all that's known about a product whether major or minor.

You might want to checkout Daconil at Extoxnet also if you still have hesitations,

Carolyn

Please note in Toxicological Section that these studies were done with 97% pure Chlorothalonil not the 29% in the available sprays and were done on rats and rabbits and dogs. Even after a full year of exposure at that high strength and regular doses the negative effects are low and inconsistent.

No evidence of adverse developmental effects in rabbit and rat studies. Except for the minor skin and/or eye irritation mentioned above.

It's your choice of course but perspective is important. Daconil has a much lower toxicity rating than most any other garden/lawn chemical available. And even organic sprays such as sulfur and copper have potential side effects too.

Dave