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lyndonjack2

question on fungal disease treatment

lyndonjack2
17 years ago

Put my plants out on the porch to harden off and naturally, it decided to rain 3" and got down to 40 degrees at night over three days. Noticed black spots on leaves and after researching this site, decided it is a fungal disease. Treated with fungicide and brought them back into garage under lights as weather is still cool and damp. I have removed damaged foliage and it looks like the plants will survive. (I have learned my lesson and will not put plants out in the future under wet conditions-got the idea from reading plants are best transplanted on cloudy days) I have decided to wait for warmer dry weather before moving outside and transplanting. My question after all that--are these plants permanently infected and if so,do I have to treat the plants every seven days with fungicide treatment to keep the disease in check for the entire growing season?

Comments (5)

  • carolyn137
    17 years ago

    Which fungal foliage disease did you ID and what anti-fungal did you use?

    Carolyn

  • lyndonjack2
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    The first thing I noticed was small black specs (kind of like the picture of bacterial speck) especially on the potato leaf varieties. Other leaves, expecially on the cherry tomatoes quickly developed rather large yellowing most similar to the picture of gray leaf spot. Did not look exactly like any of the pictures on problem solving 2 message but that is the closest description I can give you. Sorry I do not have a way to post a picture. Sprayed with Ortho garden disease control and brought back into warmer dry garage under light and does not appear to be getting any worse and new leaves coming out do not show signs of disease. Plants seem to be actively growing and putting on new leaves. Because the disease seemed to stop spreading after spraying and getting plants into warmer dryer conditions, I figured it was or is probably a fungus type? I do not have much experience and curious if, once plants get a fungus disease, is it always present and requires spraying every seven days for the entire season for control or does it only appear when conditions are cool and wet? Sorry I do not have the experience to give a better assessment, but would appreciate your thoughts. I would prefer not to spray every seven days just as a preventative throughout the season if it is not necessary, but I also do not want to let this get started again as it developed very rapidly (two days or less) and has to be hard on the plants.

  • carolyn137
    17 years ago

    All NEW foliage diseases, both bacterial and fungal, are airborne, so if you don't spray on a regular basis and have those pathogens in your area they probably will get infected again.

    No, the pathogens don't stay with the plants once the spraying has eliminated the fungal ones, but again, all NEW infections are airborne, so in areas with such foliage pathogens infection of foliage is always a problem.

    Cool and wet conditions are not necessary for the foliage pathogens, at least for the more common ones.

    The problem with trying to ID foliage diseases from pictures is that pictures are static while disease is progressive, but for most folks it's the best they can do.

    If you see continued development of spots on the leaves that the Daconil is not controlling, then you might wish to consider a bacterial foliage infection, and indeed, up to four different infections of the foliage is not unheard of.

    The spores of the fungal and vegetative forms of the bacteria are easily spread from one area to another, geographically, via rain and wind, and that's why so many folks see their first infections after rain.

    Carolyn

  • lyndonjack2
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for the info and thoughts. Guess I will just spray every week at least until hot dry weather comes then watch for any signs of reinfection. Seems any disease problems I have had has always been in cool wet conditions. Never have had any problems when warmer dry weather starts. I do use soaker hose and mulch pretty heavy, maybe that helps.

  • bobharem
    16 years ago

    I have a bush that has big knot of fungal diseases, it looks like a brain. with white powder on the leaves. The garden store said to remove the bush and the soil. I can also not grow anything there for 3 years and it will go away.
    Its been 3 years and now I planted some plant and in the middle of summer the leave edges turn brown but no white powder. Now I see it speading to the other plants in the raised flower bed.
    I have spray fungal killer but nothing happened.
    It is not from bugs or worms or any living pest.

    Any help for me?
    bob