Tomato Early Blight: Alternaria solani
Symptom:
- This is a common disease of tomato occurring on the foliage at any stage of the growth.
- The fungus attacks the foliage causing characteristic leaf spots and blight. Early blight is first observed on the plants as small, black lesions mostly on the older foliage.
- Spots enlarge, and by the time they are one-fourth inch in diameter or larger, concentric rings in a bull’s eye pattern can be seen in the center of the diseased area.
- Tissue surrounding the spots may turn yellow. If high temperature and humidity occur at this time, much of the foliage is killed.
- Lesions on the stems are similar to those on leaves, sometimes girdling the plant if they occur near the soil line.
- Transplants showing infection by the late blight fungus often die when set in the field. The fungus also infects the fruit, generally through the calyx or stem attachment.
- Lesions attain considerable size, usually involving nearly the entire fruit; concentric rings are also present on the fruit.
Management:
- Removal and destruction of crop debris.
- Practising crop rotation helps to minimize the disease incidence.
- Spray the crop with Mancozeb 0.2 % for effective disease control.
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
