2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Anthracnose most often affects ripe and overripe tomato fruits. Systematically, it can be encountered in wet areas. It is noteworthy that, in addition to tomatoes, this ailment can also infect eggplants, as well as pepper and potatoes. And the best conditions for its development usually come closer to the end of summer. If this harmful attack is left unattended, the crop of succulent tomatoes will suffer significant damage
A few words about the disease
As a rule, the first manifestations of tomato anthracnose can be observed only on ripe fruits, however, green fruits can also be affected by a destructive infection, it is just that the infection itself will manifest itself a little later. On ripe fruits attacked by this scourge, small and round, slightly depressed zonal specks begin to form. And after some time they turn into rather dark concentric rings. Also, all specks are usually characterized by pronounced softness. They can be located absolutely in any part of the tomatoes.
All of the above features help to distinguish between anthracnose and the no less harmful alternariosis, in which the lesions are not characterized by zoning, but they are rather large in size and grow rapidly. Also, in the case of Alternaria disease, the spots are localized mainly in the upper parts of tomato fruits. It is important to know that anthracnose often infects tomatoes together with Alternaria. In this case, we can safely talk about a mixed infection.
On the stalks with leaves, sometimes you can also observe small lesions, but they can be very difficult to notice.
Cracks almost always appear in the infected areas, which are conductors for a secondary infection causing decay. The tissues attacked by the ill-fated disease darken, becoming almost black, and the fruits gradually begin to mummify.
The causative agent of tomato anthracnose is the pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum. In principle, it is considered to be a rather weak pathogen, although at the same time its carriers are a huge number of weeds and garden crops. Overwintering of the pathogen takes place in the form of sclerotia on infected crop residues, on seeds and in the ground. And the spread of harmful scourge occurs mainly during rains and during irrigation. If the leaves with fruits remain wet for a long time, the risk of infection increases markedly.
To a large extent, the development of tomato anthracnose is favored not only by external moisture, but also by an air temperature in the range from twenty to twenty-four degrees.
How to fight
The most important preventive measures against tomato anthracnose are strict observance of the rules of crop rotation and the timely elimination of weeds. The use of anthracnose-resistant varieties will also serve well.
It is advisable to purchase seeds for planting tomatoes only certified and healthy. And immediately before sowing, they are kept in hot water or treated with fungicides. You can soak the seeds in "Immunocytofit".
When growing tomatoes, excessive watering should be avoided in every possible way, and it is recommended to support the growing bushes with small pegs so that the plants do not fall to the ground.
Tomatoes affected by anthracnose are often treated with biological agents such as Alirin-B or Alirin-S. As for chemicals, an excellent effect can be achieved by carrying out preventive treatments of growing crops with drugs belonging to the strobilurin group. “Quadris” copes with this difficult task especially well.
If the disease develops quite intensively, tomatoes are sprayed with sulfur-containing (colloidal sulfur and Tiovit Jet) or copper-containing (Oxyhom, Kartotsid, copper oxychloride and Bordeaux mixture) preparations.
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