Category: Tomatoes
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Managing Southern Blight on Tomato and Pepper After Detection
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath. As reported in the June 6 edition of SC Grower, southern blight is showing up in crops of tomato and pepper. At this late date in the growing season, the best fungicide option for conventional growers is Priaxor, two applications made 2 weeks apart at a cost of $34…
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Field Testing for Bacterial Wilt
Bacterial wilt and Southern blight have been showing up in SC over the last couple weeks. While both diseases cause indistinguishable wilting in the infected plant, it is important to determine which disease is present in order to appropriately manage it. The test shown below is a quick field test that will help distinguish between…
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Why Tomato Crops Today Are So Susceptible to Diseases
Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath was recently named as a columnist for American Vegetable Grower. Dr. Keinath’s first article was recently published featuring tomato disease. Check out an excerpt below. Why are tomatoes so susceptible to disease? Of three possible answers — aggressive pathogens that specialize on tomato, the tomato plant itself, or the growing…
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Grafting Reduces Southern Blight on Tomato by 83%
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath. Southern blight has become more common on tomatoes grown without fumigation throughout the southern United States. A joint project between the University of Georgia and Clemson University looked at grafting as a management option. In the 2021 trial in Charleston, SC, grafting reduced the percentage of diseased plants from…
The South Carolina Grower 