#Late blight of potato disease skin

Healthy-looking fruits from late-blight-affected tomato plants are safe to eat or preserve. Diseased plants or plant parts (e.g., tomato fruits or potato tubers) should NOT be composted.

Bagged plants then can be put out for trash pickup.

The bags should be left in the sun for a few days to make sure that plants, as well as any P. For home gardeners, the preferred method of disposal is to pull affected plants (roots and all), and place them in plastic bags. How do I save a plant with late blight? Plants showing symptoms of late blight cannot be saved and should be disposed of immediately to limit spread of P. infestans infected potato tubers that have remained in the soil after harvest or have been stored in a warm place. infestans-infected tomato plants or fruits kept warm in compost piles, and P. However, the organism can survive on infected plant material that remains alive through the winter. infestans is unlikely to survive over the winter in Wisconsin soils. infestans can also be introduced on infected plants (e.g., tomato seedlings) or potato tubers that are brought into an area for sale. infestans can be introduced when sporangia (i.e., spore-like structures) of the organism are blown into an area on prevailing winds. Some variants cause more severe problems on tomatoes others are more of a problem on potatoes. There are several variants of this organism. Where does late blight come from? Late blight is caused by the fungus-like water mold Phytophthora infestans. Other tomato and potato diseases such as Septoria leaf spot (see University of Wisconsin Garden Facts XHT1073), early blight (see University of Wisconsin Garden Facts XHT1074) and Verticillium wilt may be misidentified as late blight. Affected leaf, stem, fruit or tuber tissue often eventually develops a white-gray, fuzzy look as the late blight organism begins to reproduce.

#Late blight of potato disease skin

Potato tubers with the disease develop a reddish-brown discoloration under the skin and these areas may become sunken. Tomato fruits with late blight develop large, often sunken, golden- to chocolate-brown, firm spots with distinct rings. If weather conditions are cool and wet, entire plants can collapse and die from late blight in seven to 10 days. Stems can also exhibit dark-brown to black areas. What does late blight look like? On leaves of tomato or potato, late blight begins as pale-green or olive-green areas that quickly enlarge to become brown-black, water-soaked, and oily-looking. More recently, the disease caused severe losses for fresh market tomato producers and home gardeners in Wisconsin. Historically, late blight was responsible for the Irish potato famine, which led to the death of at least one million Irish, and the emigration of another one million Irish to Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and other countries. This disease also affects, although typically to a lesser extent, eggplants and peppers, as well as related weeds such as nightshade. What is late blight? Late blight is a destructive disease of tomatoes and potatoes that can kill mature plants, and make tomato fruits and potato tubers inedible. Late blight can decimate tomatoes and potatoes in seven to 10 days if weather conditions are cool and wet.Īmanda Gevens, Anna Seidl, Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology