Washington County Cooperative Extension Service June 2020 Volume 16 Orange Rust 2 To Do’s 3 Dead Head 4 Plant of The Month 4 Wheelbarrow Series 5 Recipe of The Month Inside this issue: HORTICULTURE Follow Us at Washington County Extension Service Foliar tomato diseases have been showing up in a few area gardens in the last few weeks so it's time to take precautions to keep these diseases in check when they visit your garden. I say when because if you grow tomatoes in Kentucky you will undoubtedly get foliar diseases. The primary two diseases that I have noticed are early blight and septoria leaf spot. It doesn’t really matter if you know which of these you have but more that you have leaf spots that need to be controlled. These fungal pathogens cause dark spots in the leaves that gradually get larger; the leaf turns yellow and then dies. The fungal spores spread by wind and water splash and prefer a moist environment much like we have had for the last few weeks. If you no-tice spots on your tomato leaves it is a good idea to start treating the plants with protectant fungicides such as products con-taining Mancozeb or chlorothalonil. These products come in concentrates that you di-lute in wa-ter and spray on with a hand held sprayer. After a heavy rain the fungicides will need to be reapplied. Protectant fungicides cannot cure infections on already infected leaves but will contain the disease spread so as to prolong your harvest. Be sure to spray the lower and upper sides of the leaves. Before spraying pull off the infected leaves and destroy them, this will reduce the severity of future inoculation. There are some cultural things you can do to help contain the likelihood of infection and the spread. First, if at all possible don’t plant tomatoes in the same location every year. Diseases can overwinter on plant debris and in the soil. Planting tomatoes back in the same spot is asking for trouble. Secondly apply a mulch of some sort around your tomatoes, this will reduce the soil splash unto the bottom leaves and reduce the chances of early infection. Lastly, pull off the bottom most leaves when the first tomatoes set because by then the lower leaves are shaded and not photosynthesizing anyway and they are generally the first to get diseased. Early Blight Tomato Diseases Showing Up
Transcript
Washington County Cooperative Extension Service
June 2020
Volume 16
Orange Rust 2
To Do’s 3
Dead Head 4
Plant of The Month 4
Wheelbarrow Series 5
Recipe of The Month
Inside this issue:
HORTICULTURE
Follow Us at
Washington County
Extension Service
Foliar tomato diseases have been showing up in a few area gardens in the last few weeks so
it's time to take precautions to keep these diseases in check when they visit your garden. I
say when because if you grow tomatoes in Kentucky you will undoubtedly get foliar
diseases.
The primary two diseases that I have noticed are early
blight and septoria leaf spot. It doesn’t really matter if
you know which of these you have but more that you
have leaf spots that need to be controlled. These fungal
pathogens cause dark spots in the leaves that gradually
get larger; the leaf turns yellow and then dies. The
fungal spores spread by wind and water splash and
prefer a moist environment much like we have had for
the last few weeks.
If you no-tice spots on your tomato leaves it is a good idea to start treating the plants with
protectant fungicides such as products con-taining Mancozeb or chlorothalonil. These
products come in concentrates that you di-lute in wa-ter and spray on with a hand held
sprayer. After a heavy rain the fungicides will need to be reapplied. Protectant fungicides
cannot cure infections on already infected leaves but will contain the disease spread so as
to prolong your harvest. Be sure to spray the lower and upper sides of the leaves. Before
spraying pull off the infected leaves and destroy them, this will reduce the severity of future
inoculation.
There are some cultural things you can do to help contain the likelihood of infection and
the spread. First, if at all possible don’t plant tomatoes in the same location every year.
Diseases can overwinter on plant debris and in the soil. Planting tomatoes back in the same
spot is asking for trouble. Secondly apply a mulch of some sort around your tomatoes, this
will reduce the soil splash unto the bottom leaves and reduce the chances of early
infection. Lastly, pull off the bottom most leaves when the first tomatoes set because by
then the lower leaves are shaded and not photosynthesizing anyway and they are generally
the first to get diseased.
Early Blight
Tomato Diseases Showing Up
Orange rust of brambles can be a concern for Kentucky blackberry and raspberry growers. The first symptoms are often noticed in early spring when newly formed shoots appear weak and spindly. Once infected, the pathogen
spreads throughout the entire plant. While orange rust is unlikely to kill brambles, it reduces vigor significantly and results in lower yields. Infected plants should be removed to reduce disease spread.
Orange Rust of Brambles Facts New shoots emerge with poor growth in early spring. Leaves may yellow and distort. Orange pustules develop
on the undersides of leaves, eventually covering these surfaces (Figure 1). Infected leaves often drop readily. Shoot tips and buds may also be infected.
Over time, infected plants exhibit poor growth, vigor, and fruit production. Once infected the disease spreads throughout the plant, and
all plant parts become infected. Thorny and thornless blackberries, as well as black and
purple raspberries, are susceptible. Red raspberries are not know to be infected.
Disease favors cool, moist periods. Infection may occur throughout the growing season, as long as conditions are
conducive. Caused by the fungi Gymnoconia nitens and Arthuriomyces
peckianus. The pathogens survive winter in infected plant tissues like
canes and roots.
Management Options Remove and destroy all nearby wild blackberries or black raspberries.
Insure that new plants are disease-free. Dig out infected plants (including roots) and burn or take
off-site, as soon as disease is confirmed. Fungicides are not recommended as they do not
adequately control orange rust. No fungicides are labeled for orange rust on brambles.
Additional Information
Orange Rust of Brambles (PPFS-FR-S-06) Fruit, Orchard, and Vineyard Sanitation (PPFS-GEN-05)
Backyard Berry Disease Management Using Cultural Prac-tices (with Low Spray, No Spray & Organic Options)
(PPFS-FR-S-25) Commercial Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-232)
By Kim Leonberger, Plant Pathology Extension Associate and Nicole Gauthier, Plant Pathology Extension Specialist
Figure 1: Orange pustules develop on the undersides of leaves.
In the garden, the practice of deadheading your plants can promote more blooms.
Plants live to reproduce, and the way they do that is through their flowers. When you remove dead blooms from a
plant, you also remove their ovaries. Many plants then take the energy it would have used to produce seeds and put it into producing more flowers, hoping the next time you’ll leave it alone to do its job. Of course, if you want
continuous bloom in the garden, you won’t.
From a purely aesthetic perspective, deadheading can improve the looks of your garden by reshaping plants and
removing unsightly waste. Not all plants will rebloom after deadheading, such as daylilies and daffodils. In fact, deadheading is used more for annuals than for perennials. However, the practice can still benefit perennials by
forcing them to put their energy into the bulb or rhizomes rather than into seed production. This often produces hardier plants that bloom more profusely next year.
Deadheading can also prevent reseeding, which can reduce your time spent weeding later. However, in late sum-
mer or early fall, allowing some plants, such as coneflowers, to form seeds can give overwintering birds and other wildlife an important food source.
Deadheading is an easy task and one that you can do as you stroll through your garden on a pleasant summer’s day. Simply pinch or cut off the dead bloom below the flower and above the first set of leaves. Do this to all the
dead flowers on the plant. Some perennials, like dianthus, bloom profusely all at once, which means the flowers will fade at the same time. It’s often easier to deadhead these with shears, taking the top one or two inches off the
stems. This can stimulate a second bloom, though it will not be as lush as the first bloom.
If you have multiple flowers on a stem, wait until all the flowers have faded, then cut back the main stem.
Some annuals, like petunia and verbena that produce lots of blooms also present a problem when deadheading. It
is tedious to remove all the spent blooms. Wait until a natural break in bloom, cut the plants back, and apply fertil-izer (only to annuals not to perennials in summer). Make sure there is ample water after fertilization. Many annuals
will respond by renewing growth and resuming flowering. Other annuals, like Wave petunias and Profusion zinnias often don’t need to be deadheaded. They will either continue to bloom without your help or are sterile and will not
produce seed.
Some perennials that will benefit from deadheading include foxglove, bee balm, hollyhock, coreopsis, butterfly
bush, lavender, salvia and scabiosa. Source: Rich Durham, Professor, UK Horticulture
Deadhead For Longer Bloom Time
Plant of The Month– Hybrid Tea Rose Peace
Hands down the most popular rose ever hybridized, and still going strong after more than half a century. Big, somewhat spreading,
rugged plants that will stay clean as long as you don't over fertilize. Some have claimed that this pink edged yellow is deteriorating be-
cause of over propagation, but if you go back to the fertilization methods of the era in which it was introduced, gardeners were de-
pendent upon manure and rarely employed commercial plant foods. Still appears in rose shows because it seems to survive any-
