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**carolyn137** · July 22, 2009

Pooklette, where are you in zone 5 for it really makes a difference this year in terms of diagnosis,

If it's Early Blight ( A. solani) you should see concentric rings within the leaf spots but there's not enough definition for me to see if that's there. Besides, fruits affected by EB have no spots, just infection in a circle around the stem.

The spots are too regular to be Septoria Leaf Spot as I see it.

So I think it's more likely Bacterial Speck or Spot and in terms of treatment both would be treated the same.

All four of the common foliage disease pathogens are transmitted by wind, rain and dust, they aren't naturally soil dwelling as are the systemic diseases Verticillium, Fusarium, etc.

So rotation would only be necessary if bacteria from previous years had been shed to the soil from infected plants and then there was splashback infection.

Someone mentioned treating the lawn for fungi but the tomato pathogens wouldn't be found there, nor would the bacterial foliage pathogens.

I have some Bacterial Speck on my plants this year and I've had Freda, who does all my gardening for me, take off every affected leaf as soon as one appears.

I'm also having her spray with Bonide Copper for the Bacterial Speck/Spot and alternating that with Daconil b'c I'm in the NE where Late Blight ( P.infestans) is a major problem this year.

And the fruits of both Bacterial Speck and Spot can have small black spots on the fruits.

So do check out some pictures of both Bacterial Speck and Bacterial Spot and see if you can make a match.

It poured rain here for 7 hours yesterday and that's one major way in which the tomato foliage pathogens get spread. In the last month or so there have been only two days in a row without rain and at this point I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to mature fruits; just too cold and rainy.

Hope that helps.

July 22, 2009	#7
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Pooklette, where are you in zone 5 for it really makes a difference this year in terms of diagnosis, If it's Early Blight ( A. solani) you should see concentric rings within the leaf spots but there's not enough definition for me to see if that's there. Besides, fruits affected by EB have no spots, just infection in a circle around the stem. The spots are too regular to be Septoria Leaf Spot as I see it. So I think it's more likely Bacterial Speck or Spot and in terms of treatment both would be treated the same. All four of the common foliage disease pathogens are transmitted by wind, rain and dust, they aren't naturally soil dwelling as are the systemic diseases Verticillium, Fusarium, etc. So rotation would only be necessary if bacteria from previous years had been shed to the soil from infected plants and then there was splashback infection. Someone mentioned treating the lawn for fungi but the tomato pathogens wouldn't be found there, nor would the bacterial foliage pathogens. I have some Bacterial Speck on my plants this year and I've had Freda, who does all my gardening for me, take off every affected leaf as soon as one appears. I'm also having her spray with Bonide Copper for the Bacterial Speck/Spot and alternating that with Daconil b'c I'm in the NE where Late Blight ( P.infestans) is a major problem this year. And the fruits of both Bacterial Speck and Spot can have small black spots on the fruits. So do check out some pictures of both Bacterial Speck and Bacterial Spot and see if you can make a match. It poured rain here for 7 hours yesterday and that's one major way in which the tomato foliage pathogens get spread. In the last month or so there have been only two days in a row without rain and at this point I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to mature fruits; just too cold and rainy. Hope that helps. __________________ Carolyn