Quote:
Originally Posted by bbjm
I've used the bleach spray for the last few years, but I'm never prepared for the amount of dead leaves. I had a plant showing signs of early blight so sprayed it and those in the raised bed with it. The degree of leaf loss was fairly predicted. Two weeks later I needed to spray again, but decided to spray the whole tomato patch (four beds of six to seven plants each) and the degree of loss freaked me out because I had not seen any disease on half the garden, yet some plants had damaged or dead leaves to nearly the growing tips. I also had blackening of the parts of the stems which I have not seen before. I know it's not burn from the spray because I know what that looks like and I use only 5.5 oz. of 6% bleach (old large bottle of Clorox) and a few drops of dawn/gallon of water. What disease would end up with blackened stems after the spray? In other words what was there that I couldn't see until I sprayed? I'm afraid I have gray mold and didn't know it.
BL
|
The only thing besides gray mold that can cause that kind of leaf die off when using the bleach spray is if the plants have been totally pounded by torrential rains and beat up with high winds. When that happens it is better to let the leaves heal up some before spraying. I hope you didn't spray in the middle of the day because that can be very damaging to leaves.
I have had that same kind of reaction when I allowed gray mold to persist on the plant for too long. I was also shocked at how far up the plant it had spread. I think that if you allow gray mold to persist on the plant for too long it seems to become systemic and then there is no stopping it. I have no specific scientific knowledge to base that on except my own observations. Every time I have allowed gray mold to go untreated to the point it shows up in stem and fruit lesions no treatment will stop it that I have tried. When it gets to that point it reminds me of Late Blight in how fast is will take down a plant. Spraying with the bleach spray at that point will slow it down some but not stop it like it can do when gray mold is caught and treated early.
Bill