Daconil Fungicide

[Adenn1]

I was browsing the new garden center at my local Walmart and noticed they are selling Daconil Fungicide...it was around $10.50...a few dollars cheaper than Ortho's Garden Disease Control--which I believe is around $13-14.

[Emaewest]

I thought they were the same thing?

[carolyn137]

Daconil is marketed under several different brands and in several different concentrations.

Whatever you buy, and I still think the Ortho product is good, make sure that it containes about 29% Daconil in the undiluted form b'c some is sold with a 12.5% concentration, which is useless for use for fungal tomato pathogens.

[Adenn1]

Carolyn:

Thank you for that information...I will have to check out the concentration of the Walmart brand...

[honu]

On how young a seedling can this be sprayed?
Though I understand it's not organic, after losing so many seedlings to what I believe was fungal infection after the torrential and nightly rains and flooding we had the last couple of weeks, I'm wondering if I should try it.

[Suze]

On how young a seedling can this be sprayed?

I've occasionally started spraying just as soon as the plants actually go out to harden off. Or, on the occasions I start seedlings outdoors, I've been known to begin spraying just as soon as they sprout.

[Suze]

Honu, one thing I want to add: if plants are getting rained on daily for long stretches, a spray program may not be quite as effective. Daconil works by sealing the attachment sites for fungal spores on the leaf surfaces, but does eventually rinse off.

In the kind of situation you've described, you'd probably need to apply twice a week or so.

[honu]

Suze, thanks for the tips! I'm not sure I can get myself to step out of my organic box... but after seeing all those Aunt Gertie's Gold and Earl's Faux sprouts severely diseased just as I was getting ready to transplant....

[carolyn137]

honu,

Something for you to consider.

My concern with anything used in the garden is not whether it is so called organic, as derived from a natural substance, or synthetic, My concern is possible toxicity to humans and the environment.

Rotenone as you know is organic and is approved by all organic certifying agencies I know of and yet has a higher toxicity that does Daconil ( cholorothalonil).

When you see that something can be sprayed up to the DAY of harvest, as is true with Daconil, you know that toxicity is not great.

And since it's the most widely used anti-fungal world wide, there is a lot of data.

[honu]

My concern with anything used in the garden is not whether it is so called organic, as derived from a natural substance, or synthetic, My concern is possible toxicity to humans and the environment.

Thanks Carolyn, good points and good information about Daconil... makes me a lot less uncomfortable about it.
I don't understand why Rotenone is still approved for organic gardening -- I would never use it.

[Adenn1]

I checked out the Daconil at Walmart...it is the 29% concentration...so I bought one. They also had something called Serenade? I believe there is a post about this...bottle said it could be used for organic gardening.

[lumierefrere]

I used Serenade last year because WalMart wasn't carrying the Daconil (I'm getting a bottle asap) and I had tried the Cornell Formula, Bordeaux mix, cornmeal, chanting, dancing, speaking harshly etc.

I think it's like a cold. If you do everything the cold will quickly go away in 14 days. If you do nothing the cold will drag on for 14 days.

So I'm saying I couldn't detect any change or improvement in early blight with the Serenade.

Barb

[OmahaJB]

In 2008 I'll be growing outside for the first time, and need some advice regarding preventing diseases on my tomato and pepper plants. I'll also be growing lettuce and rhubarb but I realize they probably would not be sprayed with anything. We grew both when I was a kid and they were never protected in any way and were always ok. But I do remember the tomatoes & peppers being protected with some sort of powder (mid-70's).

I found this thread on Daconil on the last page of threads and thought it contained some great advice. Is there anything besides Daconil a gardener should be using on their plants to prevent diseases/pests? Or any special techniques that could be used?

Originally I was planning on growing 40-50 varieties of tomatoes/peppers (combined), but have since thought better of that idea. I'll probably end up with about 10-15 in-ground, and about 10-15 in containers. For my first year that will be hard enough to take care of. And I want to ensure proper spacing between the indeterminates.

Ironically, I'm asking about disease prevention, but my biggest problems may come from the possum, cats and squirrels that live next door to my mother's house (where I plan on gardening). When I visited my mother yesterday, I mentioned I was worried all the squirrels around her neighborhood might eat anything I grew. That's when she informed me her neighbor allows his backyard to overgrow with brush because he thinks he's giving the "wildlife" in the area someplace to live. That's where the aforementioned possum & cats live.
In the city!

If anyone could provide additional advice of what to use to prevent diseases/pests, I'd be grateful.

Gracias, Jeff

[bcday]

I use the Daconil on tomatoes to prevent fungal diseases like Septoria and Early Blight from defoliating the plants. I don't use anything else except soapy water, and then only if there are an excessive number of aphids on them. I had stinkbugs show up for the first time last year, but they spend most of their time hidden in the soil and weeds under the plants and are best controlled there by mulching, cultivation and hand-picking as many as possible rather than spraying anything on the plants.

I know some people have problems with squirrels, but I guess not all squirrels like tomatoes. We have lots of squirrels around here but they don't bother the tomatoes. The only critter damage I've had was from a chipmunk, and I think the neighbor's cat took care of that. The cat didn't bother the tomatoes, but it thought the nice loose soil in the garden was ideal for an outdoor litter box.

Get the slugs under control with slug bait or traps, or you won't get any lettuce. Slugs don't bother tomatoes except for fruit that's on the ground or hidden in weeds.

Despite all you read about pests and diseases, tomatoes are very tough plants and I think there are more failures due to weather or bad growing conditions than there are to pests or diseases. With good soil and the right amount of sun and water, you'll get tomatoes.

[OmahaJB]

Thanks for the advice BC! That's what I needed to know. I learned something from your post about slugs going after lettuce, for one thing. Now that I'm armed with that knowledge I'll be sure to use slug baits/traps.

Jeff