Can You Help Me Identify This Please?

[Alexia]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this awesome Tomatoville forum and am so excited to find out it exists and that I get to learn from all of you fabulous and talented gardeners! This seems like such a friendly, helpful bunch of nice gardeners, yay and thank you!

I have a 15x15 parcel in a local community garden (organic) and yesterday noticed this really awful looking mold like stuff on a cluster of fruit on my Cherokee Purple plant. (cell photos below) And last week, I noticed an unripened fruit (looked bruised) had fallen off the vine on the Black Krim plant, which is next to the CP.

I'm new to vegetable gardening -- this is only my third hot season growing vegetables in the parcel. I did not have any problems with disease with my tomatoes the past 2 summers so I am unfamiliar with tomato diseases. I did Google around last night and it appears that the photos I took look like perhaps it has what is called gray mold? But I also saw photos of a disease with something called "blight" that look similar. I discovered there is an early blight and a late blight, but have not been able to figure out the difference yet. It also seems that blight effects the leaves more than the fruit? So I'm not sure what my plant has, but according to what I'm reading, it's probably not good and I might have to pull it out as well as all of my adjacent tomato plants? (I have 7 growing this year at this parcel.)

Thank you so much to anyone who might be able to share information. I really appreciate it and look forward to learning from all of you on this forum.

Alexia

[RayR]

That's Botrytis Gray Mold and a very advanced infection too. I don't think there is any way you can save a plant that is infected that bad already. I hope you removed those stems with the fruit on them and trashed them in a garbage bag. The first photo shows the gray growth where new spores are being produced and they will spread through the air infecting other plants.
You really have to apply preventative fungicide treatments with Tomatoes, you may be lucky for years not doing it, but sooner or later something really nasty like Gray Mold or even worse, Late Blight is going to get your plants if they are vulnerable.

[Alexia]

Originally Posted by RayR

That's Botrytis Gray Mold and a very advanced infection too. I don't think there is any way you can save a plant that is infected that bad already. I hope you removed those stems with the fruit on them and trashed them in a garbage bag. The first photo shows the gray growth where new spores are being produced and they will spread through the air infecting other plants.
You really have to apply preventative fungicide treatments with Tomatoes, you may be lucky for years not doing it, but sooner or later something really nasty like Gray Mold or even worse, Late Blight is going to get your plants if they are vulnerable.

Hi Ray!

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this link and feedback. I really appreciate it. I will do some research to see if I have to remove all 7 plants (they are all planted within 3 feet of each other). The 2 cherry tomato plants seem fine -- one is bearing ripe fruit already like crazy and is healthy. The second cherry plant just started ripening and seems fine. It's this CherP, Black Krim that seem doomed for sure. I remember reading last night that the black heirlooms seem more prone to disease? So much to learn! Thanks again!

Alexia