US (MI): Not a good year for open field tomatoes and potatoes
“The weather is ideal for this,” said Hal Hudson with the Michigan State University Extension office in Isabella County. “This doesn’t happen every year, but it’s been cooler and wetter than normal.”
In tomatoes, the blight can be identified with brown leaves growing from the bottom up, he said.
In potatoes, the brown foliage can be seen above the plant and the potato will likely turn to mush.
“This is all over the Lower Peninsula,” he said.
Hudson said he has received about four to five calls a week, particularly about tomatoes.
However, a map found at usablight.org features several several mid Michigan counties, including Gratiot, Isabella and Montcalm counties that are reporting the blight and nearly all of them have listed potato blight rather than tomatoes.
Even so, canning tomatoes may be difficult, Hudson said, with fewer tomatoes available. And canners are strongly urged not to can tomatoes that show signs of late blight.
Hudson said to avoid tomatoes that are spotted or perhaps have had the diseased part cut away. It is not recommended that anyone eat the fresh or frozen diseased tomatoes, even if the bad part has been cut off.
“The disease organism by itself is not harmful but the tissue damage causes the tomatoes to have lower acidity and creates conditions that promote the growth of other potentially harmful microorganisms,” according to a statement from the MSU Extension. “The tomatoes may or may not have an off flavour.”
Hudson said it’s also suggested that if back yard gardeners find blighted tomatoes, they are asked to pull the entire plant out and throw it away.
“It keeps the spores from spreading,” Hudson said. “It can persist in the soil. We’re talking good garden sanitation.”
Source: themorningsun.com