Pests & diseases › Early Blight
Early Blight
Fungal disease (Alternaria solani) of tomato and potato. Bullseye-pattern brown spots on lower leaves first.
Symptoms
- Dark brown spots with concentric rings — bullseye pattern
- Yellow halos around the spots
- Lowest leaves affected first, moves upward
- Sunken dry leathery spots on tomato fruit shoulders
Lifecycle
Soil-borne, splashes up onto lower leaves during rain.
What to do
- Remove infected leaves promptly
- Mulch heavily under tomatoes to stop rain splash
- Copper fungicide as protectant
If it's bad
- Chlorothalonil (where still registered)
- Mancozeb
Stop it coming back
- Heavy mulch under plants
- Wide spacing, prune lower leaves
- Stake to keep foliage off the ground
- Three-year rotation
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.