By Mary Hausbeck...Late blight is a disease that most commonly affects potatoes, but can affect tomatoes in some years. When the weather is favorable as it has been this year, late blight can be especially troublesome.

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Growers in southeastern Michigan are invited to taste, view and discuss an heirloom tomato variety trial at Millers orchard, greenhouse and cider mill. The demonstration plot includes 10 varieties that are included in a multi-state trial this season. This event will take place on Thursday, August 27 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Miller's Big Red 4900 32 Mile Rd. Washington, Michigan.

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Tom Zitter...Keith Perry, a colleague in Cornell’s Plant Pathology department, brought home some infected potted tomato plants from the Lowes store in Ithaca, New York (Tompkins Co.) on June 23. Plants are severely infected with late blight (Phytophthora infestans) with the symptoms indicative of the more virulent genotype of the pathogen.

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By Mary Hausbeck... Reports from the Northeast United States indicate that the late blight pathogen has been confirmed on tomato transplants marketed for homeowners. These transplants are coming from outside of the region and marketed by some of the big box stores. We have not had similar reports from Michigan at this time.

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Mary Hausbeck and Chandra Howard...Bacterial canker is diagnosed yearly in Michigan tomato fields. Bacterial canker is caused by the bacterium, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm), and causes plant stunting, wilting and fruit spotting. Although yield losses vary among years, bacterial canker has the potential to be devastating. Young plants are more susceptible than older plants. Bacterial canker can be introduced into a clean field via transplants, machinery and wooden stakes or other equipment that has been previously used in an infested field.

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Steven Gower...Several tomato samples have been submitted to the lab over the past ten days with symptoms consistent with glyphosate injury. In most of these cases, the injury resulted from glyphosate spray drift likely from neighboring corn and soybean fields. Occasionally, the injury resulted from glyphosate contamination in the tank used to apply pesticides to the tomatoes.

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Beth Bishop...During the past week pheromone trap catches have ranged from about seven per night to over 200 per night! Sweet corn growers with fields in fresh silk and pepper, tomato and snap bean growers with fields in fruit, should be protecting their crop with insecticide applications.

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Beth Bishop...There is good news and bad news this week. The good news is that the second flight of European corn borer is pretty much over. The bad news is that the corn earworms have arrived in force (view images)!

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Mary Hausbeck...Phytophthora capsici can survive in the soil for up to ten years, and has the ability to destroy entire crops within days. The pathogen affects the root, stem, and fruit of eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, squash, melons, pumpkins and cucumber. Fumigants, combined with good management practices can reduce the likelihood of infection occurring in the field.

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Mary Hausbeck...Many Michigan vegetable crops such as squash, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, beans, watermelon, melon and tomato are suscepti­ble to Phytophthora capsici (view images). This pathogen causes disease on plant crowns, roots and fruit. Phytophthora can move in surface wa­ter, which is often relied upon for irrigation in Michigan. Research conducted by Michi­gan State University from 2002 to 2005 iden­tified Phytophthora in a river, ponds and ditches in several Michigan counties.

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Beth Bishop...European corn borer numbers remain low, but corn earworm moths continue to be captured in pheromone traps, although numbers have decreased. The moths will readily move from senescing crops (for example, sweet corn with brown silk), to younger, more attractive crops. Growers should be vigilant and protect vulnerable crops (sweet corn with fresh silk, tomatoes and snap beans with fruit) for the rest of the season.

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Mary Hausbeck...Across the board, vegetable diseases are ramping up in response to some of the recent warm, wet weather. Here is a sample of what we’re seeing in the field.

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