Vegetable Diseases

Potato Early Blight is a fungal disease of Solanaceous crops caused by Alternaria solani. It causes circular brown spots on leaves and stems that can later develop concentric, target-like rings, often surrounded by yellow margins. Lesions are sometimes limited by veins giving an ‘angular’ appearance.  The pathogen causing early blight survives on infected soil-bound plant debris and spreads via air and water splashing to new plant tissues. Favorable conditions include poor airflow, high moisture, and nitrogen deficiency and maturity in plants. Cultural management involves maintaining proper moisture, airflow, and nitrogen levels, as well as rotating away from susceptible crops. Little is known about tomato early blight resistance. Most commercial potato varieties are susceptible to early blight. Well-timed fungicide applications can also manage disease progression.

Potato Late Blight is a disease that typically causes severe symptoms on flowering plants of the family Solanaceae. The pathogen that causes late blight, Phytophthora infestans, infects a variety of Solanum spp., including eggplant, pepper, nightshades, and petunia. However, it is most infamously known for its destruction of potato, S. tuberosum, and tomato, S. lycopersicum.

Symptoms of late blight can occur on all parts of a potato plant. Leaf symptoms include circular, necrotic or brown lesions surrounded by collapsed pale or chlorotic (pale green to yellow) tissue. Enlarged, water- soaked or wet and oily-appearing leaf lesions often give rise to sporulation, identifiable by white or gray fuzzy growth. Dark green, brown, or black water-soaked lesions on the stem may also contain sporulation. Symptomatic tubers typically have sunken and firm brown lesions that may extend several centimeters into the tuber. The variability in lesion appearance is often the result of differences in moisture.

Potato Silver Scurf is a fungal blemish disease of potato tubers caused by Helminthosporium solani. The pathogen causes tan-to-gray circular lesions typically initiating on the stem-end of the tuber surface, often appearing shiny and silver when wet. The pathogen survives on infected tubers and infested plant debris, spreading via rain/irrigation in the field and airborne spores in storage. Favorable conditions include high temperatures and humidity. Infection reduces both the visual appeal of a fresh market potato tuber and reduces the quality of potato tubers as the infection creates damage to the periderm or skin which enables the onset of other pathogens or enhanced desiccation.

Cultural management involves using clean, uninfected seed potatoes, rotating planting sites, promptly harvesting fields after potato foliar senescence, disinfecting storage facilities, and maintaining properly cold and ventilated storage areas. Seed-applied, in-furrow, and post-harvest fungicides can also reduce disease incidence. This disease is primarily a concern for stored, commercial fresh market potatoes.

Potato Brown Spot and Black Pit are fungal diseases of potato caused by the fungus Alternaria alternata. On leaves, it causes dark brown spots of necrotic tissue with a dark brown margin. Starting as small lesions, the spots can coalesce to cover a large percentage of leaf or petiole surface. On tubers, the disease causes black, deep sunken pits with definite margins that often develop during in storage.

The pathogen causing these diseases survives on infected soil-bound plant debris and susceptible weeds, and spreads to leaves via windborne spores and tubers through soil-bound spores, often after mechanical damage. Favorable conditions include long dew periods, standing water on foliage, and warm or hot temperatures. Reduced airflow, plant maturity, and low nitrogen status of a potato crop can also favor these diseases.

Cultural management involves properly managing soil moisture, post-harvest plant debris, crop fertilization, rotating away from Solanaceous crops, and avoiding bruising tubers during harvest. Properly-timed foliar fungicide applications can also aid in managing the disease.

Potato Pink Rot is a water mold or oomycete disease of potato tubers caused by Phytophthora erythroseptica. The soil-borne pathogen causes darkened, water-soaked lesions with defined margins near the stem-end of the tuber, and is often identified by the characteristic pink/salmon color and ammonia-like odor of a potato cut and exposed to air after 20-30 minutes. The pathogen survives in infested soil, and infects tubers in the field either through direct contact with soil or swimming zoospores during wet conditions.

During harvest and in storage, disease can spread between tubers through bruises and wounds. Favorable conditions include high temperatures, high moisture, and poorly draining soils. Cultural management involves removing plant debris and volunteer potatoes post-harvest, managing soil moisture, scouting poorly-draining areas for pink rot pre-harvest, avoiding harvesting in hot temperatures and storing tubers in cool, well-ventilated facilities. Pre-harvest chemical management can also prevent disease development. Learn more…

Tomato Early Blight is a fungal disease of Solanaceous crops caused by Alternaria solani. It causes circular, dark brown lesions with concentric, target-like rings. These foliar lesions often first develop on older, more mature foliage, and are commonly surrounded by yellow margins. Similar lesions can also develop on stems and fruit, with infected tomato fruit often dropping off of the vine. The pathogen causing this disease survives on infected soil-bound plant debris, seeds, and diseased plant tissue, spreading via windborne or water-splashed spores.

Favorable conditions include poor airflow, high humidity, and high leaf wetness. Cultural management involves using pathogen-free seed, fumigated or pathogen-free soil, planting resistant varieties if available, rotating fields for at least two years, destroying host weeds and volunteer plants, and properly fertilizing fields. Fungicides can also provide good control of early blight in vegetables when applied early on in infection. Multiple applications of fungicide are often necessary to sustain disease management to time of harvest.

Tomato Late Blight is a disease that typically causes severe symptoms on flowering plants of the family Solanaceae. The pathogen that causes late blight, Phytophthora infestans, infects a variety of Solanum spp., including eggplant, pepper, nightshades, and petunia. However, it is most infamously known for its destruction of potato, S. tuberosum, and tomato, S. lycopersicum.

Symptoms of late blight can occur on all parts of a potato plant. Leaf symptoms include circular, necrotic or brown lesions surrounded by collapsed pale or chlorotic (pale green to yellow) tissue. Enlarged, water- soaked or wet and oily-appearing leaf lesions often give rise to sporulation, identifiable by white or gray fuzzy growth. Dark green, brown, or black water-soaked lesions on the stem may also contain sporulation. Symptomatic tubers typically have sunken and firm brown lesions that may extend several centimeters into the tuber. The variability in lesion appearance is often the result of differences in moisture.

Tomato Septoria Leaf Spot is a fungal disease of Solanaceous crops caused by Septoria lycopersici. Symptoms appear on the leaves as circular, tan-to-gray spots with darker brown margins and dotted with dark, raised pycnidia inside the tan portion of the lesion. These lesions are often surrounded by a yellow halo, and typically develop on lower leaves first. Stem lesions appear similar to leaf lesions, but are often darker, and fruit lesions appear similar but are uncommon.

The pathogen causing this disease overwinters on diseased Solanaceous crop or weed debris in the soil, and spreads to older leaves via splashing water, workers, equipment, and several insects. The pathogen then spreads to newer leaves from resulting lesions in a similar way. Favorable conditions include poor airflow, high moisture, and moderate temperatures.

Cultural management involves planting resistant varieties, rotating away from susceptible crops, staking or trellising plants, destroying host weeds and infested plant debris, avoiding over-irrigating, and properly mulching. Preventative application of conventional or organic fungicides can also prevent disease development.

Cucurbit Alternaria Leaf Blight is a fungal disease of cucurbits caused by Alternaria cucumerina. Cucurbit crops include watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, and winter squashes. This pathogen causes brown lesions on the leaves that can develop concentric, target-like rings and a yellow surrounding halo. Fruit can experience sunscald from leaf loss, as well as reduced yield. A. cucumerina survives on infected soil-bound plant debris, spreading via wind, splashing water, workers, equipment, or insects.

Favorable conditions include warm temperatures and high moisture. Cultural management options include rotating away from susceptible crops, maximizing distances between susceptible cucurbit fields, avoiding overhead irrigation and working in wet conditions, and destroying or tilling under infected crop residue. Appropriately-timed fungicide applications can also prevent disease progression.

Cucurbit Downy Mildew is a water mold or oomycete disease of cucurbit crops caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis. Symptoms first appear on the upper leaf surface as angular, vein-bounded, yellow to pale-green spots, turning brown and coalescing to turn entire leaves brown with disease progression. In very humid conditions, the underside of leaves may appear fuzzy as the pathogen produces numerous spores which enable the pathogen to spread. The disease survives on living cucurbit plant tissue, and spores spread via wind, rain and irrigation splash, or human spread on equipment and hands.

Favorable conditions include high humidity and leaf wetness, as well as moderate temperatures. Cultural management involves planting resistant cultivars, avoiding overhead irrigation, and practicing wide row spacing to improve airflow.  Knowledge of the cucurbit plant types affected can be very useful as there are now two known strain types, one which infects exclusively cucumbers and cantaloupes, and one which infects pumpkins, winter squash, and watermelons. The cucumber and cantaloupe strain type tends to have more fungicide resistance and aggressiveness.

Cucurbit Phytophthora Blight/Crown Rot is a water mold or oomycete disease of cucurbits caused by Phytophthora capsici. It causes large, irregular brown spots on leaves, which expand and coalesce in warm and wet conditions. On vines, water-soaked, dark lesions can girdle the stem and cause whole-plant wilt and collapse. P. capsici also causes damping-off in cucurbits, rotting the crown and root tissues and most often resulting in plant death. Fruit rot often occurs on the side of the fruit touching the soil, beginning as a water-soaked lesion that expands and is covered with white mold. P. capsici is a soil-borne pathogen that survives in the soil and on infected plant debris, spreading in rain, irrigation, and on workers / equipment. Favorable conditions include warm temperatures, high soil moisture, and high humidity.

Cultural management involves planting in fields without a history of Phytophthora blight, and maintaining greater than 3 years between susceptible crops (primarily cucurbit and Solanaceous crops with the exception of potato). Avoid planting in low, poorly-draining areas.  Do not land spread culled infected fruit onto production fields. Scout regularly for symptoms – if localized disease areas are located, plow under infected plants. Effective fungicide application should occur during early disease development. Mulching with straw or cover cropping between rows can reduce splash.

Carrot Alternaria and Cercospora Leaf Blights are common fungal diseases of carrot leaves and petioles. While neither disease directly hurts the carrot root, yield loss occurs when petioles become so brittle that they break off during mechanical harvest leaving the carrot in the ground. In warm, moist weather, Alternaria leaf spots develop rapidly so that the entire field may appear to have been injured by frost or chemicals. Crop loss will be more severe when plants become infected early in the season.

Alternaria and Cercospora are difficult to distinguish in the field and often appear on the same plant. The principle difference involves disease timing. Cercospora leaf blight, caused by the fungus Cercospora carotae, attacks young rapidly growing plants; Alternaria leaf blight, caused by the fungus Alternaria dauci, primarily attacks older plants, although seedlings may also be infected.

Onion Botrytis Leaf Blight/Leaf Spot is a fungal disease of alliums caused by Botrytis squamosa. Symptoms first appear as small whitish spots on the leaf. These spots are oval-shaped, and sometimes surrounded by a light green or silver halo that often appears water-soaked. Leaf tips will begin to dry and wither as the disease progresses, sometimes until the whole leaf dies back. Progressed infection can stunt bulb growth and reduce yield. Heavily infected fields often appear yellowish and blighted. Severe infection can stunt bulb growth and reduce yield.

Onion Downy Mildew is a water mold or oomycete disease of alliums caused by Peronospora destructor. It causes irregular foliar lesions that begin as pale-green, then progress to yellow or brown necrotic tissue. Eventually, lesions coalesce and lead to the collapse of the leaf. During periods of high moisture, fuzzy, gray-to-violet sporangia appear on leaf surfaces. These symptoms can also be seen on seed stalks and flowers. Bulbs can be stunted and sponge-like during systemic plant infection and, when the disease infects the bulb itself, can become watery. P. destructor primarily overwinters in volunteer onions and cull piles, as well as in infected soil, plant debris, and perennial hosts. The airborne spores spread via wind currents and splashing water, infecting through water on the leaf surface.

Favorable conditions include high moisture and cool-to-moderate temperatures. Cultural management involves planting disease-free bulbs and seed, rotating away from susceptible allium crops in diseased fields for 3 years, maintaining proper soil and leaf moisture, avoiding overhead irrigation and planting in poorly-draining soils, improving airflow between plants, and properly managing volunteer onions, cull piles, and infected plant debris. Several preventative fungicides can be applied when conditions for onion downy mildew become favorable, as well as those applied at the first signs of disease.

Onion Stemphylium Leaf Blight is a fungal disease of alliums caused by Stemphylium vesicarium. It causes oval-shaped, tan or brown lesions on the leaves, which may appear water-soaked and darker when sporulating. These lesions can enlarge and overtake entire leaves, as well as girdle seed stems. Blighted leaves can compromise the bulb, reducing yield and leading to secondary infections. This pathogen survives on overwintered infected plant residues, nearby crops, or host weeds, spreading via airborne spores or insect vectors like thrips. It often is a secondary infection, colonizing lesions caused by stronger pathogens like downy mildew or insect-damaged, heat-, or water-stressed leaves.

Favorable conditions include high moisture and moderate temperatures. Cultural management involves planting disease-free seed and transplants, managing host weeds and thrips, and rotating away from susceptible crops allium crops for at least three years.

Brassica Alternaria Leaf Spot is a fungal disease of brassica crops caused by Alternaria brassicicola. Symptoms begin as small, black lesions on leaves that enlarge to form target-like concentric rings of necrotic tissue surrounded by a yellow halo. When humidity is high, these lesions produce black spores on the leaf surface. A. brassicicola survives on infected seed, as well as infected soil-bound plant debris and host brassica weeds. It spreads primarily via windborne spores, as well as rain and irrigation splash and some insects.

Favorable conditions include moderate to high temperatures and high humidity. Cultural management involves using disease-free seed, destroying infected debris, maintaining a 3-year rotation between brassica crops (including broccoli, cabbage, collards, Brussels sprouts), and managing both host brassica weeds and insect vectors. Well-timed fungicide application can also control Alternaria leaf spot.

Brassica Black Rot is a bacterial disease of brassica crops caused by Xanthomonas campestris py. campestris. It causes V-shaped yellow lesions that move from the outer edges of the leaves inwards, with nearby veins turning black and thickening. Foliar symptoms might appear similar to those of plant stressors including drought, overwatering, or over-fertilization. Once established in the leaves, this disease can cause black discoloration inside the stem, which will become visible when cut. As the disease progresses, the roots may also turn black. This pathogen survives primarily on infected seed, and can persist in soil-bound plant debris for up to two years.  Once established in a field, the disease spreads via splashing water, wind, equipment, workers, and some insects.

Favorable conditions include high moisture and poor airflow. Cultural management involves planting resistant varieties and certified disease-free seed (may include process of hot-water seed treatment), rotating away from susceptible brassica crops for >3 years, maintaining proper spacing between plants, avoiding overhead irrigation and working in fields when plants are wet, managing host weeds and infected debris, and disinfecting tools and equipment. Properly-timed copper or biopesticide elicitors such as acibenzolar-S-methyl  can also be used to manage disease.