Tomato blight*

(Question)

Does tomato blight overwinter in the soil? We planted tomatoes in a bag of potting soil, they produced beautiful fruit, but then blight set in. Can we reuse these bags of soil?

(Answer)

 

The fungus, Alternaria sp, causes early blight in tomatoes Early blight spores survive on old plant debris or in the soil.

The fungus, Phytophthora infestans, causes late blight in tomatoes. The fungus overwinters on tomato plant debris.

As we don’t know which fungus infected your plants, we recommend disposing of this soil entirely in the garbage, not in the city compost. . In both cases the plants debris must be destroyed.

For more information about these two blights, please follow these links:

Early_blight_Missouri_Botanical_Garden

Late_blight_Missouri_Botanical_Garden