Thus far, I’ve found only one seed supplier that sells these must-have seeds. Last spring, I checked with a few and was told by a huffy woman at one store that “all of our tomato plants are resistant to blight, ma’am.” This is, of course, claptrap.Īnd here’s the kicker. Garden centres, it seems, haven’t yet cottoned on to the disasters precipitated by devilish Phytophthora. So all of the above leads me to this: If late blight is ruining your fun in the garden – and who doesn’t love watching tomatoes grow? – try the resistant kinds.īut you’ll have to do it with seeds. The tomatoes are on the small side – halfway between a regular tomato and a cherry-sized one, but my neighbour Ann (who grew one of my plants, too) thought they had the best flavour of any tomato last summer. Even though all around them stood forlorn, drooping, dying plants (Heirloom Black Krim, my favourite-tasting tomato, was particularly badly affected for the second year in a row) the marvellous Mountain Magic came through unscathed. For once, the advertising hype wasn’t overblown. These I’d raised from seed and planted as an experiment, because they were touted to be “late blight resistant” – although I didn’t really believe it. I checked two tomato plants called Mountain Magic. Nothing can save it.īut then, wow! Utter astonishment in my veggie plot. Not even fit for the compost heap (because you don’t want those nasty little spores hanging around). And all this usually happens within less than 48 hours. Then the tomatoes themselves develop hard or soft patches, either pale or rotten-looking, while their insides go squishy and smelly. It first shows up as curling leaves on tomato plants, which quickly turn brown or black and, often, mouldy. Vain hope, of course, because late blight is incurable – and strikes in a flash. Why didn’t you shut up about it?” I muttered to myself, inspecting the damage, praying that some of my luscious red and golden orbs could be saved. Only days before, I’d been bragging in this column that my crop had escaped the deadly bacterial scourge (Latin name Phytophthora infestans), which is currently spreading like wild fire across North America. In recent years, newer varieties of disease-resistant tomato plants have been developed in conjunction with Cornell University.They were suddenly getting attacked by late blight. Tomato Spot Wilted Virus Resistant Hybrids Look for these popular hybrids, most of which are readily available:įusarium and Verticillium Resistant Hybridsįusarium, Verticillium and Nematode Resistant Hybridsįusarium, Verticillium, Nematode and Tobacco Mosaic Virus Resistant Hybrids F – Fusarium Wilt FF – Fusarium races 1 & 2 FFF – races 1, 2, & 3įinding disease-resistant tomatoes isn’t difficult. To find disease-resistant tomato varieties, look on the plant label or seed packet for the following codes: If tobacco mosaic virus was an issue in past years, it only makes sense to select a variety resistant to this disease. Gardeners are urged to select disease-resistant tomatoes which are relevant for their gardens. Additionally, resistance does not mean total immunity. While this has been successful to some extent, no single tomato hybrid has yet been developed which is resistant to all diseases. The production of disease-resistant tomato varieties is one of the main objectives of modern hybrid development programs. When these problems are present, the key to reducing tomato crop loss lies in selecting disease-resistant tomato plants. Crop rotation, garden hygiene measures, and sterilizing tools can only control these problems to a limited extent. Tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, and root-knot nematodes can damage and kill tomato plants. Nothing is more depressing than losing an entire crop of tomatoes.
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