If you are like me and love fresh homegrown tomatoes then you know how heartbreaking it can be when your gardening efforts fail. This year was one of the worst years for tomatoes in Texas due to a tomato disease outbreak that happened this year.  Like many residents I wondered what killed tomatoes in Texas this year.  Everyone I talked to had the same problem, dead or spotted sick  plants with grey spots on tomatoes.

What late blight tomato disease looks like.

The Texas tomato disease responsible for withered fruit was most likely late blight. Late blight is the same fungus (phytophthora infestans) that caused the terrible Irish potato famine of the 1800′s that led to large scale starvation in Ireland. What killed Texas tomatoes in 2010 was the same late blight fungus. Once the fungus is in the soil, it can take up to 15 years to go away. Texas A&M Extension service recommends disposing of the soil in container gardens or pots and starting over.

A Perfect Situation For late blight in Texas Tomatoes in 2010

There are many fungal maladies that can affect tomatoes, including early blight, late blight and verticillium wilt. Late blight is characterized by greasy grey spots on the fruit, wilted, spotted leaves and general plant unhealthiness. Fungus thrives in wet climates and once thing that contributed to spread of the fungus and a die off of Texas tomatoes in 2010 was wet conditions that persisted throughout the spring. Late blight is an airborne fungus and could have arrived in a number of ways.  Late blight in tomatoes and other crops is so contagious and easily spread through the air that it was one of the diseases considered for biological warfare by the U.S., Russia and France, before bio-warfare programs were suspended by international treaty. The same late blight fungus that killed tomatoes in the North and Northeast in 2009 killed Texas tomatoes in 2010.  Many Texans grow fall tomatoes and since fall tends to be wetter and cooler, and since the fungus is still in the soil and air, it could be the perfect conditions developing again for late blight disease in Texas tomatoes.

How To Treat Late Blight In Texas Tomatoes

Treat late blight in your Texas tomatoes as a highly contagious disease. Don’t use pruning cutters or shears that were used on blighted plants on healthy plants without first wiping them off and disinfecting them with rubbing alcohol. Also, don’t walk through an infected patch or handle tomato plants with late blight and then handle or walk through healthy ones since this will spread the spores. Also, don’t use tomato plants with late blight as compost. Bag them and send them to the landfill.

In the very early stages you may have some luck treating plants with a copper spray or Serenade anti fungal. These work more as a deterrent or very early treatment than a cure. If plants have become infected it is best to destroy them and not plant tomatoes in the same soil for a few years. Also, don’t plant tomatoes where you had grown potatoes. For more tips consult your county extension service.

The disease that killed Texas tomatoes has been around for decades and is not likely to go away anytime soon. The best response is to be proactive and treat any signs of late blight in your garden.