Common Pests of Celebrity Tomatoes

Early Blight

• This fungal disease is caused by the fungus Alternaria solani. It first manifests as small black marks on mature tomato leaves. The marks spread to form a circular lesion with a bullseye-like patten, sometimes with a yellow margin. Lesions can spread to stems and fruit and cause fruit drop. To avoid early blight, grow celebrity tomato plants in a different part of the garden every year, fertilize them regularly and remove any weeds.

Late Blight

• Late blight, caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, tends to strike celebrity tomato plants during cool, damp weather. It causes dark, wet lesions which develop a white, moldy margin. Late blight can defoliate a celebrity tomato plant within 14 days. Fruit on infected plants develop dark green or olive colored lesions. Reduce late blight infection by planting tomatoes in a spot that receives morning sunshine and by keeping their foliage dry during watering.

Bacterial Wilt

• Also known as southern bacterial blight, this bacterial disease is caused by the Ralstonia solanacearum. It causes sudden wilting of otherwise healthy, green tomato plants. Cut stems of tomato plants infected with bacterial wilt look brown and may ooze yellowish liquid. Do not grow tomato plants in the same spot for at least three years after bacterial wilt infection. There is no chemical treatment for bacterial wilt.

Anthracnose

• Caused by the fungus Colletotrichum coccodes, anthracnose manifests as wet lesions under the skin of ripening tomatoes. The lesions grow in concentric rings and may develop pink jelly-like spore masses. Avoid watering celebrity tomatoes from above to avoid anthracnose infection and reduce watering while the fruit are ripening.