Blight Resistant Tomatoes

Grew some Crimson Crush in the greenhouse. Nice big tomatos,taste really good. Lasting well after picking 2 weeks ago.
Ferline not bad either.
Deffo growing CC next year inside and outside too.

 

grew crimson crush, bland taste

 

I've grown Berry before in 2018, but in a polytunnel when there was no blight, not even outside. I got some seeds a few weeks ago to grow them again next year.

Appears to be a contradiction in that link above:

"Never plant in soil or compost that has previously contained diseased plants"

"Blighted foliage can be composted away from the crop as spores need a living host to survive for more than a few weeks"

If they require "a living host", then they shouldn't be able to survive in soil from which the plants have been removed after the previous season.

 

How does blight over winter?

 

From RHS (NB this is for late not early blight):

"The pathogen overwinters in rotten potatoes left in the ground or by the sides of fields. However, the great majority of infections in gardens arise from wind-blown sporangia originating in other gardens, allotments and commercial crops. In the UK, outbreaks may occur from June onwards, usually earliest in the South West.

The presence of new blight strains in the UK means that the pathogen now has the potential to produce resting spores (oospores) in the affected plant tissues. The oospores are released from the rotting tissues to contaminate the soil. These resting spores have yet to be found in the UK, but analysis of the recent variations occurring in blight strains in some parts of the UK suggests that they could be being produced. Little is currently known about their survival and their potential as a source of the disease, but investigations are continuing and more information is likely to become available over the next few years. However, because oospores are resilient structures, if they are produced in infected foliage it is quite possible that they will survive many home garden composting systems. This is why it is preferable to dispose of waste from blighted crops in other ways. Municipal and commercial composting systems reach the very high temperatures necessary to kill oospores and other resilient pathogen propagules."


IF new strains of late blight that have spores which can overwinter in the soil appear in the UK, I'll continue to practice rotation, but always grow them through membrane to prevent leaves coming into contact with the soil and use under membrane watering systems. And probably stick to growing tomatoes under cover as there'll be loads of people with infected plants every year.

P.S. My third polytunnel goes back up shortly and and a fourth one will be added next year. EDIT: Something I forgot to mention was now changing polytunnel planting layouts to keep tomatoes away from end ventilation grilles where driving rain might get onto their leaves (might line those internally with enviromesh or similar, but that will exclude pollinators and create extra work).

 

Wonder if the use of Jayes Fluid on the soil a few weeks before planting would be of any use.

 

I had Blight in one of my plastic growhouses, I cleared all the Toms in a Black sack and shut it up.
Once all the Toms & Pots are harvested, I plan to soak the inside with Jeyes Fluid and shut it up again until spring...............and then it's fingers crossed.

 

I grew those for several years and they didn't get blighted, but in 2015 when late blight hit, they were quickly devastated (along with Ferline, Legend and Losetto) and never bothered with them again.

Bought the seeds from Realseeds, who no longer sell them. I've read that some older, previously resistant varieties aren't (so?) resistant to new strains of late blight.

 

I'm presuming commercial growers are using fungicides to protect against blight.
Wondering what they are.

The thing is I'm never going to go back to growing lots of tomatoes in the greenhouse, but just a couple of good plants outside would be all I need, but going by what has happened this year even that is not an option anymore.
Can't say as I like the copper sprays much too messy for my liking and not very effective this year any way.

 

What was got banned was the sale of the likes of Bordeaux Mixture to gardeners, not commercial users. Use (and purchase if you can find some for sale) by gardeners is still legal. I bought some before it was 'banned', then got more when it was reduced to clear just before the deadline for sales. Got enough for at least 10 years.

Only myself and somebody who mixes their own BM have outdoor tomatoes still standing at the plot.