Blossom Rot

[patfish]

My maters are kickin like Bruce Lee, but it seems that a lot of them are getting rotten on the bottom. Anyone have a remedy or advice on how to keep this from happening? Its happened in the past but never to this many.

Thanks!

[fly2fish]

I am getting it to it starts at the bottom and rises up like wildfire, bad stuff.

FUSARIUM WILT

This is a warm-weather disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The first indication of disease in small plants is a drooping and wilting of lower leaves with a loss of green color followed by wilting and death of the plant. Often leaves on only one side of the stem turn golden yellow at first. The stem of wilted plants shows no soft decay, but when cut lengthwise, the woody part shows a dark brown discoloration of the water-conducting vessels. The fungus is soilborne and passes upward from the roots into the water-conducting system of the stem. Blocking of the water-conducting vessels is the main reason for wilting. Invasion occurs through wounds in roots growing through infested soil. Long-distance spread is through seed and transplants.

Prevention and Treatment: Control can be obtained by growing plants in pathogen-free soil, using disease-free transplants and growing only varieties resistant to races 1 and 2 of Fusarium wilt (indicated by FF following the tomato variety name), such as: Celebrity, Solar Set, Park’s Whopper, Goliath, Dona, Big Beef, Health Kick, Viva Italia, and Classica. Raising the soil pH to 6.5-7.0 and using nitrate nitrogen rather than ammoniacal nitrogen will retard disease development. No chemical control is available

http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/fusarium.pdf

HC

[jdmidwest]

I have the same problem, someone told me it was a manganese deficiency and to add epsom salt to the soil to raise the level.