Noriwch, NY -- An official with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Chenango County said Late blight has been confirmed in tomatoes and potatoes in Norwich.
Rebecca Hargrave said the Late Blight was confirmed July 27 being grown in a home garden in the city. She said the sample was collected July 25 after the entire crop of tomatoes died almost overnight. Nearby potatoes are also infected.
"In an effort to avoid the catastrophe that happened last year, please monitor your tomatoes and potatoes in earnest," she wrote in an alert. "Look for dark watery lesions on the leaves, stems and fruit. Late blight spreads quickly."
Late blight devastated tomato and potato crops in Oswego County and across the Northeast in 2009.
Cornell University recommends “If late blight becomes severe, remove diseased plants by digging them up. Destroy these plants immediately by one of the following: burying them deeply in an area away from the garden, burning them, or by bagging them in a plastic bag and discarding the bag. These steps will help avoid production of a larger number of spores."
Cornell officials also state there are fungicides that can be sprayed to prevent infection, but once severe infection has taken hold, chemical controls will not work.
Hargrave states the fungus that causes late blight has become a major threat to home gardens and commercial growers because of the migration of new strains into the United States
Current information about late blight and its management can be found at this website.