The disease, known as late blight, affects plants as a result of the spread of a protozoan fungus.
It has such a phenomenal ability to reproduce that in just one night it can turn a powerful bush into a dried-up mummy, which is “decorated” with blackened fruits.
The fungus spores are spread by potato tubers. They spend the winter there, and when they wake up in the spring, they end up in tomato beds.
If you notice small brown spots with a whitish coating on leaves, stems and fruits, you can be sure that this is the very same late blight.
The disease spreads from the bottom up.
If the weather is dry, the affected tissue dries out and dies. If it is damp outside, rotting processes begin.
In both cases, the plants die, their fruits cannot be eaten, and their seeds cannot be used for further reproduction.
Fortunately, experienced gardeners know one effective way to combat late blight. It involves using copper wire.
As soon as the tomato stem gets stronger, it is supposed to be pierced with a piece of wire and left like that. The copper wire is inserted into the stem under the first true leaf.
Important: before this, the copper must be wiped and cleaned of dirt.
This procedure is carried out either two weeks before the transplant or two weeks after.
If the tomatoes have already been transplanted, the wire is placed at a distance of 40-50 mm from the hilled soil around the bush.
