Tomato Blyte/ Blossom Rot

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Winterrider

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Sep 29, 2018
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Anyone got a good home remedy to cure tomato blyte or some call it blossom rot ? I got it on 2 of my plants and it got to my pepper plants. I am using irrigation so not overhead watering, which I thought was my issue in the past. I have been watering daily with the drought and excessive heat we have had as of late. Thanks in advance for ideas or suggestions.
 
I think daily watering can cause the issue. I’ve been taught to just water once a week with a decent soaking. I think Calmag could help or spray with Epsom salt solution and sprinkle a good amount of it around the base of plants.
 
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I'm far from an expert on this , but I always thought it was from to much water.
 
Crushed egg shells, especially when you first plant/transplant. It’s a great way to use “helpful trash”. I try to put shells out in my garden beds any time we use eggs and it majorly limits blossom end rot.
 
Blossom end rot is caused from lack of water. The tomatoes grow from the blossom outward, so when the plant is starved of moisture, it steals the water from the fruit At the blossom end, which is farthest from the vine connection. This is a much bigger issue in sandy soil. We have clay/ to clay loam and is much more forgiving in this regard. More water, not less.
 
Tomato blight is a soil born pathogen. It gets splashed up onto the stem and leaves from rain. best prevention is deep mulch to prevent soil splash and trim leaves to 12" off the ground. Tomato blight is different from blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is caused by deficient uptake of calcium by the plant. This does not necessarily mean your soil does not have enough calcium already, it is usually from irregular watering. Be sure tomato plants get consistent water...at least 1" per week. Best to water deeply once a week, than to shallow water more frequently. Exception would be in hot weather 90*+, then twice a week is better (but still water deeply) to account for faster water transpiration by the plant leaves to stay cool. You will know you need to water more often if the soil is moist and the plant leaves still droop.

Tomatoes need moist soil for the microbes to extract calcium from the soil via enzymes which they then supply to the tomato plant in exchange for sugars secreted by the roots. If the soil dries out too much, the microbes can not extract calcium and supply it to the plant.

The more you know.....

Yes I am a garden nerd.
 
With tomato plants that already suffer from blossom end rot, if you want to lessen the extent of the damage, foliar spray a dilute water soluble form of calcium onto the leaves. Uptake will be faster as the plant can readily absorb calcium in a water soluble form through the leaves. Some damage will still remain, but the fruits should still be edible if plants are sprayed every 3 days. Do this 3 times.
 
Thank you all for your input, all research I did you guys nailed it. Just have to find the right combination now.
Grabbed the wife's PH / moisture meter and put in by tomatoes. PH real close to 7.0, plenty of moisture. Gonna back down the watering to every other day ( unless leaves start wilting again) and tossed some gypsum around the plant in the irrigation zone. Got this today from our NDSU extension service today. Didn't want to post the whole file, hope this is readable.
20210805_192218.jpg
 
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