How to Treat Tomato Fruit Diseases? A Detailed Guide to Prevention and Control Methods

Tomatoes are threatened by many pathogens and pests during their growth, and are prone to various diseases that make the fruit unharvestable, so how do you treat tomato fruit diseases?

Common tomato fruit diseases include late blight, gray mold, cottony rot, cotton bollworm, and others. The prevention and control methods differ somewhat from disease to disease, and treatment can be carried out by applying such pesticides as Chudao emulsifiable concentrate, Aweidu emulsifiable concentrate, and Shihuile suspension concentrate.

1. Late blight

Disease symptoms: When seedlings are infected, the lesions spread from the main stem of the leaves, the tender stem constricts and rots, and the branches and leaves above the diseased part die. When humidity is high, a white mold layer forms on the surface of the diseased part.

Prevention and control method: At the early stage of the disease, begin spraying with 72% shuangmeiyijing wettable powder diluted 800-1000 times, spraying once every 7-10 days, for 3-4 consecutive times.

2. Gray mold

Disease symptoms: It mainly damages flowers and fruits, and leaves and stems can also be affected. The affected parts show a water-soaked or yellowish-brown wet rot, with the surface covered in a dense gray to grayish-brown mold layer.

Prevention and control method: At the early stage of the disease, promptly spray continuously to control the disease, using 40% Shihuile suspension concentrate at 1000 times dilution, applied alternately or mixed with other gray mold control agents for 2-3 sprays, once every 7-10 days.

3. Cottony rot

Disease symptoms: Infected fruits develop water-soaked yellowish-brown or brown large spots, causing the entire fruit to rot, but the outer appearance of the affected fruit generally does not become deformed, and sometimes the peel splits. The diseased fruits generally do not drop off, and are densely covered with a large amount of cottony white mold layer, which distinguishes it from cottony blight.

Prevention and control method: Generally no separate control is needed; it can be controlled together with the control of tomato blight and other diseases.

4. Cotton bollworm

Disease symptoms: The larvae bore into and feed on the flowers and fruits of the tomato plant, and also feed on tender stems, leaves and buds. After flower buds are damaged, the bracts open and turn yellow-green, and drop off after 2-3 days. Young fruits are often eaten hollow, causing rot and drop, and damage during the fruiting stage causes fruit drop and reduced yield.

Prevention and control method: For chemical control, at the peak hatching stage of the larvae, choose 30% Chudao emulsifiable concentrate or 15% Aweidu emulsifiable concentrate at 1000-1500 times dilution and spray on a sunny day after 4 p.m. or on a cloudy day, then spray once more after 5 days.