Tomato and Potato Plants in Danger

Transcript

OPEN: Tomato prices are expected to rise this year as the same aggressive fungus that caused the Irish potato famine has jumped to one of summer's favorite crops. The Allegheny Front's Sarah Rutherford reports.

RUTHERFORD: A highly contagious fungus called late blight is destroying both tomato and potato plants this summer. The blight has infected plants throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Pennsylvania has confirmed cases in 24 counties.

Scientists say that the disease started with infected transplants sold at big box stores like WalMart or Home Depot. Home gardeners bought the plants without inspecting them as thoroughly as professional growers would have. Thanks to the cool, wet weather, the blight has spread to many commercial farms as well.

So what does late blight look like? Beth Gugino, a professor of plant pathology at Penn State, says the plants develop greasy, grey-brown lesions when they're infected. She says the plants are not poisonous, but she doubts you'd want to eat an infected plant if you saw it.

Fortunately, late blight is treatable. But Gugino says it's at a cost.

BETH GUGINO: There are some fungicides that are very effective at helping managing late blight and helping slow down the progression of symptoms and disease development but they are extremely expensive.

RUTHERFORD: Farmers in New York are already talking about tomato prices doubling.

If you think your plants may be infected, check out our website alleghenyfront.org, for more details

For the Allegheny Front, I'm Sarah Rutherford