Scientists Try to Limit Tomato Disease from Spreading Via Grower Spraying

Bacterial spot disease isn’t just a nuisance for tomato growers – it’s a relentless, weather-powered villain that can ruin a field.

Bacterial spot disease isn’t just a nuisance for tomato growers – it’s a relentless, weather-powered villain that can ruin a field of promising fruit. When warm rains roll in and humidity hangs in the air, the pathogen behind bacterial spot comes alive, spreading fast and scarring tomatoes so they can’t be sold. Growers rely on fungicides to fight the disease, but those chemicals often don’t work very effectively because pathogens are resistant to them, University of Florida (UF) plant pathologist Gary Vallad said. Applying these materials can unintentionally help the pathogen spread. As Vallad explains, traditional spraying equipment uses high volumes of water at high pressures to deliver the fungicide to the tomato canopy. But that process also creates particles containing the bacteria that can remain suspended in the air, accelerating plant-to-plant spread across fields. UF scientists are trying to empower tomato growers to spray fungicide without spreading the bacterial spot ...