Early blight and leaf spot are two of the most common forms of fungus in the garden. Image 1: EARLY BLIGHT (Alternaria solani) on tomato, note the concentric rings in the spot. Image 2: LEAF SPOT (Septoria lycopersici) on tomato, note the dark brown margin around the spot, (looks like an eye). Both leaf spot and early blight start at the bottom of the plant and move upwards over time.
ferti•lome® Broad Spectrum Fungicide and Hi-Yield® Vegetable, Flower, Fruit and Ornamental Fungicide are the old standby fungicides with Chlorothalonil as the active ingredient. This fungicide is able to be applied to almost all vegetables, fruits and berries. This will prevent and keep these two fungus from spreading. An organic fungicide that is almost equal in effectiveness to the ferti•lome® Broad Spectrum Fungicide, is Natural Guard® Brand by ferti•lome® Copper Soap Fungicide. This fungicide will do everything the above fungicide will do PLUS it will remedy bacterial issues. Image 3 below is bacterial speck on tomato; note the sunken dark brown or black spots. Another organic choice is ferti•lome® Triple Action. This is hydrophobic extract of neem oil, so it is an insecticide, fungicide and a spider mite control. This is not the strongest fungicide for the garden, but the added ability to kill insects makes it a good choice when one is not sure if they have fungus or insects. When it is above 90° spray only in the morning and if the plant is stressed by a lack of water, water 24 hours prior to treatment to hydrate the plant. The fungus in Image 4 below is anthracnose on cucurbits. Note that this starts as small spots that enlarge and eventually cover large portions of the leaves. The best fungicide for anthracnose is ferti•lome® F-Stop. This fungicide is a semi-systemic that can be used on vegetables, it can’t penetrate the skin of fruit and vegetables.