Tomato Blight

Early and Late Blight

Tomato blight can refer to early or late blight. Unfortunately, once these fungi infect your plants, they can spread rapidly. During some years, commercial and home growers alike can have their entire crop wiped out.

Both early and late blight affect tomatoes and similar plants, but they're caused by very different fungi. And though they're called "early" and "late" both diseases can occur at any time during the growing season.

I suggest reading more details on these fungal diseases so you can be informed of the best preventative growing practices. That's because certainly the old saying applies here:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. -- Ben Franklin

Detailed Disease Information

• Early blight is one of the most severe tomato diseases affecting home gardeners and can affect the stems, leaves, and fruit of plants. It can also cause damping-off in seedlings. It doesn't occur in arid dry regions but is most active in warm, wet or rainy conditions.
• Late blight is a destructive tomato and potato disease that is sometimes confused with early blight, but is actually a very different pathogen, and generally develops at cooler temperatures.