Leaves, twigs and fruit are attacked causing moderate to severe defoliation, blossom blight and lesions. It is mainly a concern in regions with an annual rainfall of greater than 20 inches per year.

Signs and Symptoms
Bacterial Spot causes tiny purplish-black flecks on the surface of peaches. On smooth-skinned fruit, such as nectarines, it appears as water-soaked spots. The disease breaks the skin of fruit and causes it’s flesh to sink. If contracted early in the season, it makes deep lesions in the flesh of fruit. Within 30 days of harvest time it appears as circular, yellow spots on fruits’ surface.

Bacterial Leaf Spot results in angular leaf spots that appear water-soaked when light is behind affected leaves. Within one to two weeks of contracting the disease, the centres of any lesions become walled-off by the leaves and drop out, resulting in holes commonly referred to as shothole. Shothole is most common at the distal ends of leaves and around large leaf veins, as water film is thicker in these areas; consequently, the leaves dry slower. It only takes two to three lesions to affect a leaf enough to make it yellow and fall.

Bacterial Cankers often appear on twigs. Summer cankers show up mid-season. They are identified by their irregular shape and the dark, sunken lesions they leave on the current season’s twigs. Spring cankers look like dark blisters; they frequently materialize near the twig tips of the past season’s growth. As they injure the tips, buds fail to open and the affliction results in a number of dead tips on the tree.

Tomatoes are attacked by a unique version of the disease. Tomato Bacterial Spot results in dark, circular foliar lesions that become angular and may dry and fall out. Affected immature fruit are marred by small, raised black specks with water-soaked borders. These often turn into brown, sunken scabs, but don’t usually lead to rot.

Disease Cycle
Trees can become infected with Bacterial Leaf Spot and Bacterial Cankers in late autumn as leaves fall from them. Water congestion is essential for infection to occur; the bacteria multiplies within twigs during favourable temperatures and oozes from natural openings in spring, during periods of wet weather. Bacteria then exudes from the cankers for 30 days and from leaves and fruit lesions throughout the season.

Treatment and Prevention
Growing resistant cultivars can help minimize losses due to Bacterial Spot and Bacterial Cankers. It is important to monitor plants weekly for the signs of disease from shuck split until late in the season. Examine fruit for small lesions and hold leaves to the light to examine for angular, water-soaked lesions.

Tomato Bacterial Spot can sometimes be prevented by using pathogen-free seeds and transplants, avoiding overhead watering and using rain shelters to reduce splash.

If disease is contracted, it is visible within 24 hours of infection, displaying the heaviest at mid-vein and the tip of leaves. Shothole symptoms on leaves are visible within three days. It is essential to examine weekly once the disease is contracted.

Control the spread of the disease by working in affected areas last and avoiding them entirely when foliage in wet. Make certain to decontaminate tools after working with infected plants.

Treatment with a foliar application such as Oxidate and a soil application like TerraClean is highly recommended in several circumstances:

• If the disease has been on-site in the past and affected more than 5% of fruit.
• If the incidence of lesions is currently affecting more than 20% of the fruit being grown.
• If new lesions develop within a week.

With the recommended environmentally-friendly chemistries, one can continue treating to kill bacteria until the day of harvest. Treatment may be safely suspended during periods of extended dry weather. While treatment is effective for afflicted plants, sprays such as Oxidate and TerraClean can also reduce the possibility of infection if applied as a preventative measure, before symptoms occur.

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Finally, recent university evaluations of several compounds breakthroughs in scientific research have provided tomato farmers with a much-needed information about effective treatment options for proven control of Bacterial Spot.

According to a 2006 study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida [PDF] , out of 25 compounds tested, OxiDate Bactericide/Fungicide as a tank mix combo provided the greatest disease reduction on tomato plants infected with Bacterial Spot.

These research results from 2006 study were confirmed in another study in 2007 [PDF] when other researchers from by the University of Florida discovered that where OxiDate as a tank mix combo once again provided the most significant disease control of all 24 compounds tested on tomato plants infected with Bacterial Spot.

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