Staying alert to disease
Don’t risk losing tomato plants to fusarium or Verticilium wilt. Buy varieties that are resistant to both. Among good ones for the South: Marion, Manalucie, Floralou, and Homestead 24. Avoid tall, spindly or leggy plants.
Prepare to control fire blight on apples and pears, and some ornamentals as photinia, hawthorn and crabapple. If you are planting apples or pears, use resistant varieties. For apples, Red Delicious strains are most resistant and Yellow Transplant and Lordi are most susceptible. Once the growing trees are infected, the disease is difficult to handle. Removing all infected fruit spurs and branches helps, but be careful. When taking out infected branches, make cuts well below dead bark, usually 10 to 12 inches.
To prevent disease from spreading from cut to cut, sterilize pruning shears after each cut. A chlorine bleach or alcohol may be used. Use antibiotic spray to fight fire blight. The antibiotic spray should contain streptomycin. Follow package instructions. Apply first spray when first blooms open; the second spray when center blooms open; and a third spray at full bloom.