Tomato Blight Threat: Farmers Must Act Fast to Protect Crops from Spots

• Cold weather, favorable for tomato cultivation, also brings risks like fruit cracking, spotting, and reduced size, impacting market value.
• Horticulture expert Rani Amule identifies blight ('jhulsa') as the primary cause of spots and rot on tomatoes during cold days.
• Blight, which has three types (early, late, bacterial), is exacerbated by excessive irrigation, monocropping, dense fog, dew, and post-rain moisture.
• Prevention methods include timely and appropriate irrigation, avoiding repeated planting of the same crop, and pre-treatment of seeds.
• Farmers should use copper-based fungicides, hot water treatment, and seed treatment with fungicides to prevent blight from the outset.

Why It Matters: Timely identification and preventive measures are crucial for farmers to protect tomato crops from blight and ensure good yield.