Tomato blight spreading early in NY state

July 03, 2009 4:05 PM

CBS 6 News/AP

Tomato plants have been removed from stores in half a dozen Northeast states as a destructive plant disease makes its earliest and most widespread appearance ever in the United States.

Late blight -- the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s -- occurs sporadically in the Northeast, but this year's outbreak is more severe because infected plants have been widely distributed by big-box retail stores and rainy weather has hastened the spores' airborne spread.

Plants have been removed from stores throughout New England and New York. Late blight also has been identified in all other East Coast states except Georgia, as well as Alabama, West Virginia and Ohio.

A spokesperson for the New York State Agriculture and Markets Department told CBS 6 the department received its first report of tomato blight about a week ago -- much earlier than usual for the state to be seeing such cases.

The state is prepared to take regulatory action as soon as it gets a verifiable date, said Jessica Chittenden. In the meantime, the Cornell Cooperative Extension is taking reports of blight from farmers, consumers and retailers.

There is no public health risk, Chittenden emphasized. Tomato blight kills plants before they can bear fruit.

Symptoms include large olive-green or brown spots on the tops of leaves and white fungus underneath. Experts say home gardeners should destroy infected plants to prevent spores from spreading to commercial farms.

If you'd like to report tomato blight, contact your local Cornell University Cooperative Extension contact below: