can be restored to health and produce healthy fruits within a relatively short span of time .”
growers know
You have worked hard to lay out your garden . You have painstakingly plated your rows in straight lines . You even have nifty plant labels so that all passers-by will know what varieties you are keen on . Then you notice a black speck on the bottom or side of your tomato or squash . You try to wipe it off , but alas , the dreaded blossom end rot has reared its ugly head on your home ground . This shot across your bow does not mean you have diseased plants or poisoned soil . Blossom end rot can occur even in the nicest of gardens . Blossom end rot ( BER ) is an abiotic ( non-living ) disease that affects the fruits of primarily solanaceous plants like tomatoes , peppers , and eggplants , and cucurbits like watermelons , squashes , and cucumbers . As it is a physiological affliction ( a collapse of the cell membranes ), pesticides are useless in treating it . Many novice gardeners think it is a fungal pathogen and try to treat it with fungicides . Many seasoned gardeners , and most professionals , know that it is caused by a deficiency in calcium . What many of these same individuals do not fully understand , however , is that it is not so much about the quantity of calcium in the soil as much as its availability to a plant when needed .
Disease Information
The good news about BER is that it is not a communicable plant disease . One affected plant will not transfer BER to another plant , nor will one infected fruit cause another to develop it , even on the same plant . Even better news is that it is reversible and a plant that develops fruit with BER can be restored to health and produce healthy fruits within a relatively short span of time . Fruit that is already affected by BER , however , is not salvageable ; it is not reversible for the individual fruits that have developed it . Blossom end rot can appear unexpectedly and from a variety of causes : a sudden onset of a drought , disturbance of a plant ’ s root system by improper cultivation or animal pests , or mere “ jumping the gun ” on the planting season and transplanting when the soil is still too cold to safely do so . However , all the possible causes of BER can be reduced to a combination of a lack of water supply for the roots to uptake and a lack of available calcium at critical times during fruit development . Calcium serves many roles in proper plant health . Think of it like mortar — it helps a plant with cell wall membrane stability , aids in its transport processes , and helps to extend a plant ’ s primary root system . A disruption in any of these functions can lead to BER .
Symptoms
Blossom end rot is easily identified by its sometimes large , light-todark , brown-to-black lesions , generally found on the bottom or lower side walls of the affected fruit . It also tends to affect a plant ’ s first fruits , though it can appear at any time during a plant ’ s maturity . The lesion formed by BER will be dry , though it can become a moist , rotten area if not discovered before other pathogens take advantage of the weakened tissue . These sunken dark spots appear during the fruit ’ s development , anywhere from when it is one-quarter to half of its mature size . The spots then continue to grow in size . Fruits that have BER will ripen faster than fruits without it . Though there are not many , there are a few other diseases of fruit that can be mistaken for BER . Buckeye rot is a fruit disease that causes a large , dark , lesion on some fruits , but its cause is phytophthera . In some instances , cucumber mosaic virus can also appear as similar to BER in cucurbits . On peppers , spots caused by sunscald or anthracnose may at times be mistaken for BER as well . However , these lesions are lighter in color and are not as often misdiagnosed . When in doubt , take a picture or the fruit itself to your local cooperative extension or garden center for positive identification .
Prevention and Control
One of the best ways to prevent BER starts with a soil analysis . Knowing what your existing nitrogen , phosphorous , potassium , magnesium , and calcium levels will do more to prevent the onset of BER than arguably any other single factor except availability of water . Most soils naturally have sufficient amounts of calcium without having to add any supplemental quantities . However , if a true calcium deficiency is found as the result of a soil test , the element can be added to the soil by amending with lime or gypsum . Lime will raise the soil pH , so if that is not desirable , defer to using gypsum or other natural calcium suppliers such as bone meal , ground egg shells , clam shells , or oyster shells .
“
A PLANT THAT
DEVELOPS FRUIT
WITH BER
can be restored to health and produce healthy fruits within a relatively short span of time .”
130 grow cycle