Growers Should Manage Tomato Bacterial Spot While Seedlings are in Transplant Facilities

New findings from the University of Florida scientists could help tomato growers nationwide in their battle against a damaging disease.

With 37,000 acres, Florida’s tomato industry is a $520 million-a-year crop, so it’s critical to find sources of diseases so growers can avoid or treat them to sustain their yields. But a bacterium called Xanthomonas can cause bacterial spot in tomatoes, severely reducing the annual tomato harvest for the growers who encounter it.

Most tomatoes come from transplant houses, which produce tomato seedlings to plant in the field, said Gary Vallad, a UF/IFAS associate professor of plant pathology and leader of a new study about tomato bacterial spot.

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