Although diseases caused by these pests can appear anytime during the gardening season, problems tend to be more prevalent as plants approach maturity. Check tomatoes, peppers, squash, peas, and other crops for symptoms of diseases which reduce yield and quality. Fast action could allow you to get a handle on the problem and minimize losses from diseases. One of the most troublesome diseases for home gardeners is early blight of tomatoes. Early blight is a fungus disease which shows up each gardening season as a leaf blight on the lower part of plants.
Blight affected plants produce poor yields of inferior quality fruit.
Gardeners who start a fungicide application program shortly after transplanting generally don't have too much of an early blight problem. Other gardeners who've neglected spraying and have blight symptoms present on their plants face a more difficult task. However, if early blight hasn't progressed too far up the plants, it may be possible to head off the disease provided a fungicide application program is started without delay. Multi-Purpose Fungicide Daconil 2787, and similar products. Based on field tests conducted by Extension plant pathologists in Mississippi, chlorothalonil fungicides consistently provide better early blight control than other fungicides.