It began with an email alert June 24 from the National Plant Diagnostic Network. Late blight had been found on tomato plants at several big box stores in upstate New York on plants from a nation-wide producer of vegetable transplants.

The next day additional reports came in from Long Island. Extension Specialist Cheryl Smith knew this disease, caused by the same fungus responsible for the Irish Potato Famine, could spread quickly with the cool wet weather New Hampshire was experiencing. No more than a couple hours later, Extension Specialist Becky Sideman shared an email she received from colleagues in Maine that it also been found in box stores throughout Maine.

Smith and Sideman knew they needed to get an alert out to growers quickly to protect tomato and potato crops against this potentially devastating disease. They quickly compiled information from several sources and sent an email alert to all UNH Cooperative Extension Agricultural Resources staff urging them to distribute the alert to all tomato and potato growers.

The next day, Smith and her lab assistant checked tomato plants at four local stores. Infected tomatoes were found at all four stores. Given the increased interest in gardening and growing “our own food,” and the potential sales over the upcoming weekend, the blight could easily spread from backyard gardens to commercial fields and eventually statewide.

Working with her administrative assistant, Suzanne Hebert, and Extension’s Communication staff, Peg Boyles and Holly Young, an alert was posted on the front page of Extension’s Web site and our Education Center’s web page.

The alert included photographs from several sources and a slide show Extension’s web master Faye Cragin created that helped distinguish late blight form other common tomato diseases. The Plant Diagnostic Lab offered to identify and confirm late blight samples without charge to facilitate tracking the spread of the disease. A press release also went out to all media outlets to help disseminate the information to the public.

The first confirmed case of late blight came just eight days after the initial alert July 1 from a home gardener and the first commercial producer was hit a week later. In one week, several more farms were hit, and by Aug. 17, late blight had spread to every county in the state, and the epidemic ranged from Ohio to South Carolina.

By the end of September, Extension’s Education Center had provided late blight information to over 200 callers. Although many commercial farms and backyard gardeners lost their crops, and the economic impact may easily reach into the millions of dollars, the losses could have been greater were it not for the quick response by a multi-team collaborative effort by Extension to disseminate needed information quickly, accurately, and in as many formats as possible. This was great example of how Extension can impact the lives of New Hampshire citizens!