Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot? Everything You Need To Know!

by Lee Safin

A beautiful quote on tomatoes,

” A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.”

so, the question is, Can you eat tomatoes with Septoria leaf spot?

Yes, you can eat tomatoes with Septoria leaf spot if the disease doesn’t affect the whole fruit. Unfortunately, Septoria spreads fast and weakens plant structure within a short time. If whole fruits are heavily affected, it is better not to eat them, especially if you have any physical issues.

So many health benefits you get from this beautiful red vegetable. They decrease the risk of many fatal diseases as they have a plant nutrient named “antioxidant Lycopene.” Unfortunately, tomato plants often get affected by different diseases, and the Septoria leaf spot is one of the common ones.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot? Everything You Need To Know!
Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot? Everything You Need To Know!

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot?

Very few diseases are as destructive as Septoria leaf spot for tomatoes. It mainly happens due to the fungus issue when tomato plants are neglected for a long time. Generally, Septoria leaf spots appear after the first fruit set on the lower leaves.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot
Can You Eat Tomatoes With Septoria Leaf Spot

Can you eat tomatoes with Septoria leaf spot? Is the most common question.

A lot of people are in a confusing situation about whether they should eat their tomatoes or not. Whether you should eat them or not depends on your plant conditions and how much it is affected by Septoria.

As we have already mentioned, Septoria spreads rapidly on the plant leaves, making your plants vulnerable to get affected heavily. Therefore, whenever you notice Septoria leaf spots on the tomato leaves, you want to cut them off as early as possible to prevent them from spreading on other leaves.

Though an individual disease organism does not cause harm, the tomatoes lose acidity due to the tissue damage. Additionally, microbes may grow under those conditions, which can be harmful.

Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant?

Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant
Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant

Wondering can you eat tomatoes from a diseased plant?

Yes, you can eat tomatoes from a diseased plant. Just because your tomato plant is affected by disease doesn’t mean you can’t eat their tomatoes.

 

You just don’t want to eat those portions of tomato fruits that have partially or entirely affected. Make sure to take off the partially or entirely affected areas and dispose of them. Eating those affected portions may make you sick.

On the other hand, eating fresh tomatoes from diseased plants is completely okay. For extra protection, wash them several times.

You don’t need to worry about thinking if the tomatoes have any internal issues. As long as you collect the fresh tomatoes where the leaves look entirely healthy and disease-free, it won’t cause any problem after eating them.

But if you are still unsure whether you should eat them or not, we suggest you take help from a garden expert. Hopefully, you got the answer to this question: can you eat tomatoes from a diseased plant?

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Fungus?

Tomato plants often get affected by fungal disease, which causes blockage issues for vascular tissue. When your plant is affected by this disease, you will notice some leaves’ color has changed and steams become limp.

Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant
Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant

Can you eat tomatoes with fungus?

The fungus can affect both ripen and green tomatoes. According to Dr. Margaret McGrath, a plant pathologist at Cornell University,

“You can probably eat tomatoes that are not affected by fungus. Tomatoes without fungus will not cause any health issue.”

However, it is best to avoid eating tomatoes that are fully affected by fungus. After all, Health should be your number one priority than anything else.

In addition, the early fungus may not cause any problem for tomatoes, but the late fungus will weaken its physical structure and prevents it produce fresh tomatoes. So, now you got a complete idea about this query — can you eat tomatoes with fungus?

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Yellow Spots?

Tomato plants with yellow spots might be an indication of early blight Alternaria. This disease can lead to damage to green and ripe tomatoes, stems, and leaves.

Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant
Can You Eat Tomatoes From A Diseased Plant

So, can you eat tomatoes with yellow spots?

You can eat tomatoes with yellow spots if the affected areas are cut off. Fresh areas are easily eatable. But make sure to wash the whole fruit appropriately to wash away all the debris from the tomatoes.

What’s more, experts recommend eating these tomatoes as early as possible without canning or freezing them. Because the fungus might have a chance to spread if you store the tomatoes for a long time. Hopefully, your confusion about this question has washed away — can you eat tomatoes with yellow spots?

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Black Spots?

The anthracnose is the primary reason behind the black spots of your tomatoes. This disease is mainly caused by fungi, which occurs when your plant can’t withstand comfortably wet and warm weather conditions.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Black Spots
Can You Eat Tomatoes With Black Spots

Can you eat tomatoes with black spots?

Cutting out the affected spots from the tomatoes and eating the remaining part of tomatoes is the best thing you can do. The black spots appear on the tomatoes when the cells of the particular area die.

So, the affected areas become dark, soft, and non-fresh. Some portions or the entire tomato may taste bitter due to the black spots. However, not all fruit tomatoes will be affected by it as it depends on tomatoes conditions.

Eat as early as possible the tomatoes with black spots by removing off the affected areas. Make sure you don’t preserve them in the freezer because it may affect the acidity of the tomatoes.

Eating frozen tomatoes that had black spots may put the risk of having botulism toxin. If you want to really eat those tomatoes in your recipes, make sure to add a sufficient amount of acid to make it toxin-free.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Brown Spots?

Do you know why brown spots appear on the tomato surface? If your plant soil has a shortage of calcium, you may notice circular brown spots on your tomato surface. But the good news is that these brown spots mainly appear on a few tomatoes— not all tomatoes of a plant.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Brown Spots?
Can You Eat Tomatoes With Brown Spots?

So, can you eat tomatoes with brown spots?

It is entirely okay to eat even the whole tomato that has brown spots. It is actually not a toxin to make the tomato poisonous—all you need to wash them properly before cooking or eating them directly.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With White Spots?

You may sometimes notice white spots on your tomatoes, which mainly occur due to insect feeding. It is one of the major concerns for not only tomatoes but also other fruits and vegetables.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With White Spots?
Can You Eat Tomatoes With White Spots?

Can you eat tomatoes with white spots?

Eating those affected tomatoes is completely okay. Only the white portion of the tomato needs to be removed, and eat the remaining fresh parts. If you notice all the areas of tomatoes have white spots, it is best not to eat them.

Apart from that, it may happen due to bacterial canker too. Bacterial canker mainly occurs when your tomato plants are affected by harmful bacteria. You may bring these bacteria through any plant or garden tools. So, hopefully, you have a complete idea on this question: Can you eat tomatoes with white spots?

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Soft Spots?

You may see soft spots on wrinkled tomatoes. However, soft spots are only visible after cutting the tomatoes.

Can You Eat Tomatoes With Soft Spots?
Can You Eat Tomatoes With Soft Spots?

Can you eat tomatoes with soft spots?

There are no hands-on tests that tomatoes with soft spots are prohibited from eating. But what best thing you can do is become cautious about it. You will just cut off the soft spots area and eat the remaining parts.

3 Methods | How to Treat Septoria Leaf Spot?

It is essential to know this question: Can you eat tomatoes with Septoria leaf spot? But, once your tomato plants have been affected by Septoria leaf spot, you also want to treat them properly. If your tomatoes have Septoria Leaf Spot, you can treat them by several methods. Some of them are:

Method 1 – Cut-off Affected Leaves

The first and best option is cutting off the infected tomato leaves the moment you notice them. You should not delay it as it will spread to the healthy leaves too. Make sure to wash off your hand gloves and pruners before removing the leaves.

Method 2 – Add Organic Fungicide 

Dr. Earth 8007 Ready To Use Disease Control Fungicide, 24-Ounce
Dr. Earth 8007 Ready To Use Disease Control Fungicide, 24-Ounce

No products found.

Another practical thing you can do is stopping the spread of Septoria leaf spots to other unaffected leaves. To prevent spreading, you can use organic Fungicide, which contains potassium or copper bicarbonate. Apply the solution to the affected area evenly as soon as you notice it.

Method 3 – Add Chemical Fungicide 

BioAdvanced 701520A Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control For Edible Gardening Concentrate, 32-Ounce
BioAdvanced 701520A Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control For Edible Gardening Concentrate, 32-Ounce

Chemical things are not suitable for plants. The more you can avoid them, the better it is. If any organic Fungicide is not available, you have no option but to use chemical Fungicide. Using the least toxic Fungicide makes sense in such cases. You can use chlorothalonil as it one of the most reliable ones, according to garden experts.

Read More – Best Insecticide For Indoor Plants– Expert’s Advice

Wrapping Up

Eating fresh and toxin-free tomatoes will give you several health advantages. However, you first need to know whether the tomatoes you want to eat are organic and free from diseases. Here we have discussed several diseases you can see on tomatoes. So, hopefully, you have got a complete overview of this question: can you eat tomatoes with Septoria leaf spot?

Thanks for reading!

Read More – 17 Pro Steps | How to Grow Tomatoes Indoors with Lights?

Last update on 2023-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Lee Safin

Lee Safin was born near Sacramento, California on a prune growing farm. His parents were immigrants from Russia who had fled the Bolshevik Revolution. They were determined to give their children a better life than they had known. Education was the key for Lee and his siblings, so they could make their own way in the world. Lee attended five universities, where he studied plant sciences and soil technologies. He also has many years of experience in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a commercial fertilizer formulator.

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