Septoria Leaf Spot

Symptoms

Many small circular spots with dark margins and tan-gray centers peppered across lower leaves, distinguished from early blight by spot size (small and numerous) and tiny black fruiting bodies visible in lesion centers. Defoliates from the bottom up in wet seasons.

Management

Same cultural playbook as early blight, mulch, prune, rotate, water at the base, but with essentially no resistant commercial varieties, sanitation and protectant sprays carry the load in wet-summer regions.