Tomato Problem

 

I have tomatoe plants that start off great, then when they are about 18
inches tall and quite bushy, the top leaves start turning black and curl up
and die. This then gradually spreads down the whole plant and it then dies
completely.

What is the problem and how can I stop this spreading to my other tomato
plants.

My brother who lives 200 kilometres away from me is also having the same
problem.with his tomato plants

Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Norman

 



Pics to compare yours with known issues:

From the Texas A&M aggie site:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/tomatoproblemsolver/

From Colorado:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/Garden/02949.html

Its most likely a wilt .  Possibly a blight.

Not much can be done at this stage, except  a good clean up.

Don't plant Tomes there next year. Certainly try crop rotation and give good
thought to a bit of soil remediation along your philosophy lines.
I am a strong advocate of soil testing so as to have a known starting point,
rather than the traditional; a bit of this, a bit of that. There are tips in
the two references, but above all,  do try more resistant plants with that
soil test.

FWIW, these are dot edu sites, not dot com, so not as many granola group
tales to sort thru.

Good luck

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me advice in such detail. I
really appreciate your help and advice.

Many thanks.

Norman

 

Norman wrote:

This sounds like a fungal attack to me though I cannot say which one. Has
the weather been very wet and/or humid lately?   There isn't much you can do
immediately except destroy the affected plants (burying away from the vege
garden is good) and replant away from the infected area.  Plant with wider
spacing and tie them up religiously to allow air to circulate. Try other
cultivars because some are much more resistent to fungus than others. Also
be careful with watering.  Try to keep the leaves dry and just water the
roots and avoid kicking up mud with the hose.  Drippers or soakers are good
here instead of sprayers or hosing.

David

 



I live in North Queensland where it is hot and humid much of the year. I had
a lot of trouble trying to grow tomatoes because of fungal attacks. The
worse was one that turned the skin transparent before the whole tomato
turned into a bag of foul smelling mush. I have been growing Roma tomatoes
with much better success. I can keep the fungus at bay with occasional
sprays of wettable sulphur. It usually gets my plants in the end, but not
before I have a good harvest. I can keep the neighbours in tomatoes for a
month or two and cook lots to put in the freezer. I tried to keep a
continuous supply by planting every three weeks, but I just gave the fungus
a continuous home.
Cheers,
Dan