Tomato leaf curl, what next?
12 years ago
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- 12 years ago
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Help! Tomato Leaf Curl! How & Why? What now? lol
Comments (12)Welcome to the wonderful world of growing tomatoes in containers. Here is what I've learned over the years. You water them too much, they wilt. Water too little, they wilt. Potting mix drains too quickly, they dry out too fast, they wilt. Potting mix retains too much water, their feet get soggy, they wilt. Fertilize too much, they wilt. Fertilize too little, they wilt. Give them a funny look, they wilt -- and then produce tomatoes with blossom end rot....See Moretomato leaf curl
Comments (5)Hi Sarah, First of all, I don't think anyone here will give you a hard time for asking a 'repeat' question. The search function here misbehaves at times and it can be hard to find a thread that you know exists, much less one you're uncertain about. Secondly, yes, leaf curl has been a major issue for many members of this forum this year. In mid-spring, the leaf curl tended to occur because of sporadic very hard rains which left the soil and plant roots waterlogged for long periods of time. In late spring, leaf curl occurred as a result of the early arrival of mid-summer type temperatures in late spring and early summer. In mid-summer, leaf curl is occuring because of prolonged excessively hot temperatures combined with very low rainfall in most places. A few folks have had the combination of very high heat and sporadic heavy rainfall which is also very stressful to plants as it is a combination that favors fungal and bacterial diseases. When someone has physiological leaf curl in the last half of July or the first half of August, it is almost always because high temperatures are stressing the plants. I'd bet that is what you're seeing. Plants that were perfectly gorgeous the first and second week in July can look totally exhausted by the end of July. Although leaf curl can indicate a couple of different diseases, it generally just indicates stress. With the tomato plants that are dying, it could be the heat, it could be too much rainfall if you're in a wet part of the state or too little if you're in a dry part. It would be rare for it to be herbicide drift although occasionally that occurs. With herbicide drift, though, you often have not just curling foliage but oddly distorted foliage and not just normal foliage that is curling. It is exceptionally hard to get tomato plants through July and the first half of August in Oklahoma. That's why some folks plant new plants for fall in early thru mid-July. Those plants are young and energetic and able to survive the heat, grow and produce in the fall. Without seeing them, we cannot begin to guess why your plants are dying, but I'd bet it is the heat, and maybe a little bit of a pest issue or a little bit of a disease issue added to the heat. This has been a very, very bad tomato year for many people. The weather just hasn't cooperated at all. Hope this info helps, Dawn...See MoreTomato Leaf Curl, Yellow Spots, Yellow Leaf w/ Brown Spots
Comments (8)The plants in self-watering containers and in 5-gallon grow bags are both exhibiting the leaf roll. However, I do have 2 5-gallon grow bags that have plants in partial shade which do not exhibit leaf roll and are just as big, if not bigger, than those in the self-watering containers. I'm thinking the leaf roll may be root stress related. Either the 5-gallon containers/bags have become too small, the container gets too hot thus stressing the roots, or the potting soil has finally compacted and isn't delivering enough oxygen to the roots. I have tomato plants in raised beds as well and I haven't noticed any leaf roll with them. I have noticed a few had yellowing leaves w/brown spots (3rd picture), however....See MoreTomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) vs. Mg deficiency??
Comments (5)simmran1, thanks for the compliment on the pics. i've been through the tomato problem solver so much now i think i've got those pics memorized :) didn't help much here, but definitely a good resource. Dave, we did have a brief aphid visitation on our tomatoes earlier this month (among other plants...artichokes and pomegranates) a light pruning and spot sprays of insecticidal soap seems to have taken care of that. nothing noticed on the peppers... no spider mites either. we did have some ladybugs show up around aphid time :) yay! over watering was a concern earlier but we've gone from twice a week to once a week, based on the earlier leaf curl symptoms. checking with a moisture meter confirms this, the root zone was 'wet' even after quite a few days. hence the previous leaf curl on lower leaves 'overwatering' stress. in AZ i think we tend to overwater, just cause it's a desert really ;) but looking objectively, our beds have really great soil, mulched heavily and temps have only been avg. in the high 80's lately. (although we did hit 102 yesterday!!) again, I'm leaning toward under fertilization/overwatering. we've only been giving light fish emulsion and seaweed 2x/month. (after a good planting with chicken/cow manure compost) which would give a great start like we've had. i agree with you on nutrient deficiency first/ disease process later. so we'll see how this latest fert. works over the week. now for more questions if people don't mind :) Is 1 TBS/gal sufficient mgs04? i've seen recommended up to 4 TBS/gal. err'd on cautious side.... (what i most want to know) will the affected leaves correct soon or should i judge by new growth? I'm not worried about the old curled growth, thats been there for while. but the new growth yellowing and curling worries me a bit. fruit production seems right on track for all varieties. do i ride out the symptoms and get what fruit matures or cull the plants and spare the other healthy ones? ahh... the suspense of gardening!! will monitor over the next week! :) we have had major aphid infestation on our brussels sprouts on the bed next to these. we've been gradually feeding the greens to our chickens. i'm a bit hesitant maintaining a 'pest resevoir' like this just for sake of chicken feed. I would mostly prefer to uproot and toss...please advise. my feeling is to just get rid of them, but dont' want to waste resources if aphids and plants are better in the stream for chickens rather than compost. upcoming... i did notice whiteflies on some of our youngest 'tumbler tomatoes', they're in a basket and doing great so far. thanks and look forward to any more insights and wisdom:) rob...See More- 12 years ago
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