Jo,

Assuming she hasn't had a hail storm that left small pits/scars in the fruit, I think it likely is insect damage. Keep in mind, though, that this is a 'best guess' since I've never personally seen this sort of issue.

It is hard to say what insect it might be since there are so many different ones, but it might be lygus bugs.

See the photos of both lygus bug damage and black mold secondary to bug damage on the Cornell Univ. website linked below. It is rare you'll see a diagnostic photo that exactly matches what you're seeing on the fruit you're trying to diagnose, so usually you just look for the closest match.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Problem Diagnosis at Cornell

Jo, my tomatoes look the same way, I have fruit worms, pin worms stink bugs, and heaven only knows what else. I'm about ready to carpet bomb the whole garden.

Larry

Larry, that really stinks. I myself have a very bad stink bug problem and I have to go inspect and crush daily, and still they are getting a lot of my tomatoes. Also, I am discovering I have a HUGE root knot nematode problem. They are almost everywhere. My local source SHOULD have the Elbon by tomorrow and I am hoping it's my miracle cure for next year, because I canno solarize all of my beds right now. Some are still quite productive.

Dawn, I think you hit the nail on the head. It sure soes look like that to me. She is currently spraying a neem and water spray once per week, I am wondering if she should increase to every three days or so?

Jo

Jo, Without knowing her current average daily high temp and humidity it is hard to say if the plants could tolerate neem twice a week. I'd probably alternate spraying neem/water with a spray of a commercially-prepared insecticidal soap (not a homemade one) like Safer Insecticidal soap.

Because lygus bugs (aka tarnished plant bugs) are a true bug and not a mere insect, they are very, very hard to kill and as far as I know there is no research-backed proven organic method of controlling them. (If there was, we'd be using that method on other true bugs that plague us like stink bugs, leaf-footed bugs and squash bugs.)

The best organic control of any kind of bug likely is Beauveria bassiana (hope I spelled that correctly), a fungus that is the main ingredient in several products like Mycotrol O. However, these are very expensive insecticides. I think the lowest price I've seen for a quart bottle of Mycotrol O concentrate was a little under $100.00.

Is this her first experience with the tarnished plant bug on her tomato plants? Although these bugs like tomato plants, they prefer other plants like alfalfa and often don't bother tomatoes as long as they have something around that they like more. Tarnished plant bugs are one of the major pests of agricultural crops in the USA and attack about 1/2 of all known crop plants.

There are some predatory wasps that control them, but they also are very expensive and wouldn't be worth the expense unless lygus bugs were causing so much damage that you mother could not get any yield at all from her veggie garden.

One problem with true bugs is that many of them eat by 'sucking' and not by chewing, so insecticides sprayed on plants have little effect on them.

I think that rotenone and pyrethrin are somewhat effective on them, but even though they both are organic, both are so hazardous to humans and/or domesticated animals and wildlife that I'd never use them.

Dawn