It's either herbicide toxicity or a virus like cucumber mosaic virus.

Hello Ally,

I agree with Esteban that it may be herbicide damage, which I think is likely more common than CMV (cucumber mosaic virus) in most areas. I am assuming that the 30605 is your zip code and you are located in Athens, GA and I don't know if CMV is a problem there.

If you look at this link you can see pictures of herbicide damage in tomatoes. That page has a few pictures of CMV also, so you can see that they are similar in appearance. Here is the page for the image results for Cucumber Mosaic Virus in tomatoes.

Do you or your neighbors spray weed killers on you properties? If so, then I'd think it most likely that you have herbicide damage, which if it doesn't kill them, tomaotes will sometimes grow out of.

I would suggest that you might wish to call your local extension office and see if CMV is a problem in your area. If you take a sample to them, they may be able to definitively tell you which it is.

This link has some additional infor on CMV (and other virus problems) and info on Disease Management (if you scroll up on the page, they have lots of info there on other diseases).

I hope that helps.

Betsy

Need the picture. Otherwise it is just guess work. Many things can cause "curly tomato branches" - including aphids if severe, sprays you may have used to treat the aphids, herbicides or diseases as the others have already mentioned, nutrient problems, excess watering, etc. And in some varieties it is even normal.

Even a photo may not make the cause clear but at least it would help a great deal more than the info provided in the OP.

Dave

Thank you all! Betsy, I'm heading to check out those links now. THANK YOU for the plethora of information! I don't know if my neighbors have used herbicides or not, but I don't think so. I know I haven't.
I took pictures, but I won't be able to upload them until tomorrow. Will be sure to do so then, but thanks so much for taking time to respond!

Here are some pictures of the leaves and the branches that seem to curl every which way. It's a tangled mess, and it sure makes it hard to see those hiding aphids in the leaves!

Do the pictures still make you all think herbicide damage? Though the leaf curl is obvious, the branch curling was more difficult to catch in a picture with my crappy camera. :) Regardless, the tomato plant seems to be healthy, though the twisted mass makes it much more difficult to spot pests (aphids, in particular). Just curious if I could have done something to cause it to grow this way. I've never had a tomato plant grow so tangled! Thanks for any help!

Are those grass clippings that you are using for mulch? Could they have had Weed & Feed used on them? If so that may be the problem. As healthy as your plants look otherwise, I think you are seeing herbicide damage.

Betsy

You mention aphids, is the aphid load heavy or moderate or light? If you have a heavy infestation, they could also account for the leaves curling. OTOH, I've not had an aphid problem (knock on formica!) so I don't know if that will also affect the branches. I do know that many people say hose them off. You can also use an isecticidal soap on them (such as the Safer brand) to help control them.

Betsy

Honestly I don't see any herbicide damage in those photos. They are mostly old growth in the pics - herbicide damage shows up primarily in new growth.

What I see mostly looks like a combination of classic tomato leaf roll which is just a physiological response of the plant to stress, some environmental damage, and maybe a bit of nutrient deficiency.

What is causing the stress I can't say from the photos but it could be anything from over or under watering, excess N tho I don't thing that is the case here as the yellowing in the older leaves would usually indicate some N deficiency and some over-watering, the weather (you don't indicate your zone or where you live), over-crowding, high winds, etc. See article linked below.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf Roll in Tomatoes

ditto to digdirt

Thank you all for your replies. Dave, I keyed in my zip on my first post, but I guess that doesn't tell you much. :-) I live in Ga, and we have had temps in the mid to upper 90s for a couple of weeks now, and the forecast doesn't change over the next week. In the past month, we've had one, yes ONE rain shower, so my poor maters are lacking delicious rain water. I'll check out the article you linked. Thanks! We've had a bit of all that you described...extreme temperatures (from dipping into the mid-40s when the plants were younger to weeks on end of the upper 90s lately), very little rain, and some of the heaviest winds that our area has seen on one or two occasions, so it's impossible to diagnose the root problem I suppose.
I water deeply twice per week, always checking the soil before I do to make sure a watering is needed. I've used miracle grow 2 times since planting these guys back in April, plus I tilled compost into my soil back in fall and mulched with compost under my hay...which answers Betsy's question. The hay is actually the same hay I used from last year. I bought 2 bales and only needed one last year. I didn't have these same issues. The older leaves are yellowing a bit, but the plant is producing blooms and tomatoes, so I hope all is going to be ok. Betsy, I kill aphids by hand. I get out there daily (sometimes bi-daily), crawl all around (and underneath) my plants to kill every aphid I can find. :) That's just as easy as squirting them with a hose, which can potentially damage the leaves and wash away pollen. I'd say this year the aphid population has been a moderate, not light, but not exceptionally heavy since I'm pretty darn consistent with my daily killing sprees. lol! There was a period of 3 days when I was out of town where the aphids mulitiplied faster than I imagined they could, but otherwise I'm keeping them at bay. They do seem to be more prevalent on my Big Boy plant (the tangled, curled one) than any of my others, so I guess they've figured out I have a harder time finding them there. Smart critters!
Thank you all for your help! Any recommendations at this point? Or should I just be thankful that the plants are still green and producing fruit? :) Thanks! Allyson