Just a guess without seeing at least a picture as it could be anything from root rot caused by too much water to pests (aphids) on those 2 plants, nitrogen burn from over fertilization, to early stages of one of the foliage diseases. Most likely - too much water in that particular place in the bed. Is it low-lying where water might collect or a poorly draining pocket? Next best would be environmental damage if they are where heavy winds could have affected them more than the others. Next best would be aphids. Next best guess would be maybe Early Blight but its symptoms are very classic - see pictures on the web of it. But with just your description of leaves are brown, dry and the plant looks almost dead it is impossible to do anything but guess. Dave PS: when you have pics to post I'd suggest you post over on the Growing Tomatoes forum here rather than this one.

Close up pic. This leaf is from a black plum. Next plant over is a black krim, which is exhibiting the exact same thing.

Thanks for all the replies. The only pesticide I used was diluted neem extract and that too after the leaves started to show the dryness/wilting. What steps can I take for environmental damage? I think it may not be early blight because there are no concentric circles on leaves. I was reading somewhere that it may be due to over-watering/water-logging. I plan to remove the plant from its pot this weekend and make sure excess water has a clear path to drain out. Any more suggestions are welcome and most appreciated. Thanks again. Deepa

K. It's hard for me to tell, but 2 or 3 of your pictures make me suspect that something toxic misted over them. Things like an overly strong fungicide or epsom salt concoction sprayed on the leaves, household chemicals like lysol, or a neighbor spraying for weeds (known as herbicide drift, which can drift many hundreds of feet). It affects the newer growth because it is more sensitive, whereas the older growth remains normal. If this is true, then your plants should grow out of it on their next batch of leaves. But, i cannot confirm what i've written above and i'm sure there are more possible causes, but everything i've listed has happened to me personally. Hopefully what you have is only a temporary setback. Steve