Here ’s how to keep your plants healthy and productive , including what to do about leaf speckle , wilts , and other problems .
Juicy , dead sun - ripened tomatoes are among the easiest vegetables you could maturate in your garden . But taking good care of your craw means celebrate an oculus out for tomato plantdiseases triggered by fungi , bacterium , and virus , which can cause leaf spots and blight . Temperature , nutrient level , and moisture levels can also cause problems , potentially ruining your harvest and your dreams of enjoy slice of homegrowntomatoon your nextBLT . you could keep these potential problems at bay by familiarizing yourself with their symptoms and using a few unsubdivided strategies . With a little effort , your plants can outride healthy and productive all time of year long .
How to Control Tomato Plant Diseases
select disease - tolerant varieties , space love apple plants properly , using mulch , andwatering at least 1 inch per weekare some of the most important action to keep your Lycopersicon esculentum plant disease - barren .
Rotate Your Plants
Many common industrial plant disease and pests lurk in the soil , which is why it ’s always a good theme to circumvolve where you plant your tomato plant so they ’re not growing in the same ground any time within four eld .
Keep Watering Contained
Diseases also can spread out when leaves get sozzled , soavoid crowding your tomatoestoo closely together . This helpsair circulate betterand dries leaves faster . calculate at the base of your tomato plants whenwatering to minimize splashingonto the leafage and pee in the morning so slopped leaves have time to dry out before cool evening temperatures arrive .
Use asoaker hoseordrip irrigationto water the soil directly — keeping foliage dry .
Prune Regularly
Even when following all thesebest grow recitation , some Lycopersicon esculentum flora diseases are likely to pop up . For those triggered by fungi , bacterium , and viruses , it ’s almost impossible to bring around your plant once they ’re infected . However , if you enchant the problem ahead of time , you’re able to attempt to slack down the dispersed byremoving and demolish leavesor whole plant record symptoms .
Treat Organically
you’re able to also endeavor to forbid diseases from taking postponement in the first place by regularly treat them with a merchandise labeled for controlling diseases on vegetables , which come in spray bottles that are easy to use and rated safe fororganic garden .
How to Spot Tomato Plant Diseases and Problems
tomato are usually vigorous grower that will reward you with a bumper crop whengrown in full sunwith plenty of pee and nutrient . But it ’s almost inevitable that these plants will end up with a foliar disease or blemished yield . So here ’s what to look for so you have it away what you are dealing with .
tomato plant plant are heavy feeders — grow them in robust , amended soil and boost growth withsupplemental fertilizer .
1. Septoria Leaf Spot
A fungus causes septoria leaf speckle , creating modest , circular patches with a grey - white center and dark edges . lilliputian black spots may show up in the center of each blemish . Affected leavesturn chickenhearted , shrivel up , and fall off . farsighted periods of warm , wet weather help this tomato flora disease flourish , and plash water system chop-chop spreads spores to other leave of absence .
2. Anthracnose
This fungus is a small , circular , indented country on tomato fruits . finally , rings surround the original spot . The fruit ’s chassis may decompose altogether through , especially on overripe tomatoes . keep common Lycopersicon esculentum plant disease , andharvest ripen fruitson time . Spores are propagate by splatter urine , and the fungus is most unwashed during warm , wet weather condition .
3. Fusarium and Verticillium Wilt
These wilt tomato flora diseases are due to kingdom Fungi in the soil that enter through young root and then start to plug away the vas that move water to the plant ’s roots and stem . Without enough water , the plants start wilt on sunny sidereal day , although they ’ll appear to recover at Nox . Tomato wilt may first seem in the top or lower folio of the plant , causing them to lose colour and then die back from the peak . The process go along until the intact plant is regard .
To avail control these Lycopersicon esculentum plant disease , flora tomatoes breed for disease resistance . They should be labeled V ( for verticillium ) , F , FF , or FFF ( for fusarium variations ) . If one of thesetomato wiltsoccurs , keep off using the location to grow tomato , eggplant , potato , andpepperplants for 4 - 6 year because the fungi that cause the tomato wilt can remain in the land that long without a raw horde to infect .
To forestall spreading Fusarium or Verticillium fungi , clean off territory from tool and disinfect with 70–100 % alcoholic drink before using them elsewhere in your garden .
Credit: Scott Little
4. Early Blight (Alternaria)
Another love apple plant disease fungus , Alternaria , causes former blight . Lower parting show brown or black spots with dark boundary , almost like a target . shank terminal of fruits may be assault , showing large , sunken ignominious arena with concentric rings . This fungus usually strikes after plants set fruit .
5. Late Blight
Look out for fast - spreading tomato plant disease such as the fungusPhytophthora infestans . They occur during periods of nerveless , showery conditions that may come at the end of a grow season . It look almost likefrost wrong on leaves , have irregular light-green - black splotches . Fruits may have large , irregular - mold dark-brown splodge that quickly become rotten .
To avoid transferring of recent blight , do n’t works tomatoes near spud — this disease spreads easily between the two .
6. Mosaic Virus
Mosaic computer virus attacks many kinds of plants and is a rough-cut tomato plant plant disease . While mosaic virus does n’t kill the plant , it belittle the number and timbre of fruits . The computer virus nonplus its name from the markings resemble a low-cal green and xanthous arial mosaic on the leaves and mottling on the fruits of affected plants . Leaves may also raise in misshapen cast that see like fern .
Because the computer virus recruit through cuts in folio and stems , debar handling the works as much as possible . This virus also attacks tobacco plant and can be transmit from them if you ’ve recently handled cigarettes or other tobacco plant products . So if you ’re a smoker , lap your hands thoroughly with soap andwear garden gloveswhen working with tomato .
7. Blossom Drop
bring on by temperature extremes , blossom bead appears when temperatures are above 85 ° F or below 58 ° fluorine . The temperature extreme point destroy develop tomato blossoms . Often , you wo n’t remark that there was any damage until you have fewer tomatoes to harvest at the end of the season . Prevent blossom drop by using quarrel covers to raise Nox temperature . unluckily , there ’s not much you’re able to do about hot day temperatures ; just uphold hefty plant so they ’ll set new buds after the heat undulation passes .
To prevent heyday drop curtain in tomato plants , avoid overfertilizing — excess nitrogen and in high spirits salt levels can interrupt developing .
8. Blossom-End Rot
A lack of calcium , usually brought on by waver water availability , can result to tomato plant diseases , specifically heyday - terminal rot . It appear as a sunken , dead arena opposite the stem ( the bloom end of the fruit ) . The area will expand as the fruit matures . Prevent blossom - terminal bunk by push firm , strain - costless plant growth . body of water plant regularly to conserve moist but not waterlogged soil . circularise a 2 - inch - thicklayer of mulcharound plant to husband land wet .
9. Damping Off
Damping off is a frustrating fungal tomato plant plant disease that causes seedling to crack up of a sudden or give out to germinate . Presoak seeds to speed sprouting , and do n’t plant them in cold soil . If planting source in potting mix , always practice a fresh bag and sterilize your containers first with a 10 % whitener solution ( add one part bleaching agent to nine parts H2O and mix ) . Allow the top of the soil to dry out between waterings .
10. Sunscald
basically a sunburn on a tomato , sunscald causes a incision of the fruit to become gentle , light in colour , and dry . Prevent sunscald by maintain enough foliation to shade fruit or spectre fruits artificially with a shade cloth .
Understanding the Tomato Plant Disease Code
Disease electric resistance has been bred into many Lycopersicon esculentum varieties . The letters behind the names are codification showing what disease and insects the tomato plant are bred to resist , admit :
VVerticillium wilt
FFusarium wilt
Credit: Denny Schrock
FFFusarium wilting races 1 and 2
FFFFusarium wilt races 1 , 2 , and 3
NNematodes
Credit: Denny Schrock
AAlternaria alternata(stem canker or early blight )
TTobacco mosaic virus
StStemphylium(gray folio pip )
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
TSWVTomato spotted wilt disease computer virus
For example , the bountiful Beef VFFNTA Hybrid label severalise you it ’s cover to resist Verticillium wilt disease , Fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 , nematode worm , tobacco plant mosaic virus , andAlternaria , and other blight .
Improve Your Tomato Harvest with These Tips
For the best and most abundant tomato crop , pruning takes priority . Once you ’ve discovered whether your tomato plant are adeterminate or indeterminatevariety , you canlearn how to proceedwith removing gull , leaf , thinning yield , and keep your plants as clean as potential . Knowing thebest fourth dimension to harvestyour tomatoes will produce the tastiest addition to salads , sauces , and sandwiches . Keep pestis from eatingyour cautiously cultivated crop , and you ’ll have more tomatoes than you know what to do with .
Verticillium and Fusarium Wilt Diseases in Tomatoes . Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa . 2023 .
da Silva , Andre ; East , Chip ; Kemble , Joseph ; Sikora , Edward ; and Smith , Kerry . Blossom Drop in Tomato . Alabama A&M Extension . 2023 .
Credit: Scot Nelson
Sunscald of Fruits . Missouri Botanical Garden .
Credit: Cameron Sadeghpour
