Identification: Wilting of leaves and death of plants without warning. Spray an insecticide, especially on the tops and undersides of the leaves. It is either spread by aphids or carried through infected seedlings. Leaves rolling upwards, yellow leaves, and plant stunting are the symptoms.Ĭause: Viral infection. This proves it is one of the most common tomato plant diseases. Identification: If you mumble “leaf curling” in a group of gardeners, you’ll most likely be getting reactions like “Ohh(s)” and “Oops” and “Same”. Treatment: Shake the branches with flowers to simulate wind and get the pollen from the stamens to the pistils. Prevention: Get your soil tested before planting tomato seeds and sow them at adequate distances. Identification: All leaves, no fruit - one of the major tomato plant problems.Ĭause: Too much nitrogen in the soil or tomato seeds sown too close. Mulch around the base of the plant with straw or wood chips to prevent fungal spores. Treatment: Remove and destroy all affected leaves. Remove all fallen infected leaves and destroy them. Treatment: If you find these early signs in your tomato plant, use a garden fungicide. Don’t grow tomatoes in the same spot as before. Identification: Dark spots on tomato leaves forming concentric circles and the leaves turning yellow around the spots. After harvesting, consume them before you consume the ones with smooth skin. Yes, cracked tomatoes are edible, yay! Just harvest them as quickly as you can as they are prone to insect damage and rotting. Treatment: If your tomatoes split, don’t panic as you’ll still be able to consume them. If you anticipate rainfall, pick fully-coloured tomatoes to avoid these tomatoes cracking open. Prevention: Mulch the soil and water the plant evenly. If you water the plants after keeping them thirsty for a while, they’ll take up more water than needed only to pop their skins. This usually happens in concentric circles.Ĭause: Uneven water supply while the plant is ripening. Identification: As the name suggests, tomatoes can have cracks appear on their glossy skin. Please note that BER isn’t one of the tomato plant diseases we so often hear about but only a deficiency. Adding compost to the soil that has crushed eggshells also helps significantly. However, spray either early morning or late in the evening else the leaves will burn. If you aren’t inclined towards picking your fruits, you can use a calcium spray to prevent BER from developing further. Then, take diluted milk (50: 50 | Water: Milk) and add the same to the soil for an instant calcium boost. Treatment: The first thing you need to do after you find your tomato patch hit with BER is to pick the affected fruits. Using mulch can prove to be beneficial too. Also, to keep the soil consistently moist, water the plant at the same time daily. Prevention: Make sure there’s enough calcium in the soil and the pH level is high enough (around 6.5) for the tomato plant to absorb the calcium available. However, if you try to cut the sunken patch out to consume the fruit, it will look mealy from the inside and won’t taste as good as homegrown tomatoes usually do.Ĭause: BER is either caused by uneven watering (wet-dry circles in soil) or by calcium deficiency. Apart from the black patches that look leathery, the plant appears healthy. Identification: These dark spots at the bottom of tomatoes, opposite to the stem, are blossom end rot. Here’s how you can proceed with your tomato seedling care. It is, therefore, important to identify the basic problems that tomatoes face and prevent the same. Within a few weeks of sowing tomato seeds, the plant leaves might turn yellow or be eaten or the fruit might crack or…the list goes on. While the rewards home-grown tomatoes bring to the table are umpteen, the issues they face while growing are no less. The love gardeners have for their tomatoes growing in their backyard is unrivalled and matches only with the love they have for their immediate family.
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