Is this deficiency or disease?

[liannenc]

I'm at a loss as to what is wrong with my Pink Potato Top. The leaves started to brown on the margins and die back several weeks ago. It's growing in a homemade 5 gallon self-watering container-- I know it would like a larger container, but this is what I was able to convince my husband to help me build this season (I'm hoping for some Earthtainers next season!). The leaf problem started after it set fruit and the fruit and stems seem unblemished so far. The fruit, however, is very small (pic 2) but it seems to ripen fine, and when it does it has good texture and flavor.

I've been removing the worst of the leaves, but it's pretty widely spread-- at the top as well as the bottom of the plant. I took what appeared to be a healthy cutting not long ago, but it does not look very healthy now (it's the one in the red Solo cup). The new growth looks good initially (pic 3), but even some of those leaves are showing some browning around the edges so I haven't tried any other cuttings, although I have let new growth at the base of the plant stay in hopes that it might be okay.

After doing some more reading today, I'm beginning to suspect a deficiency as opposed to disease-- possibly potassium? I really want to save this plant if I can-- it was initially the healthiest of all of my seedlings and set a lot of fruit fast. If diseased, though, I'm ready to take it out. Hubby and I were planning to do that tonight, but now I'm wondering if I should wait and see if some additional nutrients would help. I imagine that the plant has probably used all of the fertilizer I placed in the container at plant-out, and I have watered with some Miracle Gro 2 or 3 times since then, but not religiously.

So... what's the verdict? Feed it and wait, or pull it, disinfect the container and plant a cutting from one of my other plants?

[ObliqueAngles]

Hmmm, I wonder if you're seeing some of the various "leaf molds", such as cladosporium or botrytis/gray mold. There seems to be a lot of those going around this year. It looks a lot like it.

They are neither molds nor are they confined to leaves. They are fungi, and they can affect all parts of the plant. So you may want to treat still-healthy leaves with daconil or a copper-based product and carefully remove affected leaves (so you don't spread those spores around anymore than necessary), bag them in plastic, and throw them in the garbage.

Looks like the plants could also use some fertilizer, too. When growing in containers you need to increase the frequency of fertilizer, applying about every 10 days...a bit more often if it's really hot and you're doing lots of watering. It looks like you could also be over watering, but it's been hot and we tend to water when the plants are looking stressed from the heat. Try not to water if the soil mix is still damp a few inches down. Since they are in 5 gallon containers, maybe you could move them into a place where they won't get an overdose of afternoon sun when it's really hot out.

Wait a minute - let me go back and see where you live. :-)

Okay, zone7B NC (lucky you! We loved our trip to NC this past February). You might have enough time to start over. Hopefully someone from your zone will chime in on that one. I don't know if it's necessary to pull these plants; they might be salvageable. It's a tough call, but sometimes it easier to start over if you have some wiggle room left in your season.

Best of luck!

[ObliqueAngles]

On second thought, I wonder if this is tomato spotted wilt virus. That, too, seems to be quite prevalent this year. Unfortunately, I have no firsthand experience with it, so I'll back out of this and let more knowledgeable folks take over.

[ssi912]

looks like over or under watering/ too much fertilzer. what kind of potting soil are you using? i grew potato top for the first time this year and the toms i got were huge. very healthy plant. they were getting 10 hours of sun and were planted in the ground though. i have not had the greatest luck with tomatos in pots. they do okay until it gets really hot and the plants are loaded with fruit. i personally would not worry. take a few suckers and root them if your worried. if i stressed about all the leaf spots i usually have on my plants i would never sleep. use the biggest containers you can get. use high quality potting mix. fafard 3b mix is the best i have ever used. grow alot of chili pepper plants in it. pot all my seedlings up with it. better growth than all other brands. i usually try three different types a year. any how, good luck.

[amideutch]

Being a self made SWC and no Idea of the wick size I would remove the plastic cover and feel the side of the container during the day to see if it is heating up. I didn't see a drain hole on the side of the container. Have you added any ferts to the SWC's since plant out? Ami

[dice]

Is this recycled potting mix (used last season)? It looks kind
of like salt damage from buildup of fertilizer salts (left behind
when the plant uses up the N-P-K in synthetic fertilizers). If
so, it was probably not flushed enough over the winter to wash
out last year's fertilizer salts.

Do you have softened water? That can lead to salt buildup,
too.

It could be simple fertilizer burn (thinking of that one leaf
that is dead all around the margin) from too much synthetic
fertilizer, but from your description it did not sound like you
were using all that much fertilizer.

Potassium deficiency symptoms usually start high up near
the growing tips, not on the older leaves near the bottom of the
plant.

Take a close look at the stem where it comes out of the soil.
Does it look diseased?

[carolyn137]

What I''m seeing is necrosis of the leaf margins, primarily, and I see no lesions for any of the common foliage diseases, either fungal or bacterial, nor do I see any evidence of TSWV, etc.

Those necrotic leaf margins were diagnosed by Randy G in another thread somewhere and right now I can't remember where.

Dice, do you remember?

Maybe something to do with fertilizer, I can't remember. Nitrogen leaf burn is usually found at the tips of the leaves, not all the way along some of the leaf margins as I see.

Dice, it's up to you and if you can't remember please let me know and I can PM Randy G and ask him to take a look at the pictures.

[Timmah!]

It looks like a buildup of fertilizer & a concurrent nutrient deficiency caused by inadequate levels of other needed nutrients.

[dice]

RandyG's post in BlackThumb's thread:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...urn#post171853

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by dice

RandyG's post in BlackThumb's thread:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...urn#post171853

Thanks, that's it. But what was shown was white leaf margins and not the dark margins being shown on the plants being discussed in this thread.

Like you, I still have a feeling that it may be fertilizer associated.

[PNW_D]

Here's another response ....

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/a...es/tomato.html



12. Q. What could cause the leaves of my tomatoes to turn brown along the edges?
A. Leaf-burn or scorch generally indicates root injury, quite often caused by heavy amounts of fertilizer applied too near the roots. This injury often results in browning and die back of the ends and margins of the leaves. Other possible causes are root injury caused by nematodes, insects or physical injury by cultivation. Also overwatering or underwatering along with diseases might cause leaf-tip burn.

[liannenc]

Thank y'all so much for the input! I believe that it's probably a combination of a too-small container and over-watering. The Potato Top was the fastest growing and initially most vigorous of all of my plants so I think it has outgrown the container. Even though the container is self-watering, it's certainly not "professionally" designed and even though there is an overflow drain on the side of the reservoir, at the container's small size I think that the potting mix has stayed too wet. It was newly assembled this season, and I used a combination of some Fafard and some coconut coir. I added a few handfuls of Plant-Tone to the mix and I've watered it twice since with some Miracle Gro (mixed up per directions in a watering can and watered at the top of the container, not into the reservoir).

The stem of the plant looks fine at soil level and elsewhere. It is very possible, though, that the container may be heating up a lot during the day-- this one sits where it gets sun almost all day long, and it's been hotter than normal here this summer.

I saw some of those big round plastic tubs with rope handles at Wally World earlier this week for $5.00 each... I'm not sure of the capacity, but I'm guessing at least 10 gallons, maybe 20. I'm planning to buy a couple and use one right away to try to move my ailing plant. I'm hoping that by giving it some room to spread out its root system, it might rebound and set fruit again after the weather cools off.... which at this rate, will be in about 3 months! Also, when I move it to the new container, I can move the container to another location where it won't get so much sun. Next year, I'll use my homemade SWCs for my determinates (which have done very well in them) and other veggies. Those big tubs at Wally World are calling to me!

[Timmah!]

Those Wal mart containers are 18 gallon. =)

[liannenc]

Thanks Timmah! That should be big enough for my "monsters!" Last year I used 15 gallon grow bags and the plants definitely got bigger and were more vigorous than the ones this year so the 18 gallon tubs should be good. I've definitely learned my lesson this year about giving these indeterminates plenty of room for their roots!