Please help me figure out whats wrong with my tomatoes

[Paradajz]

hi, Tammy,

interesting and not good looking photos there.
could you say in what approx. time plants come to such a stage from initial symptoms appearance?
also, are there any of the symptoms on stems and petioles, and are all of the plants affected in the same pattern- from top towards bottom?
finally, you mentioned it starts as leaf yellowing, would you call it an ''olive- green'' yellow or a ''yellow'' yellow, maybe close to bright yellow? also, at the third photo you posted the bottom leaf appears to have a yellow area at the leaf base, could you name it a pattern that this thing shows initial appearance at leaf's base area ( pattern as not always but in high percentage of cases )?

br,
ivan

[tammyinwv]

Approx 2 weeks ago, a few started looking wilted like they needed water. The rest looked OK. So I gave them some. After closer inspection I noticed the wilt started from the bottom, the leaves curled in, and dead areas started appearing. The dead leaves spread till the entire plant was yellow and gone. Stems wilted with leaves, except main stem stayed sturdy until last. After it starts they turn a yellow/green, lime green. I have noticed a few plants that are a slight yellow green, where as others are bright green. It is so subtle tho, that I am not sure it is even disease . Some leaves today on other plants have areas similar to early blight. Here are the pics I took today.
Tammy
PS, my West Virginia University Extension agency replied back today wanting location, and phone number and more info concerning the issue. This is the main agency, not the county extension agent I spoke with on the phone.

[bcday]

OK, this latest description does begin to fit symptoms for Fusarium -- wilt starting from the bottom, leaves yellowing, main stem staying firm and green. Late Blight does not cause the leaves to turn yellow-green. One or two small spots on leaves in this second set of pics do look like the beginnings of Early Blight. But I really had doubts about LB in the first set of pics that were posted earlier, and I'm not seeing much in this second set of pics that looks like LB. I would have expected to see black blotches on the plant stems to match the amount of disease on the leaves if it were LB, and there really isn't much. Except for a couple of possible brownish-gray smudges on a stem back in the shadows, the stems look pretty green and clean. Even the color of the dead areas on the leaves in most of the pics is a lighter brown color than the brown-black that I'm used to seeing with LB around here. The middle pic in the first set does show dark dead areas on the leaves, but that could be gray mold, it's hard to tell from that pic.

I take it the extension service didn't see your pics? I am surprised that a diagnosis was made over the phone, even with at least one previous report of possible LB in WV already.

[tammyinwv]

I just read " Interior of main stem (when split) shows discolored streaks from plugged water-conducting tissue"
from: http://www.tomatodirt.com/fusarium-wilt.html

I checked the stems of the plants I pulled over the weekend, and the stems are clean and white inside. Some still crisp and snap when broke. I didnt see any streaking. The rest of the symptoms sounded similar.
Tammy

[Master_Gardener]

I think I remember an easy test for Fusarium wilt. Take a cross section of an infected stem and float it in a glass of water. If it is Fusarium silt, there will be white streamers from the ends of the stem.

It's been a while, and I've never had a positive test for it so I could be wrong. I'll go play with Google.

Russel

[bcday]

Russel, that test is for Bacterial Wilt.

[b54red]

Tammy that first picture looks like the symptoms of early stage fusarium wilt. Just because you plant resistant hybrids doesn't mean you are completely safe from it. I grow some hybrids that are resistant every year and still many of them get fusarium wilt but they usually last longer than most of the heirlooms that get fusarium. Any plant that has fusarium wilt is far more susceptible to most of the foliage diseases also. My first Gray Mold of the year started on the first plant to get fusarium and spread from there. The bleach spray I have mentioned is not going to do a thing for fusarium wilt as it is a systemic soil borne disease.

Bill

[Paradajz]

hi, Tammy,

one could write a teaching book on your photos.

the problem with it is that those show quite a number of symptoms of various diseases and even a herbicide damage, but without a fully clear pattern coming from your descriptions and photos for any of those.

* my first impression on the first photo- set was glyphosate injury ( BTW, out of my own curiosity- is Roundup registered for free use in USA? ). i believe you might find photos with a clear pattern for it here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?p=354534#post354534 ( although i've never got an answer there ). the basic symptom which would establish the pattern for it is yellowing from leaf's bottom, which i believe i saw at one of those photos, but then again the periodical spread of this thing to new plants disapproves of herbicide injury, unless it was in the soil.
* there are a few leaf lesions clearly suggesting Late Blight in the second set, but on the other hand, almost impossible to imagine that L.B. could get plants to a terminal stage without putting stems and petioles ''on fire'', and your description of weather conditions there also disapproves L.B.
* there are also some clear proofs of Septoria or/and Target spot in the second set, some Alternaria also, indications for Powdery Mildew, and also lesions absolutely suggesting Leaf Mold in both sets. again, spots are just a secondary there, and there is no sufficient visual pattern for L.M. either, although this would be the closest one.
* lower leafs wilting and indefinite chlorosis at some of your plants indicate a possibility of Fusarium wilt, but when you see that symptoms next time don't water those plants- just check those same leafs early next morning, if it appear better and healthier ( not so wilted ) than it really does indicate F.W., if it still looks like wilting or worse it would rather suggest Mold.
* finally, some of the symptoms there resemble Bacterial Canker quite much, but no stem cankers in the terminal stage again make a disapproval.
a very complex garden you got there

but my basic suggestion to you is to rephrase the question from ''what is this?'' to ''why?''.
the point is that you need a test on those plants to determine the disease ( or herbicide injury ), just photos won't help here because those plants show quite a number of secondary diseases which make it a very blurry vision to judge upon.
and then again, once you determine the disease you will still have to answer the basic important question- why it was so intensive and aggressive, or in other words, why those plants are so weak to allow such kind of aggressive outbreak ( in the time of season and weather conditions which shouldn't be generally convenient for such kind of disease outblast ).

so, i would recommend you to avoid planting so tightly in future, to absolutely test the soil ( PH and mineral analysis ) at the end of this season, to pay additional attention to the way you use ferts ( e.g., why the calcium, did you expect a deficiency? anyway, if you have an objectively calcium deficient situation to expect all you need is no more than a couple of foliars but only when the fruits are around an inch or a bit smaller in diameter, that's actually the exact time the plant will have the need for it since at that same approx. time plants lose the ability to extract it effectively from the soil; this way you most probably just added to the nitro- overdose of your plants clearly visible from the overall appearance and the length of internodes there, which was most probably the basic thing which so atomically fueled the disease of your plants what ever it is ).

for this particular moment it is my opinion that the copper suggestion would be the best solution, although i would use it in a mixture with mancozeb, twice in 10 days, since this way you would cover most of manageable fungal and bacterial diseases. also, you should absolutely stop any ferts and drench your plants with any kind of beneficial bacteria solution at high rate once a week aiming to restore the nutrients balance status and add some strength to your plants.

br,
ivan

[tammy]

Ivan, thanks for the detailed analysis. I am pretty new to the disease issue with my garden. I have only been doing a lot of reading on it since these losses. I have seen symptoms of early blight and the fusarium. I didnt notice Fusarium wilt at first, but then after research and re-check I did find some of the striations associated with it.

As for the possibility of herbicide damage is impossible, I have lived on this property for 35 yrs. Prior to that is was farm land/ probably for cattle. The only ammnedments were bought peat moss, etc, and large amounts of aged horse manure from my neighbors horse barn.

How would fusarium started? I is possible these disease issues were going on last yr, as I lost most of my garden then, but attributed it to dry weather and traveling. The yr before it did very well. No loss of plants.

The tomatoes are planted about 10" apart and pruned to a single stem.They look a little closer packed as my potatoes are growing in a seperate bed beside them, and show thru the back of the photo's.

I worried about the nitrogen issue as I had my soil tested last Fall. One was done in my already present garden beds, and the other my yard in the same area. because I knew I was going to expand. Here is the results:
http://www.tammyinwv.blogspot.com/20...soil-test.html

As you can see the nitrogen was high, in the garden, possibly due to the horse manure.
I also remembered that my large clematis near the house has a lot od center death right after blooming., and has done so for the last two years. I was thinking it might be related.
All my plants were grown from seed this year except 3 recent purchases of pepper plants which look healthy. I have been experimenting with the Mittleider method in the garden this yr. Everything looked fantastic until I noticed the wilting in a few plants two weeks ago. I did replant three new young plants in the place I pulled 3 dead plants last weekend. Probably a HUGE mistake. They are 3 Rutgers I wanted to try. How long before, my plants will be safe if I see no more disease issues?

What kind of bacterial solution are you referring to? Do you have a recommendation? My tomatoes are blooming and setting fruits. I have twice sprayed the bleach spray mix found here when I realized it was diseases. yesterday being tha last time. Today i plan on going out and looking for the copper etc.

As for the Round up, I believe it is advertised on TV. Cant remember for sure.
Tammy

[tlintx]

I bought a bottle of Round Up at Home Depot a couple of years ago.

By the way, there have been cases occuring where a newer herbicide (aminopyralid) that is sprayed on grass and can survive digestion and composting ends up in gardens. Nasty stuff.

I was nervous buying bags of compost this year, so I stuck with forest products and mushroom compost.


Tl

[tammy]

I forgot to mention but the extension agent said the photo's said it also looked like I had some white mold which looked possible. I bought copper dragon which is a powder, so I assume I would apply mancozeb spray first then sprinkle on the dragon? We had heavy rains again starting wednesday night, and most of Thursday. Hopefully I can get it done this AM
Tammy

[b54red]

Tammy even though I sprayed with copper 2 days ago we had rain last night and the Gray Mold was back on several plants this morning. I sprayed again with the bleach at the higher concentration then after 10 minutes went back and hit the ones that have Gray Mold again and very thoroughly. I am going to reapply the copper this afternoon at the highest recommended rate. I have noticed some leaf burn from the copper spray so I may get even more with the higher dose but with these frequent rains and constant high humidity I've got to slow this Gray Mold down. I don't want a repeat of 3 years ago where I was tentative in treating it and ended up losing over half my plants.

Bill

[tammy]

How often to use the copper dragon.? Are you completely removing infected plants or just the parts? The plants that look really bad I removed, the ones that looked decent but infected parts, I removed the parts.
tammy

[b54red]

I don't remove plants just because they have Gray Mold on them. I spray and remove bad limbs and hope for some drier weather before it is too late. GM will eventually affect the fruit and ruin it if it gets bad enough. I'm hoping to not have that problem this year but this rainfall every day or two is making treating it very difficult.

I've never used Copper Dragon and this is the first year for me to use a copper fungicide so I'm a novice with them. I'm only using it because I have not had much luck with Daconil preventing Gray Mold.

Bill

[tammy]

I sprayed with the Mancozeb this AM, then this eveing I sprinkled the copper dragon powder on. The only plants I am removing are ones that look too far gone. I noticed possiblt 3 others I will be pulling soon since they are wilting badly
tammy