Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl?

[North_Of_60]

Hi everyone. This is my first post, and I could use some help. I think I have the dreaded tomato yellow leaf curl.

A little bit of info:

I'm in South Florida, zone 10a. I have a raised bed with a bunch of different stuff in it that I planted in a commercial organic garden soil. Everything else is doing great. I have cukes, pole beans, peas, radishes, peppers, and carrots.

The plant in question is a better bush hybrid (? can't remember exactly, it was a home depot transplant), and already has a bunch of nearly ripe fruit.

The yellow and curling leaves are new growth, and I've since noticed that any flowers/buds on those branches are dropping off.

So what do I do with it? Let the fruit on it ripen and then kill it? Pull it out no so it doesn't spread to my other toms (I have another better bush beside it, about half the size, and two cherry plants in pots next to the bed)?

Can I even eat the fruit with TYLCV? Here are some pictures. Any advice is greatly appreciated!


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...g?t=1211464712

http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/d...t=IMG_0789.jpg

[MargeH]

Looking at your pictures and knowing your location I would agree that you have TYLC. My plants have had it, too.

The fruit from that plant will be OK if you chose to keep the plant and let the tomatoes ripen. The problem is after the plant is infected. You said that you are already seeing the blossoms shrivel up. I have had a couple plants that have set a few tomatoes after infection. Those tomatoes will be edible but never get very big.

The way I deal with it is if the plant gets it early and has no or very few set tomatoes I pull it. If the plant is fairly mature with lots of tomatoes I keep it. From my experience, pulling the plant doesn't stop the spread because you can't kill all of the whiteflies that spread it.

For the future, they are coming out with some resistant varieties. I have tried a few of them. They have been developed for the commercial growers, though, so they are supermarket-type tomatoes. I tend to grow these in my fall garden because the whiteflies are already active. In the spring I grow mostly heirlooms because I usually don't start seeing whiteflies until late enough in the season that I get a decent harvest. You are far enough south of me that whiteflies may be active at different times than for me, though.

____
Marjorie

[North_Of_60]

Thanx. There's a bunch of tomatoes on the plant already, hence the reason I was hoping it would be Ok to keep it. It's just the new blooms that are dropping off. If I can get the tomatoes that are on it now, I'll be happy. (Bummed, because up until 5 days ago it was a wonderfully healthy and full plant, but otherwise pleased that I got *some* fruit.)

Do you have good links about the habits and worst times of year for the whiteflies? Hopefully so as to avoid them? I had NO idea this existed (we don't have this problem where I'm from in Canada, at least not the last time I grew toms, which was in '01).