Wilted...starting at the top:(

Chessnut23 · July 12, 2009

I have yet to find someone else who has experienced this..
I have had something cause my tomatoes to start wilting, starting at the top. (Not from the bottom as is described with some virus attacks).
The wilt moves downwards then until the whole plant is dead.
Other tomato plants planted in that same area suffer the same fate so it is probably a bacteria or virus rather than a nutritional deficiency because all of them are fertilized the same etc.
I have not found anything in any gardening books etc about any disease that starts at the top like this one does.
I moved my tomatoes to a different area last year and again this year and have not had that problem again but the cause is still a mystery.

Teacher_Mike · July 13, 2009

Are there black walnut trees nearby - and by nearby, I mkean within 50-70 feet?

**nctomatoman** · July 13, 2009

I've found that Tomato Spotted Wilt can start at the top. Pretty nasty disease....I typically lose a handful of plants to it each year.

Fert1 · July 16, 2009

That sounds exactly like the wilt that invaded my yard. I still don't know what the heck it is, but it is deadly, and it always starts at the top from what appears to be healthy plants, (at least previously). Someone once emailed me a link about something called Fusarium Crown Wilt. I'm betting that's the one I have as it does not seem to fit the description of other wilts or show the symptoms you'd normally expect. When I cut into the wilted sections, I find the stem to be hollow, but it does not have the browning you'd expect in some diseases, it does not run fluid as you see in bacterial wilt, and it seems way to virulent to be pith necrosis. Wish I could tell you more. I can tell you that while most of my other plants die, my SunGold laughs at it.

July 12, 2009	#1
Chessnut23 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 5	Wilted...starting at the top:( I have yet to find someone else who has experienced this.. I have had something cause my tomatoes to start wilting, starting at the top. (Not from the bottom as is described with some virus attacks). The wilt moves downwards then until the whole plant is dead. Other tomato plants planted in that same area suffer the same fate so it is probably a bacteria or virus rather than a nutritional deficiency because all of them are fertilized the same etc. I have not found anything in any gardening books etc about any disease that starts at the top like this one does. I moved my tomatoes to a different area last year and again this year and have not had that problem again but the cause is still a mystery.

July 13, 2009	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I've found that Tomato Spotted Wilt can start at the top. Pretty nasty disease....I typically lose a handful of plants to it each year. __________________ Craig

July 16, 2009	#4
Fert1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Upstate SC, Zone 7 Posts: 543	That sounds exactly like the wilt that invaded my yard. I still don't know what the heck it is, but it is deadly, and it always starts at the top from what appears to be healthy plants, (at least previously). Someone once emailed me a link about something called Fusarium Crown Wilt. I'm betting that's the one I have as it does not seem to fit the description of other wilts or show the symptoms you'd normally expect. When I cut into the wilted sections, I find the stem to be hollow, but it does not have the browning you'd expect in some diseases, it does not run fluid as you see in bacterial wilt, and it seems way to virulent to be pith necrosis. Wish I could tell you more. I can tell you that while most of my other plants die, my SunGold laughs at it. __________________ Holly

July 13, 2009	#2
Teacher_Mike Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Central PA Posts: 68	Are there black walnut trees nearby - and by nearby, I mkean within 50-70 feet?