It looks like the chewers are back early?

[attml]

Last year I had an absolutely horrible time with something defoliating my plants at a pretty rapid pace. I believe the offender was Tuta Absoluta (Tomato Leaf Miner). The symptoms were perfectly healthy tomato leaves one day would have light brown sections on the leaf the next day. The brown section looked like onion paper and was "thined out"compared to the rest of the leaf. It looked like a lawn mower had cleanly cut out the onion powder section where it met the still healthy section of the leaf. There was a very defined sharp edge between the 2 sections. I believe the culprit was the tomato leaf miner. I tried pulling leaves to stay ahead and that wasn't working out. I tried Sevin Dust and that didn't work. I basically was watching my plants get thinner and thiner until they stopped producing and I gave up on my season in the August / September time frame.

This year I had an early batch of some varieties that I love and ones that I am excited about which I started early. I took 4 of my biggest seedlings and started the process of hardening them off (part shade, part light) outside to go into large containers (in case we had a frost I could move them back inside). They hadn't even been outside for 2 days and one of the plants appears to be getting chewed on already? Even last year it seemed like the Leaf Miners didn't show up until May/June? We have had a very mild winter and spring here in the mid-atlantic so I am guessing that could be a contributor, but geeze, this isn't the way I wanted to start my season!!

I have purchased 10 Tuta Absoluta pheremone traps/ lures from these guys http://www.iscatech.com/ecommerce/in...products_id=13 . I am hopefull that they will help my situation. The lures only last a couple of months so I was hoping not to deploy them until June or so because of the $ factor?

Here is a picture of the leaf that appeared chewed from this year. Please take a look and tell me what your thoughts are. I watered this plant when I left in the morning and it had no damage - when I got home from work it looked like this. I have had problems with horn worms in the past but they cause damage differently.

Any imput, advice, etc.. on other methods to control whatever is chewing on my plants would be appreciated. Also, if you think I have mis-diagnosed my situation I would love to hear any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

Mark

[Tracydr]

Doesn't look like leaf miners. Not sure what it is. Leaf miners make white tracks through the leaves and usually aren't terribly destructive.
The picture is kind of dark but it may be spider mites.

[feldon30]

First looks like leaf burn, second I have no idea.

If you have a major problem with leaf miners, you can actually dip your seedlings in dilute Sevin before planting out. Beneficial insects shouldn't even be active until your tomatoes have flowers.

[Tracydr]

The first picture looks completely different than the second. First looks a lot like mine when I've dealt with spider mites, but could also be wind burn or nitrogen burn, although that seems to make the leaves more whitish than brown in my experience.
Second pic, I have no idea. Did you spray with something?

[attml]

Tracy & Feldon,

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate any help I can get!!!

Just so you know, the pictures are of the same leaf but just flipped over. I considered fertalizer burn but I haven't used hardly any at all yet (just a tiny amount heavily diluted in the watering can). Only 2 leaves on this plant were affected and the others not even a little? The 3 other plants I had hardening out that were sitting right next to it had no damage at all?

I really don't want another season like last year! It was really depressing watchinf 40 different varieties go down the tubes!!

Mark

[feldon30]

The purple bottom of that leaf really concerns me. But I don't know what issues you face in Maryland.

[DogsandDirt]

I'm certainly not an expert on hardening off, but I think leaving them out all day instead of for a few hours at a time would impose some environmental stresses on them. The purple almost looks like it's due to cold soil. What is the temperature when you put them out? I would wonder if it could be either sun scald or wind burn? I've had leaf miners before and they leave squiggly white trails in the leaves. It's a little disfiguring but it doesn't seem to kill the leaves.

[OneDahlia]

It's been chilly in Maryland, right? Maybe a little breezy too?

I can't differentiate most tomato problems yet, but the first photo looks just like one I took last year that was deemed to be sunscald or wind damage. And I do think it's been too cold in this region for unprotected tomatoes.

Can they go back in the house under some lights and see if the color under the leaf returns to normal?

[attml]

Thanks again to everyone for the replies!

Feldon,

It seems like I get purple undersided leaves every year until I pick up with a little more in the way of balanced fertilizer. I'm guessing it is a phosphorus deficiency because my seed starting mix that my plants start out in dosen't have have much in it?

I guess it could be enviromental? I just don't know why only two leaves on one plants would show signs of stress? The onion paper looking brown section looks exactly like what was happening to me last summer as my plants were being defoliated which looked like this.



Not sure what the answer is? I just hope I find it so I don't have another season like last!

[barkeater]

Mark,

The good news is tuta absoluta is not present in the U.S. or North America and never has been.

[attml]

barkeater,

Thanks for the reply! What are your thoughts on insects that would cause similar damage domestically? The pictures below are ones that I found online under Tuta Absolua damage. They are exactly what the leaves on my plants looked like last year. The critter would scroll out a section of leaves like the pictures below then they would roll up in the leaves and die (I am guessing after laying eggs) The black portion in the pictures below is what would be the dead, dried up critter in my experience from last summer. If it isn't Tuta Absoluta I would really like to get a positive ID on other insects that cause the same sort of damage. Knowing what it is might help me treat it!

Thanks, Mark

[barkeater]

There are a lot of general leaf miners that could cause the damage, however they all are fly larvae, so the damage is mainly just the leaf. The big difference with tuta absoluta is that it is a lepidoptera, in the moth family like hornworms and tomatoworms. They keep on growing until they burrow into stems and then the fruit, destroying everything in its path.

[attml]

Barkeater,

Thank you very much for the reply!! I purchased pheremone traps for Tuta Absoluta - do you think they will work for the general leaf miners? Any other veggie safe recomendations for controlling leaf miners that you would recommend? Thanks again!

Mark

[dice]

You could try some Dipel. If it is tuta absoluta, imported from who knows
where and naturalized in your neighborhood, Dipel should work as a
control. If it is something similar, Dipel may also kill that.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&a...pe=&as_rights=

The first link there tells what it is and has advice for farmers
treating fields. It is also available in formulations for smaller scale
home gardneners ("Dipel dust", usually).

[attml]

Dice,

Thanks for the reply!

Mark