Crazy leaves, or "What's wrong with these tomatoes - too!"

[CapnChkn]

My pear tomatoes have taken a strange turn. I started them in June, only to have the hottest week I can remember happen, killing all but three of my seedlings.

They're grown in freshly made hot compost/potting soil. I make sure the compost reaches and holds a temperature 4inches or 100mm from the surface of 140 - 160 F for as long as it takes. Heaps that contain 5 or more cubic yards and are completely turned every 3 days to 1 week.

Once the pile reaches 110 - 120 F, I spread it and plant directly into it. No mulches for these three plants. For months without a problem and suddenly show these crazy looking leaves.


This one is planted next to the other two, looks just fine. Exact same soil, same light, same water...


These other two plants have this strange curling and undevelopment to the leaves. All the bottom foliage is the same, and looked similar and healthy until a few weeks ago.


This is a clump of leaves. The plant has nice berries growing, some as big as two inches stem to base.

[Heritage]

All three photos look like herbicide damage, or possibly CMV.

My guess is that someone has sprayed herbicide upwind (or in the vicinity) of your plants. Less likely, the compost you made contained contaminated plant matter (i.e. grass trimmings sprayed with a broadleaf herbicide) Although, if it is in your compost it doesn't seem it would take so long to show symptoms.

CMV is less likely to be the cause but, because of the way it came on, it is a possibility. Symptoms would be almost identical.

Steve

[PaulF]

Or curly top virus?

[riceke]

Looks more like Curley Top Virus. Herbicide damage usually has some yellowing in splotches.

[CapnChkn]

I only have these three plants. If a virus, would it be a bad idea to plant the seed on the available fruits next season?

The only thing sprayed around these plants would be Glyphosate. I'm looking at images of the Cucumber and Tobacco Mosaic Virus, and I see a lot of similarities. Curly Top Virus is a new idea for me.

[Heritage]

Originally Posted by CapnChkn

The only thing sprayed around these plants would be Glyphosate.

If you sprayed Roundup anywhere near these plants then my vote would go for glyphosate damage over CMV as the cause. I've had glyphosate damage, without any yellowing, showing symptoms exactly as yours - possibly the degree of yellowing depends on the amount or method of contamination and/or the variety? Here are some good photos showing glyphosate (drift) damage without the typical yellowing:
http://iowavegetables.blogspot.com/2...damage-on.html

At any rate it will be impossible to tell for sure without testing for CMV and, although home test kits are now relatively cheap, it probably isn't worth it unless you are just curious. Chances of spreading CMV though seed is small but it is possible unless you treat with either bleach or TSP. Again, probably not worth the expense and effort. I would just start with fresh seeds.

Steve

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Heritage

If you sprayed Roundup anywhere near these plants then my vote would go for glyphosate damage over CMV as the cause. I've had glyphosate damage, without any yellowing, showing symptoms exactly as yours - possibly the degree of yellowing depends on the amount or method of contamination and/or the variety? Here are some good photos showing glyphosate (drift) damage without the typical yellowing:
http://iowavegetables.blogspot.com/2...damage-on.html

At any rate it will be impossible to tell for sure without testing for CMV and, although home test kits are now relatively cheap, it probably isn't worth it unless you are just curious. Chances of spreading CMV though seed is small but it is possible unless you treat with either bleach or TSP. Again, probably not worth the expense and effort. I would just start with fresh seeds.

Steve

Steve, I'm the idiot who sprayed the tomatoes in my field with glyphosphate to knock out some weeds before a Master Gardener group came for a field day and all of the lower leaves where I sprayed turned yellow, usually from the leaf tips inward.

So I thank you for mentioning that you've sprayed with glyphosphate and seen no yellowing, and the pictures show no yellowing at all but I wonder why since glyphospage damage in my Seminis Tomato pathology manual definitely says yellowing.

The poster said that glyphosphate was not sprayed near the tomatoes, but I don't know how far away and even with the least amount of wind herbicide drift can occur and does.

[tam91]

Glyphosphate can certainly damage tomato plants.

[carolyn137]

But I wouldn't expect to see Curly Top Virus in TN b/c it's a disease that's found in the SW and spread by Beet Leaf Hoppers.

Glyphosphate damage should show areas of yellow on the leaves which I don't see.

TMV is a disapperaing disease so my strong vote goes to CMV, which is very prevalent and has lots of alternate host plants, like 800 known.

So I agree with Steve on a Dx of CMV, and CMV is spread by certain species of aphids and several strains of CMV are known so what you see may not be found in certain pictures of infected plants. I almost forgot that CMV can also be spread mechanically.

Do the fruits look normal to you and I ask b'c they probably won't look normal. I didn't check to see if the virus is seedborne, that info is available, but I doubt it since the CMV virus is structurally unstable. Needs confirmation.

[CapnChkn]

Well my cucumbers didn't do a thing except attract beetles this year, so I can only imagine they hosted the problems. I couldn't get any good vines going and were 20 or 30 feet from the tomatoes' location.

Since I don't use tobacco, and haven't seen any fields in years, the Glyphosate wasn't sprayed near the tomatoes, I would have to concur the CMV.

The bottom leaves and stems of these plants look normal, but the top 2/3 then thin out and show this weirdness.

The fruits look normal though a little larger than I expected. Last year the fruits were about an inch long and actually pear looking, this year with more sun they are about double that size with the ball 5/6 of the fruit and the small part at 1/6.

I started these plants from seed that were stored in the freezer. The package reads "Burpee Heirloom" and they were packaged for 1999!

[carolyn137]

Burpee was selling seeds in 1999 for what they named Burpee Heirloom? Wasn't there any description somewhere of what they should be like as to plant habit, fruit shape and size and color?

So with a name like that no one knows what they really are, right?

And I haven't the faintest idea of what the name means in terms of using the word heirloom, with the Burpee name tacked on to it. Many Burpee varieties released decades ago have become heirlooms and some of them to have the Burpee name attached to them, but those are all from over 50 years ago, and more.

Oh well, another mystery.