Is this "Little Leaf" or virus???

[Ed of Somis]

I have two plants that are really not growing...and have small leaves on the upper half of the plant. I have ruled out herbicide drift. What is your best guess??? thanks PS I have grunted through the disease forum and am still confused.

[Labradors2]

They look great to me! A little stem curling back is due to temperature I think. I was worried last year when I noticed my top stems curling, but they straightened out and were perfectly fine

Linda

[carolyn137]

What are the two varieties or are they the same and how far are they from other unaffected plants and are they being grown the same way as your other plants in all ways?

Lastly,did you start them from seed or buy plants?

Carolyn

[KarenO]

I see a combination of problems including what appears to be early blight on the lower leaves and signs of what looks like nutritional deficiencies including stunting, yellowing and interveinal chlorosis in the new growth.

If these were mine I would prune out all diseased foliage on the lower part of each plant and then fertilize with a full dose of balanced all purpose soluble fertilizer along with some magnesium in the form of a couple tbsp of epsom salts per plant. ensure they are neither too wet or dry and see what happens. if they improve in appearance in a few days then leave them and continue. if not then I would pull them out
KarenO

[brownrexx]

I also see Early Blight on the lower leaves which can be contributing to the stress on the plant. Trim it off to get rid of those spores and do not compost the leaves.

[Ed of Somis]

Yes, you guys are correct about the one plant having some early blight. I will address that. The varieties affected are in the ground, and are Big Beef and Cherokee Purple. My dwarf project plants in containers are not affected. As a side note...I may have waterlogged my raised beds. I am used to doing containers...which need constant water. hmmm PS I started all from seed.

[zipcode]

Second picture looks a bit odd. What is different there? Definitely some deficiencies.

[KarenO]

Over watering causes these symptoms of nutrient deficiency by damaging the roots/ drowning that May be all it is which would be a good thing in that it would not be a disease that could spread to the rest of your garden. Other thinks such as RKn can also damage roots and cause symptoms of nutrient deficiency to appear
KarenO

[MissS]

The plants are nutrient deficient. Perhaps due to the over watering. I would do as KarenO has recommended and feed them with a well balanced fertilizer and also add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt per gallon at the same time. After that, allow the plants to dry out and see how they look in 5-7 days.

[gorbelly]

If it's little leaf, it's not a disease but a cultural issue. Apparently, plants will grow out of little leaf if soil pH is corrected and/or over-wet soil is dried out a bit.

Have you checked the pH in your beds?

[VC Scott]

Ed:

One other thing I would check for is tomato russet mites. You need a 30x magnifying glass to see them.

Usually they start at the bottom and work their way up. Check the stems just above soil level. Are they bronzing?

Sometimes the wind will blow them to the top of the plant. They love to feast on new growth. They can cause stunted growth. In some cases blossoms will turn brown and fall off before they even have a chance to open. The weather in your part of the country is very hot now, which TRM love.

In your first picture there is a brown and crinkly leaf at lower left that looks like possible russet mite damage.

In your second picture I see a few leaves (bottom middle, middle right and middle left) that look like early blight. However, there are other leaves yellowing that don't look like early blight. You may have more than one problem going on. The highest yellowing leaves and the paler leaves above look suspicious to me.

[peebee]

Originally Posted by VC Scott

Ed:

One other thing I would check for is tomato russet mites. You need a 30x magnifying glass to see them.

Usually they start at the bottom and work their way up. Check the stems just above soil level. Are they bronzing?

Sometimes the wind will blow them to the top of the plant. They love to feast on new growth. They can cause stunted growth. In some cases blossoms will turn brown and fall off before they even have a chance to open. The weather in your part of the country is very hot now, which TRM love.

In your first picture there is a brown and crinkly leaf at lower left that looks like possible russet mite damage.

In your second picture I see a few leaves (bottom middle, middle right and middle left) that look like early blight. However, there are other leaves yellowing that don't look like early blight. You may have more than one problem going on. The highest yellowing leaves and the paler leaves above look suspicious to me.

Aha! I also just assumed my recent "little-leafed" plants were caused by mites, thanks for confirming this as I was only guessing. Unfortunately the spider mites are slowly but surely taking over and I noticed that all the upper stems had weirdly small leaves. So far it is happening to mainly the hybrids in my garden, so I figured they must react differently to the onslaught than the heirlooms. This year, the damage from the mites is slower than the past 2 years. Must be because of the winter rains that eased our long drought. I did no spraying at all this year; last year it seemed it was a losing battle and the spraying just made them stronger than ever so I stopped. I hope my plants can hang on for a bit longer.

[Ed of Somis]

I sure appreciate the feedback and different ideas. In reading your posts...I have a good idea how to proceed now. Thanks again!

[Ed of Somis]

my affected tomatoes are still not growing....but the fruit is developing. I did pick one Big Beef today that had a bit of "mottled" look. I am still thinking cucumber mosaic virus or over-watering.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by Ed of Somis

my affected tomatoes are still not growing....but the fruit is developing. I did pick one Big Beef today that had a bit of "mottled" look. I am still thinking cucumber mosaic virus or over-watering.

I would not rule out TMV. I have had it and it is a nightmare. The best thing you can do is have a leaf sample evaluated. If it is the case you need to study up on it.