White rings inside my tomatoes???

[Horsrfly]

I've had the best looking and very productive tomato garden this year. The Celebrity tomatoes are good looking and red , but when sliced there are white rings in the flesh. Attached is an example of a mild case and an extreme case. Any ideas on the cause of this??IMG_0882.jpg


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[clkeiper]

I personally have seen this inside of my hightunnel tomatoes and think it is nutritional deficiency.

[eyolf]

I think stress causes this. A couple of cold nights followed by a hot day during ripening in my MN garden has produced this, especially on determinstes...and it does seem like some varieties are more susceptible.

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[Horsrfly]

I live south of Houston near the coast so I doubt we've had any cold nights. The Sweet Chelsea I planted are great so I think I'm good on nutrients.

I buy my plants at a local feed store and I don't know where they get them. I'm thinking the plants are the problem???IMG_0892.jpg


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[PaulF]

Generally it is temperature fluctuation but nutrient imbalance is also one cause. Some varieties are more susceptible. My garden has rarely seen this problem, but when it does it seems to be the core rather than the edges or rings. No big deal, we still eat the tomatoes, just cut out the white parts.

[VirginiaClay]

This disorder, known as "internal white tissue," is caused by insufficient potassium to the fruit. Possible causes/contributing factors: high air temperatures (>90 degrees), widely fluctuating temperatures, high soil temperatures (>85 degrees), higher soil pH, lower organic matter in soil, overcast skies, waterlogged soil, heavy fruit load, and high tunnel growing. Some varieties are more susceptible than others.



The basic solution is to get more potassium to the fruit early in fruit formation; once the fruit is 1" or more in size, it's too late. One study I saw reported best results with a combination of soil and foliar application of potassium. But applying potassium doesn't always work and can throw off the balance with calcium and magnesium so you can't just dump a ton of potassium on the plants, of course. And the key is the potassium has to be available to the plant and get to the fruit.


If you google "tomato internal white tissue" you'll find a lot of helpful information.

[rhoder551]

I had something like this happen last year but my problem was much worse. I posted a photo here and got some good advise. My problem looked like the stem had grown inside the tomato...the core was white-ish and solid looking and some streaks extended beyond the core more like what is happening in your photo. The tomatoes still tasted okay but looked very unappetizing. I hope it doesn't happen this year as well....I decided it was weather related. By the way, I noticed this weirdness years ago when I first started growing tomatoes ,my first heirloom was Black Krim

and my whole crop had the white-ish stem/core. I asked a seasoned tomato grow about it and she said Black Krim is susceptible to the problem and that's why she didn't grow it.

[JRinPA]

I have a single black krim...I guess I'll keep a lookout. I have had it before. I particularly remember a row of Early Girl that was beat down by blight and still trying to ripen the 4th wave of tomatoes. This was probably mid-Sept, so getting colder nights.

[rhoder551]

What I saw in the Black Krim years ago was nothing compared to what I experienced last year. I'm growing a Black Krim this year as well.... it is one of the best tasting tomatoes in my humble opinion.


Here's a link to my post last year.. guess it happened to years ago. Yes, I'm getting old and forgetful....


http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=49033

[JRinPA]

Above I meant to write, I have had the white before, large scale, like those celebrity pics, on September Early Girls that were pretty shot from early blight or whatever. I have had it at other times as well but not too often. For what is worth, those early girls were bonnie plants, but the first few waves of fruit did not have that white. So I don't think it was the plant source, just failing plants.


I have black krim for the first time this year. I have heard it is great tasting, and I hope it is. And we'll see about any white. It is in a row with other tomatoes to compare to.

[zipcode]

How do these taste, is the question? If they taste good you shouldn't be too bothered by it. I have seen it in store bought and they were always really bad.
The current knowledge is that it's probably potassium lacking in fruit, for whatever reason (usually hot soil or fruit heating up in the sun).

I had some milder cases, usually when the amount of fruit was too much for the amount of leaves (sudden leaf loss due to disease), so I would say nutrient problem seems likely.