This season is kicking my butt...wilt?

[Chervena_chuska]

So I *think* I have the gray mold under control that you all helped me figure out a week or two ago. I sprayed with b54red's bleach solution once and wow, it was a nuclear option. After a few days I definitely had dying leaves, although a lot of damage seemed to happen too (brown stems that weren't there before, seemingly relatively healthy leaves also looked damaged, plants around the tomatoes seemed to get damaged). The tops that were most healthy looking did all right, but the bottoms were pretty much defoliated. I will certainly start spraying preventively next year to hopefully avoid this. Lesson learned. I pruned heavily the diseased leaves off heavily and have been alternating Daconil and Actinovate. Some plants have healthy foliage coming back. I pulled my WI 55 yesterday that was the only one with new yellowing and just not doing any better and wanted to just not see it anymore.

Now I seem to have another problem: Wilt! One of my best looking tomatoes, the brown berry cherry, is now having wilt spreading across it. Seems to start with curling of the last leaf on a branch and then the whole thing wilts, no yellowing, no spotting, and then dries up. I did the stem in water test for bacterial wilt on a wilted branch and saw nothing strange (no milky substance).

My Italian heirloom is also getting wilted leaves, though that has more yellowing accompanying it (and aphids).

Any guesses? Could this be insect related and not a virus? What should/can I do? Thanks!

[Sun City Linda]

I had wilting followed by brown, crunchy leaves/stems that turned out to be tomato russet mites. Not visable to naked eye. Not sure if you have those in Wisconsin. Google it for pix, symptoms to see. LInda

[Chervena_chuska]

Thanks Linda!

I searched but I found no reference to tomato russet mites in the upper Midwest. Anyone know?

I wonder if it could be another type of mite?

Amy

[b54red]

If you lived down here where they are more prevalent I might think you had some nematode damage which will cause the plant to wilt in the heat of the day and reduce its' ability to absorb water. The wilting limb in one of your pictures looks just like a plant hit by bacterial wilt or fusarium. Are you getting yellowing of the lower leaves before the limb starts wilting? You can cut the wilting stem as low down it as possible and if it is fusarium you will be able to see the brown discoloration inside the cut stem. I myself am having trouble with spider mites again but so far no reemergence of Gray mold.

If the bleach spray was of the right strength and not some off brand used during the morning or middle of the day then there should not be any damage to healthy tissue. The very fact that the tenderest and most vulnerable part of the plant which is the new growth wasn't damaged means that the Gray mold was much more widespread than you thought. I know I mentioned using a fine misting spray. If you used a sprayer that put out a drenching amount on the plants then I guess you might get some damage from too much of the solution puddling and remaining on the leaves for an extended time.

[kevinrs]

Ok, can't find a good high res image of russet mite damaged tomato leaves, do you find tiny black specs on the dead leaves? Could be a problem I've had for several years. I'm seeing the recommended sulfur treatment says not to apply in temps above 90, that would make it difficult.

[Chervena_chuska]

Kevin, I didn't find tiny black specks on the leaves.

b54red, I cut one of the wilted stems near the bottom. It showed a couple tiny light brown spots in the center of the stem but otherwise looked pretty normal. Did not see the "ring" of brown around the circumference inside stem like in many pictures I am seeing from Googling. The Italian heirloom has yellowing of lower leaves but the Brown Berry has no yellowing. They could be different causes I imagine. Everything in my main yard gardens are 15 feet or less apart and but these two tomatoes are in separate beds across the yard from one another.

I noticed the leaves dry up today on the Brown berry and the stems still look normal, only after all the leaves on the section die does the stem die too.

Re: bleach spray. The only thing that I did differently could have been spraying too heavy I think. I sprayed around 5 pm with Chlorox brand at the dilution you recommended. I only suspected gray mold on a couple of tomatoes and there were other problems (early blight, etc.) on the rest, so I doubt the gray mold was all over all of the tomatoes but there were other problems true.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Chervena_chuska

Kevin, I didn't find tiny black specks on the leaves.

b54red, I cut one of the wilted stems near the bottom. It showed a couple tiny light brown spots in the center of the stem but otherwise looked pretty normal. Did not see the "ring" of brown around the circumference inside stem like in many pictures I am seeing from Googling. The Italian heirloom has yellowing of lower leaves but the Brown Berry has no yellowing. They could be different causes I imagine. Everything in my main yard gardens are 15 feet or less apart and but these two tomatoes are in separate beds across the yard from one another.

I noticed the leaves dry up today on the Brown berry and the stems still look normal, only after all the leaves on the section die does the stem die too.

Re: bleach spray. The only thing that I did differently could have been spraying too heavy I think. I sprayed around 5 pm with Chlorox brand at the dilution you recommended. I only suspected gray mold on a couple of tomatoes and there were other problems (early blight, etc.) on the rest, so I doubt the gray mold was all over all of the tomatoes but there were other problems true.

The one thing I found out about Gray mold is just because you don't see it doesn't mean it hasn't already affected leaves that still look normal. That is why I lost some of my plants to the stuff. I waited hoping the leaf removal and Daconil would stop it but they didn't and by the time I sprayed with the bleach it had even gotten into some of the new growth at the top. The plants that just had a little Gray mold showing did great from the spraying and only lost a few leaves.

The bleach spray works pretty good on EB and helps with Septoria. I'm no scientist but I believe the bleach kills a lot of the spores that spread diseases before they can grow. I used it early last fall when I got hit by Late Blight and it stopped it before it could spread to all of my plants. I am sure if I had waited just a few days none of my plants would have been saved because it was spreading very fast. I had Late Blight several years ago, before I started using the bleach spray, and lost every plant in just a few weeks even though I used 3 or 4 different fungicides trying to stop it.