So many things going wrong!

[Shrinkrap]

I am assuming these tomato plants are doomed, but if anyone knows what this is, I’d love to know.

Don’t remember seeing anything quite like it before, although I have seen dry, crispy leaves at the bottom of plants.

What was different most recently was hotter than usual temps, during which there was a little bit of precipitation, and then fires. The plants weren’t touched by the fire, and this started just before the fire, but there are lots of ashes on them.

While the leaves on the different plants vary from dark grey to pale yellow, none are wilting, and most of the damage is at the bottom and center of the plant.

At first I thought it was spider mites, but now I’m assuming it is several things, including fungal, and I rarely have fungal problems. I’m guessing late blight?

Oh, well. The peppers seem okay, and i guess ican make room for a September planting.

[Barb_FL]

i'm surprised no one responded to you re: your plants.

Is it TYLCV (Tomato Yellow Leaf Curly Virus) caused by whitefly. The underside of the leaves sure look like whitefly eggs/residue.

I can't tell by the tops of your plants, but when I had TYLCV, the new growth is are curly/small/and somewhat misshapen. The plants are usually stunted also.

You can check out your pepper leaves; peppers are usually magnets for whiteflies.

[Shrinkrap]

Thank you!

Someone on another site specified spiralizing whitefly, but I didn't know they carried a virus. At the beginning of the season I think I had TMSV,.....or something like that, which I believe is transmitted by thrips.

[brownrexx]

I have never seen TYLCV but the picture of the tomato with the brown sunken area and the photo of the leaves below it sure look like Late Blight to me. However LB does not kill the bottom leaves of the plants. It usually starts at the top of plants because it arrives on air currents.

[Shrinkrap]

Thank you @Brownrexx. Crazy thing! The tops of all the tomato plants inspire hope. I just don't want to lose the peppers to save the tomatoes.

[b54red]

It looks like gray mold to me not late blight. They can be very similar in their symptoms and results but gray mold moves slowly up the plant where late blight will quickly infect the whole plant frequently starting near the top. You could also have other problems like spider mites or other diseases but the second plant from the left sure looks like gray mold. The fact that the fruit is showing signs of gray mold is not good as it can indicate that the disease has progressed to the point that it may be unstoppable.

Try the diluted bleach spray late in the evening near sundown making sure to use a fine mist that hits the tops and bottoms of all the leaves stems and fruit. In a day or two most of the sick leaves will shrivel and die as will quite a few that are already infected but not showing symptoms yet. It is best to remove those leaves and follow up with a copper spray to slow or stop further spread.

The biggest problem you are facing if it is gray mold is that it may have gone on so long that it is now systemic and can't be stopped. The key to stopping gray mold is quick treatment and quick follow up treatment if it shows signs of returning. I lost several plants to gray mold this season where I allowed it to fester too long and then there is no stopping it.

Bill

[zipcode]

It is hard to say, almost certainly not late blight. My first impression was a virus, since the growing tips seem stiff and upward, but wouldn't bet on it.

There are certain varieties, usually green or black that go straight to dark crispy in case of various problems instead of going through yellow stage first, which makes things more confusing, and one of your plants seems to be doing that.

[brownrexx]

If Bill thinks that it is Gray mold instead of Late Blight, he is probably right since I have never seen Gray Mold.

I live on the East coast so disease is way different here. Lucky for me we have a lot less of it!

LB will kill the plants in less than 2 weeks. It is a fast killer and unstoppable. Once you have it, there is no effective treatment.

[Shrinkrap]

Thank you all so much!

I made a video with more detail but don't know how to safely share it.

[



@b54red That is the only affected fruit, or at least affected like that, and it was touching one or more sick leaces.

@zipcode Several of the plants bear purple fruit, or yellow-oaranfe fruit, and i wondered if that might have a bearing on how sick leaves would present. Thanks! The leaves at the tops don't look especially unusual to me, in fact they are theonly reason I haven't trashed most of thes (that and there is no room in the bin!), but I'll keep an eye on them.
@Brownrexx, FWIW, I get a lot of 5hrips and mites, but fungus and old are a first for me, in at least 10 years. But this year has had a lot of firsts.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Shrinkrap

Thank you all so much!

I made a video with more detail but don't know how to safely share it.

[



@b54red That is the only affected fruit, or at least affected like that, and it was touching one or more sick leaces.

@zipcode Several of the plants bear purple fruit, or yellow-oaranfe fruit, and i wondered if that might have a bearing on how sick leaves would present. Thanks! The leaves at the tops don't look especially unusual to me, in fact they are theonly reason I haven't trashed most of thes (that and there is no room in the bin!), but I'll keep an eye on them.
@Brownrexx, FWIW, I get a lot of 5hrips and mites, but fungus and old are a first for me, in at least 10 years. But this year has had a lot of firsts.

Before applying the bleach spray I would remove some of those dead leaves and stems to assure better coverage when spraying. The bleach spray won't affect the healthy leaves but it will kill the ones that have gray mold. Gray mold is especially inclined to affect black tomatoes but it can get on the others but it is much slower to do so.

Don't wait around any longer. As soon as the sun gets very low on the horizon spray the plants thoroughly with the diluted bleach spray. It may not be too late but if you wait much longer it will be for any with gray mold. The bleach spray will help with any other mold or fungus disease also. With regular Clorox bleach (6% sodium hypochloride) use between 5 and 6 oz to a gallon of water with a bit of Dawn to help make it stick and cover better.

Bill

[Shrinkrap]

"Don't wait around any longer. As soon as the sun gets very low on the horizon spray the plants thoroughly with the diluted bleach spray....."

Done. Whew! That was close!

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Shrinkrap

"Don't wait around any longer. As soon as the sun gets very low on the horizon spray the plants thoroughly with the diluted bleach spray....."

Done. Whew! That was close!

Don't be shocked by how many leaves wither from the spray because it will be far more than you expect if it is indeed gray mold. By Wednesday morning you should be able to see the full extent of the infection as stems above the obviously sick ones will also shrivel up as they are also infected though you can't tell just from looking. It would be a good thing to go ahead and remove all the obviously dead and dying stems and leaves at this point and give the plant a spray with a copper spray as a preventative and then keep your fingers crossed.

Good luck

Bill

[Shrinkrap]

@b54red, I did remove most of the damaged leaves. I also sprayed with neem a few evenings ago. About a month ago I sprayed Garden Insect Spray with spinosad, and before that dusted with diatomaceous earth, and I am convinced mites are a big part of the problem.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Shrinkrap

@b54red, I did remove most of the damaged leaves. I also sprayed with neem a few evenings ago. About a month ago I sprayed Garden Insect Spray with spinosad, and before that dusted with diatomaceous earth, and I am convinced mites are a big part of the problem.

I can't disagree with you that a big part of your problem is mites. I had a terrible time with them this year. Spider mites are very hard to slow down and even harder to stop. I finally got the best of them after getting my gas powered fogger which made it so much easier and less time consuming to thoroughly coat the leaves with my spray mix. I used a heavy dose of Permethrin with a solution of at least 2 tablespoons of Dawn per gallon of water and sprayed every two days for over a week. Then I kept a close watch on the plants for the first sign of mites returning and would treat them if they did with at least 2 spraying s a couple of days apart.

Bill

[Shrinkrap]

I cut down most of the plants. I saw evidence of mites, but the foliage had more and more spots that I'm sure is some fungus. I suspect some plants had nutritional problems that probably weakened them, because a week after feeding there was new growth and flowers.

Sigh.