Please help identifying these problems (w / Pix)

[cosullivan]

Hi,

I need help in identifying what is wrong with some of my tomatoes - this is my first year of growing. I have 9 tomatoes, some are doing really well whilst others are struggling and they are all in the same raised garden bed.

This first (DSC01431.JPG) one was looking OK last week, its growth has been a bit stunted compared to the other ones, but it is a different variety (green zebra I think). It has two fruit which appear to still be ripening, but the plant looks dead? It does get direct sun all day and we have had a very wet start to our summer here (Australia) and the last few weeks the temperatures have been rising (around 30 Celsius or 80 Fahrenheit). Perth's average during summer is around 35C or 90F-100F.

The other images are from the leaves on different plants, not that on all of the plants, the top leaves are looking quite good, the bad leaves are at the bottom.

Thanks,
Cain

[dice]

Pic 1 could be anything. My best guess would be something wrong with
the roots, but various foliage and systemic diseases could do that, too.
Insects, like spider mites, you would probably notice if you looked close.

Pic 2 looks like nitrogen deficiency. You can see pictures of deficiency
symptoms on tomato leaves here: http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289

An older document with mostly pictures of more severely
affected plants (although the magnesium deficiency picture
is pretty good): http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/tomatoes.htm

Note that the way you can tell the difference between iron deficiency
and nitrogen deficiency is that iron deficiency symptoms start in the
leaves at the top of the plant and nitrogen deficiency symptoms start
in the leaves at the bottom of the plant.

Pic 3 looks a bit like mild fertilizer burn (which would be inconsistent with
other plants nearby needing nitrogen), but some deficiencies can cause
that necrosis along the leaf margins, too.

Pic 4 looks like some kind of leaf blight, early blight or something like
that.

Pic 5 looks like Pic 2 to me, less advanced.

For plants that actually have diseases and not simply mineral deficiencies,
you can look at these sites:
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...ys/TomKey.html
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/p...problemsolver/
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/engl...ers/index.html

I have not been through these documents, so I do not how useful they
may be, but here is an index on vegetable diseases in Western Australia
from the Department of Food and Agriculture:
http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/PC_92846.html?s=0

(There is one document linked there specifically for tomato pests in
the home garden: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/im...omato_pest.pdf
Look specifically for information on "mites", ie spider mites and their
close relatives, since those are known to be a pest in your area.)

[tessa]

hallo cain!
welcome to tomatoville, fellow perthite.
i know EXACTLY what you have, mate...it's mites! the bane of my gardening existance here.
david gray's got a good sulpher spray that is both a miticide and also treats powdery mildew.

where in the city do you live?
i work in the kill and grow section of bunnings bibra lake...so if you're close by...drop by and we can chat tomatoes and i'll fix you up with some remedies for all the common ailments here (which are quite different from most people's ailments on these boards. except for mites...we pretty much ALL have them!)

[cosullivan]

Hi Dice and Tessa,

Thanks for responding to my post - its my first gardening attempt and I am out there every day watching to see how everything is growing, and the week before I am about to head off on 2 weeks holiday the plants start to take a turn. I guess I am going to have to get used to it.

I have just fertilized today with some epsolm salts and trace elements to see if that will make any difference, but would that make any difference for a nitrogen defficency?

Dice, if that is early blight, will the plant be OK if I just pick off the infected leaves? Or should I pull the whole plant out?

Tessa, I am in Nedlands, so not too far really from Bibra lake. Unfortunately Christmas has got in the way of being able to look after my plants, as I have the first installement of Christmas tomorrow, followed by another one on Sunday and then am away, so I might take you up on your offer in a few weeks when I get back.

Does Bunnings sell anything that you can recommend for mites? If not I might have to make the trip to David Grays then and see what they can offer.

Once again, thanks for all your help.

Cain

[cosullivan]

Also, would spider mites account for the base of my capsicum's from having a brown "muck" on them? I can run my fingers over it and it does come off, but it's starting to creep up.

Thanks,
Cain

[tessa]

does the muck feel like dust?? if it does...it could be the mites too, but i've not seen them on my own capsicums (for the north american readers: bell peppers)

you could nip into bunnings and pick up some natrasoap. i'm going to do some trials now and compare the effectiveness of natrasoap vs. sulphur spray...so stay tuned for that...
but i'd suggest you get that done today or tomorrow...but bunnings is, of course, closed tomorrow...open again on boxing day.

the plants will live until you get back...but best to spray before you go, because they march up the vine and will keep attacking the new growth as it appears. they never march DOWN the vine, btw, so if your plant goes crispy to the top...you can just cut the top off and the shoots that come up from below will be perfect and disease free. they will reflower and re-set, but you won't have to nurture them through establishing their roots because they already have them...so it all happens quite quickly. it's amazing, really, but this is how i 'treat' the really badly infested plants, and it works great too.

have a great chrissy...
see you round these boards when you get back!

[cosullivan]

Hi Tessa,

The muck doesn't feel like dust, more of a mould I guess - it scrapes off with my fingernail and the rest of the plants are doing really well.

I just got some Natrasoap and will spray that tonight, so hopefully that will keep the mites at bay whilst I am away. I am keen to hear how you get on with testing the two products.

I just went out and cut the deads leaves off my plants, some of them are looking a bit sorry at the moment but hopefully I will get a nice surprise when I get back.

Thanks for you help an Merry Xmas.

Cain

[dice]

Originally Posted by cosullivan

I have just fertilized today with some epsom salts and
trace elements to see if that will make any difference,
but would that make any difference for a nitrogen defficency?

Not likely, but if the problem is some other deficiency, that will
help. If the leaves from the bottom up are still yellowing when
you get back from vacation, you can add something for a nitrogen
boost.

Originally Posted by cosullivan

Dice, if that is early blight,
will the plant be OK if I just pick off the infected leaves?

The answer is complicated by the fact that we do not know for sure
what that problem is, but that is what I would do to start with.
If you see more similar leaves when you get back, then you can assume
that some more drastic treatment is necessary, whatever it is.

Figure that anything you will see on your plants Tessa has seen on her
tomato plants before, so I would listen to her advice on this. From North
America, I would just be guessing from appearance without knowing
what diseases/pests commonly afflict plants in your area. (Like is early
blight even known in Western Australia? I have no idea.)

[remy]

Those last two photos don't look like Early Blight to me. They look more like Gray Mold.
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...f/Gray_Tom.htm
Being it has been warm and wet, that is quite possible.
Remy

[darwinslair]

Wonder if it is Aster Yellow? Nasty disease.

Tom