Purple tomato leaves?

Deb-O-Rah · June 24, 2012

I have purple and also a darker black on the top of the leaves. The backs of the leaves look normal. I live in Northeast Florida and we went through a tropical storm at the end of May. Looks like more rain is coming and as of this past week, very high humidity. I checked all the photos from Tx A&M site and couldn't find anything similar. My ripe tomatoes have been delicious but I noticed that the new flowers on my Cherokee purple look dead. The other tomato plants still have new flowers that look normal.(hybrids) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Deborah

Crandrew · June 25, 2012

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02949.html

Look about halfway down once the table starts. I would say phosphorus deficiency.

Deb-O-Rah · June 25, 2012

Thanks for your reply. I had thought of phosphorus but the purple is not on the back side of the leaf and not in the veins. I have just found this article about Purple Leaf Disorder: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PP/PP25900.pdf

There is no info on what to do once the plant has been infected and whether it affects the yield. I have several different hybrids planted and an heirloom and they all have purple leaves but only on the side facing the sun.

Heritage · June 25, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deb-O-Rah

Thanks for your reply. I had thought of phosphorus but the purple is not on the back side of the leaf and not in the veins. I have just found this article about Purple Leaf Disorder: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PP/PP25900.pdf

There is no info on what to do once the plant has been infected and whether it affects the yield. I have several different hybrids planted and an heirloom and they all have purple leaves but only on the side facing the sun.

Deborah, that's an interesting condition! I think you are on the "cutting edge" of tomato diseases

(if it is, indeed, a disease) I'm interested to see if/how it affects your production. Please post if you find any other research on the cause of TPLD.

Steve

Rockporter · June 25, 2012

Deb-O-Rah, I had the same problem with my tomatoes here in Rockport and I saw it on a friends plants too.

Deb-O-Rah · June 26, 2012

Hi Rockporter, Would like to hear how your tomatoes faired. Any negative affects on the plant and new flowers? So far, my tomatoes are looking good.

Rockporter · June 26, 2012

My tomatoes didn't seem to have any negative effects from the purple leaves. I wonder about any seeds from the tomatoes though. I didn't save any so I won't be finding out about that. Glad to hear yours are doing well.

June 24, 2012	#1
Deb-O-Rah Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Amelia Island, FL Posts: 5	Purple tomato leaves? I have purple and also a darker black on the top of the leaves. The backs of the leaves look normal. I live in Northeast Florida and we went through a tropical storm at the end of May. Looks like more rain is coming and as of this past week, very high humidity. I checked all the photos from Tx A&M site and couldn't find anything similar. My ripe tomatoes have been delicious but I noticed that the new flowers on my Cherokee purple look dead. The other tomato plants still have new flowers that look normal.(hybrids) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Deborah

June 25, 2012	#3
Deb-O-Rah Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Amelia Island, FL Posts: 5	phosphorus deficiency Thanks for your reply. I had thought of phosphorus but the purple is not on the back side of the leaf and not in the veins. I have just found this article about Purple Leaf Disorder: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PP/PP25900.pdf There is no info on what to do once the plant has been infected and whether it affects the yield. I have several different hybrids planted and an heirloom and they all have purple leaves but only on the side facing the sun.

June 25, 2012	#5
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Deb-O-Rah, I had the same problem with my tomatoes here in Rockport and I saw it on a friends plants too. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

June 26, 2012	#7
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	My tomatoes didn't seem to have any negative effects from the purple leaves. I wonder about any seeds from the tomatoes though. I didn't save any so I won't be finding out about that. Glad to hear yours are doing well. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

June 25, 2012	#2
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02949.html Look about halfway down once the table starts. I would say phosphorus deficiency.