Please Help...Do I need to toss this out?

lonelylib81 · February 16, 2013

Hello,

Within the past week, two of my plants started turning very green. Not just green, but neon green. Is this a sign of illness? I posted a pic.

Thanks.

Redbaron · February 16, 2013

They could be getting low on nutrients for sure. Could be RKN

clkeiper · February 16, 2013

That looks like an iron deficiency to me.

lonelylib81 · February 17, 2013

I feed them every week. Strange. I use the Dynamite brand (in a tomato shaped container) and I mix it into the first inch or two of soil and I water plenty. I'll look for iron supplement.

Cole_Robbie · February 17, 2013

If you add too much fertilizer, sometimes the symptoms can look like the problem is too little fertilizer. It can drop your ph and lock out nutrients. I would definitely stop adding chemical fertilizers until the plant looks better. If you want to give it something else, Alaskan fish is good for greening up plants. Organic fertilizers are much more forgiving if you over do it.

ginger2778 · February 17, 2013

To me it looks like a virus because of the smaller leaf size, and the mosaic almost variegated appearance to the leaves. Do you have whiteflies under the leaves or nearby?
Marsha

lonelylib81 · February 18, 2013

If it is a virus, what symptoms should I expect within the next week or two? I haven't been feeding it too much weekly. About two tablespoons. Like I said, the brand is Dynamite organic fertilizer, about 8-6-6. Not too crazy.
I'll keep an eye out. This happened once before. Keep in mind that this is a hybrid tomato plant, called better boy. It has some disease resistance. I thought tobacco mosaic virus is one of the disease resistances.

ginger2778 · February 18, 2013

If it is a virus the new leaves will be smaller and stunted, and not much new growth will take place. Several of the viruses make the fruit ripen unevenly with some of a given fruit ripening in streaks or on one side only and the rest of that fruit never gets ripe. These viruses are spread by insects that feed on the plant most of which are tiny and on the underside of the leaves. Problem is they hop from plant to plant spreading it. This almost looks like Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) which is spread by whiteflies, but if it is that it is in very early stages, because the leaves aren't shrunken and curled upward yet,so that might not be it.
Most nutritional deficiencies don't give it the mottled mosaic pattern I see on your pictures.
There are excellent photos here in the disease forum of nutritional deficiencies.
Marsha

ginger2778 · February 18, 2013

By the way lib, welcome!
Marsha

lonelylib81 · February 19, 2013

According to some of your descriptions, I believe two of my plants have viruses. I am going to toss them out, however, do I need to change the soil, as well?

ginger2778 · February 19, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonelylib81

According to some of your descriptions, I believe two of my plants have viruses. I am going to toss them out, however, do I need to change the soil, as well?

No the soil will most likely be OK. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, which means they can't live for more than a few minutes without being inside of a host, so most likely your soil alone won't let them live. Fungi and bacteria can live by themselves, but not viruses.
Marsha

lonelylib81 · February 20, 2013

Thanks for your help. I just threw them out and planted two seedlings in their place. Best Boy, by Bonnie, and Rutgers heirloom. Both grown from seeds. I'll keep everyone updated.
Oh...by the way...I ate a german queen tomato two nights ago. Freakin delicious.

ginger2778 · February 20, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonelylib81

Thanks for your help. I just threw them out and planted two seedlings in their place. Best Boy, by Bonnie, and Rutgers heirloom. Both grown from seeds. I'll keep everyone updated.
Oh...by the way...I ate a german queen tomato two nights ago. Freakin delicious.

You're welcome! Hope you can make it to the Florida TAG tasting in early March. We will enjoy meeting all the other Florida gardeners.
I know what you mean when you bite into that luscious juiciness!

Marsha

coolbythecoast · February 24, 2013

Looks like the virus I have here in SoCal, probably spread by whitefly. You could check the responses to my post "Help me identify this virus, please". Consensus is Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV). Seems especially likely for you in Florida. Pull plants that look like these as quickly as you can identify the problem, it only takes one bite from a whitefly to transfer the virus from plant to plant.

dice · February 25, 2013

Whitefly control method: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=25557

February 16, 2013	#2
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	They could be getting low on nutrients for sure. Could be RKN __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

February 16, 2013	#3
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	That looks like an iron deficiency to me. __________________ carolyn k

February 18, 2013	#7
lonelylib81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 19	Hope it's not TMV If it is a virus, what symptoms should I expect within the next week or two? I haven't been feeding it too much weekly. About two tablespoons. Like I said, the brand is Dynamite organic fertilizer, about 8-6-6. Not too crazy. I'll keep an eye out. This happened once before. Keep in mind that this is a hybrid tomato plant, called better boy. It has some disease resistance. I thought tobacco mosaic virus is one of the disease resistances.

February 19, 2013	#10
lonelylib81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 19	I think it is a virus According to some of your descriptions, I believe two of my plants have viruses. I am going to toss them out, however, do I need to change the soil, as well?

February 20, 2013	#12
lonelylib81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 19	Thank You. Thanks for your help. I just threw them out and planted two seedlings in their place. Best Boy, by Bonnie, and Rutgers heirloom. Both grown from seeds. I'll keep everyone updated. Oh...by the way...I ate a german queen tomato two nights ago. Freakin delicious.

February 17, 2013	#4
lonelylib81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 19	I feed them every week. Strange. I use the Dynamite brand (in a tomato shaped container) and I mix it into the first inch or two of soil and I water plenty. I'll look for iron supplement.

February 17, 2013	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	If you add too much fertilizer, sometimes the symptoms can look like the problem is too little fertilizer. It can drop your ph and lock out nutrients. I would definitely stop adding chemical fertilizers until the plant looks better. If you want to give it something else, Alaskan fish is good for greening up plants. Organic fertilizers are much more forgiving if you over do it.

February 17, 2013	#6
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	To me it looks like a virus because of the smaller leaf size, and the mosaic almost variegated appearance to the leaves. Do you have whiteflies under the leaves or nearby? Marsha

February 24, 2013	#14
coolbythecoast Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 39	Looks like the virus I have here in SoCal, probably spread by whitefly. You could check the responses to my post "Help me identify this virus, please". Consensus is Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV). Seems especially likely for you in Florida. Pull plants that look like these as quickly as you can identify the problem, it only takes one bite from a whitefly to transfer the virus from plant to plant.

February 25, 2013	#15
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Whitefly control method: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=25557 __________________ -- alias