Tops not ripening

[enchant]

This has been an unusual season for tomatoes here in New England - perhaps in many parts of the country. Worst drought we've seen in many years. Fortunately, things haven't been bad enough that we've had water rationing in my town, so I've been able to water my plants every other day or so. No shortage of sunshine, which is a good thing.

Personally, I've had a pretty good season so far. Tons of tomatoes being harvested. Pretty good size and all. Other growers I've talked to are having a horrific season, though. 2.5" fruit where they normally see mostly 4". Perhaps I'm giving more attention to my tiny garden than they can spare for their fields.

However, and especially lately, I'm seeing a lot of tomatoes that aren't ripening on the top. I've been growing for maybe seven years now, and I don't think I've seen one like this, and now maybe 20% of my harvest is like this.

Might this be drought related? FWIW, I pick my fruit at first blush, and they seem to ripen just fine. I mostly grow Celebrity, Big Beef, Brandywine and Rose. The problem seems to span all my varieties.

Edit: I just went out to harvest for the first time in a couple days and now easily half of them have this problem.

[kath]

What I'm seeing in your photo is quite common in some of the varieties I've grown; staying yellowish green when they usually color up completely. This season I'm seeing a lot of uneven ripening in my tomatoes especially as the season progresses. Most of the paste types are afflicted and the tops of some of them stay really green. Some varieties naturally stay green at the top but I'm seeing photos online of the new-to-me varieties that are much more evenly colored.

The photo shows the discoloration, marks and splitting I'm seeing; in an exaggerated sort of way- not sure what's going on with the color. The tomatoes don't look this bad in person. Anyway, on the right are a couple of the least affected that I've got in the house right now: Heidi, Santa Maria, Barlow Jap, Terhune, Seek No Further Love Apple and Elgin Pink.

I'm no expert but while I think genetics may play a role, environmental factors seem to be the cause of most of what I'm seeing this season.

[enchant]

Originally Posted by kath

Most of the paste types are afflicted and the tops of some of them stay really green.

I had to chop down my entire San Marzano crop in early August due to blossom end rot. I don't know if that was an extreme symptom of whatever is causing the uneven ripening.

[Ricky Shaw]

The best short synopsis I've read on causes of 'Yellow Shoulders'. If not flat out scalding, it's generally related to a lack of potassium. However, the solution is rarely fixable by adding potassium because there is generally a physiological reason the nutrient is being locked out. High temperature damage and high soil pH inhibit can inhibit potassium uptake, as well as viruses.

I've got it on many tomatoes also and think it's more related to heat. I mean, what are the chances we're all experiencing a potassium shortage to our plants at the same time.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/pro...s%20Bogash.pdf

[Kongobongo]

First time growing sub arctic so I thought maybe that's just how they ripen.I really like the look.they still taste great.

[greyghost]

I noticed it for the first time this year. The most notable was on African Queen which
ripened a large number of fruits right after our last long heat wave. I've grown AQ before and have never had kind of yellow splotched shoulders before.

[carolyn137]

There are a few reasons why one can see yellow shoulders.

The first and most common has to do with what's called the uniform ripening gene which is bred into most modern F1 hybrids, so rarely do they have yellow shoulders,but some OP's have it naturally as well.

Temperature fluctuations can do it as well.

Drive over here from MA and take a look at the fruits,very few, that Freda has brought in for me.I wanted to know the names of each variety but she said that Rob,who raised the plants for me,had written the labels in pencil and most had washed off.

I really wanted to get back to those who have bred some wonderful new varieties,but the only one I know is Little Dixie,a new one that Bill Jeffers (Travis)bred.

Daniel Burson is ripening up fine here and so are many of the cherries all of which I recognize even though they are new to me.

But when I looked out the window to the 17 plants out there this AM,not only do they look like tall skinny pine trees,but once again, black stems falling off,just a mess.

No,it's not Late Blight at all,just lots of fog and heavy rains spreading the common foliage diseases.

In all my many decades of growing tomatoes I've never seen anything so pathetic as I see out there now.

Almost forgot,but the Cheryl's Portuguese Red Heart did fine.

I'm so upset with this that I think it's time to go eat several pieces of my dark chocolate from the place where I always buy it with the hopes that will make me feel better.

Carolyn

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

The best short synopsis I've read on causes of 'Yellow Shoulders'. If not flat out scalding, it's generally related to a lack of potassium. However, the solution is rarely fixable by adding potassium because there is generally a physiological reason the nutrient is being locked out. High temperature damage and high soil pH inhibit can inhibit potassium uptake, as well as viruses.

I've got it on many tomatoes also and think it's more related to heat. I mean, what are the chances we're all experiencing a potassium shortage to our plants at the same time.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/pro...s%20Bogash.pdf

Perfectly said, Ricky. High heat, and low soil moisture, seem to cause low K uptake, or translocation issues within the plants. I'm seeing a little bit of this, but just with the odd cluster, or single fruit within the cluster.

[brownrexx]

Some varieties like my Brandywine always show this but this year I am seeing it on most of my varieties and I attribute it to the brutal high temperatures that we have had.

My Big Beef are a variety that I always grow because they are so dependable and they seem to show uneven ripening the least of all of the ones I am growing. They do not have green shoulders but a few greenish patches on some of the fruits but plenty of them have been fully red.

[Gardeneer]

If you are concerned, just let them sit on the counter/ table / in a box inside (houlder side up ) , few days then most of those green/ yellow shoulders should disappear.
BTW: Only my dark varieties get green shoulders but those eventually change, given time. Right now I have a Black From Tula that has developed all uniform color. Time to slice it up.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

If you are concerned, just let them sit on the counter/ table / in a box inside (houlder side up ) , few days then most of those green/ yellow shoulders should disappear.

When heat-related green shoulders happen to my tomatoes, the bottoms will be way overripe if I wait for the shoulders to turn.

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

BTW: Only my dark varieties get green shoulders but those eventually change, given time. Right now I have a Black From Tula that has developed all uniform color. Time to slice it up.

In my experience, many dark tomatoes retain green coloraiton on their shoulders not due to lack of ripening but because they have genetics to keep an overlay of chlorophyll-based color on their shoulders. If I wait for uniform color on Cherokee Purples, for example, or even on my black cherry tomatoes, they will be unpleasantly overripe when I eat them. I think some black varieties genetically get more even color, though.