Tomatoe Plants late Season Problem

Press Release Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad, NM 88220 For More Information, Contact: Woods Houghton, Eddy County Agriculture Agent Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service Phone: 575-887-6595 Fax: 575-887-3795 whoughto@nmsu.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE What’s Killing My Tomatoes? The popularity of homegrown tomatoes is probably only exceeded by the pests and other problems that plague tomato plants. Insects and diseases, stress from insufficient water, nutrient imbalances and heat can all affect plant growth. Curly top virus is a common problem from late June to August. There is no cure for the disease, which is spread by an insect called the beet leafhopper. Curly top stunts plant growth. It turns leaves yellow-green and leathery and makes them curl upward. Veins in the leaves often turn purple. Infected plants usually feel warm to the touch compared with healthy plants. Pull up and discard all infected plants. Verticillium and fusarium wilt are other common diseases. They are soil-borne fungal diseases that cause older plant leaves to turn yellow and die. When the stem of the plant is cut near the soil line, the tissue just below the bark will look tan to dark brown in color. Pull up wilted plants and discard them in the trash. Stunted yellow plants can also be a sign of nematodes, particularly in sandy soils. Nematodes, microscopic worms that live in the soil, feed on roots and eventually cause plants to wilt. To help avoid these problems plant resistant or tolerant tomatoes varieties in Eddy County. Look for the letters “V” “F” and “N” with the variety name an example is Early Girl VFN. Remember resistance is directly related to the challenge and in some cases there is more of the bad guys then the plant can resist. If you have had problems in a particular part of your garden you can solar sanitize it by put clear plastic over that part of the garden and let the sun cook it. Tomato hornworm is often the biggest tomato pest but the hardest to see. The five-inch, green worm is relatively plump and blends well with foliage. It has white diagonal stripes and a horn on its posterior. Look for worms near shredded foliage just above the black droppings they leave on the soil. Round holes found in fruit are generally caused by tomato fruit worms. They’re also known as corn earworms because they chew around the tips of sweet corn or boll worm because they chew into cotton bolls. Striped worms can be brown, green or yellow. They are relatively small, growing up to two inches long. They can also be found chewing on foliage. August weather can cause several problems for tomatoes. Fruit often cracks because dry, hot weather alternates with rainfall. Lack of water can also cause blossom-end rot, especially if soil is low in usable calcium. A water-soaked spot appears on the bottom of fruit, eventually turning brown to black with a leathery texture. Our soil has lots of calcium but it is not all usable to the plants. Application of gypsum, bone meal, or sulfur helps. Intense sun and poor foliage cover can cause sunscald on tomato fruit. Fruit shoulders will blister, forming a gray, paper-like spot. Training vines to a cage will create more shade for fruit and keep it off the ground, resulting in less fruit rot. Hot weather, particularly at night, can also result in poor fruit set. Excessive nitrogen in fertilizer can cause the same problem. Tomatoes require fertilizer with a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. I get lots of call this time of year with people asking why no fruit but lost of lush green vines. I always ask if they are using Miracle Grow TM. and the answer is almost always yes. Miracle grow is a good fertilizer but is low in phosphorus for our soil. Starting in the spring apply a good phosphorus fertilizer as well, 0-46-0, 0-35-0, 11-54-0. The middle number in on the product is phosphorous. Miracle makes a product call Miracle Grow for western soils TM. which is better suited for our soils then the regular product. It is difficult to find however. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.