Learn the common causes and ways to keep your tomato plants growing healthy.
Tomatoes are prone to a variety of diseases and environmental factors that cause leaf discoloration.
The first step before any treatment is identifying the cause.
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Nutritional Deficiencies
Tomato plants require a lot of nutrients to produce those delicious fruitsespecially nitrogen.
Iron and magnesium deficiencies can also cause yellowing foliage.
Potassium deficiency causes the edges of new leaves to turn yellow.
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The tissue between veins dies, becoming leathery.
How To Fertilize Tomatoes
Feed plants regularly with a balanced, complete fertilizer that contains micronutrients.
Understanding soil pH is important, as it can limit the availability of certain nutrients.
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Your soil should have a pH between 6.2 and 6.8 for tomatoes.
Be sure to water plants well after fertilizing.
An easy way to identify drift problems is to look at the broader garden.
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Herbicide drift will affect many different plants, not just your tomatoes.
Avoid spraying weeds if the wind has picked up ahead of a storm or in any particularly breezy conditions.
Wind can cause the herbicide to drift and cause damage to plants you dont plan on killing.
It is best to avoid using herbicides near your tomatoes and rely on hand weeding instead.
If you live near an agricultural field, talk with your neighbors about best practices to limit drift.
Consider planting a more tolerant windbreak crop along the periphery of your garden.
For every issue, there is a method of prevention.
This can range from soil testing to replanting your tomatoes.
While it takes a trained eye to identify specific plant diseases, control measures are similar for many.
Diseased foliage should be removed.
Severely affected plants should be discarded and surrounding plants treated to help prevent the spread of disease.
Copper fungicide is a common treatment for blight, various leaf spots, and anthracnose.
Check with your extension office if you’re not sure which disease you have and how to treat it.
Water Management
Bacterial and fungal diseases need a moist environment to develop.
Limit foliage moisture by using drip irrigation or watering plants at the base using a hose.
When using overhead sprinklers, water in the morning to allow the sun to dry foliage.
Look for the following abbreviations in plant catalogs and on labels when selecting varieties.
Crop Rotation
Many tomato diseases spend part of their lifecycle in the soil.
Rotate tomatoes with unrelated crops, avoiding areas where eggplants, potatoes, or peppers grew.
Remember that plant diseases can spread from one plant to another.
Wash your hands and pruning equipment after working on an infected plant to prevent spreading problems through the garden.
The University of Georgia Extension.Georgia homegrown tomatoes.
Clemson University Cooperative Extension.Tomato diseases & disorders.
