Tomatoes

In the last week or so high tunnel tomato plants have been reported that look a bit squirrely. I thought it was possibly herbicide or virus or nutrient problems. After eliminating the first and third possibilities we had the plants tested for a battery of vi-ruses. There were 3 viruses found.

Vegetable and Fruit News, Volume 13, Issue 4 (July 2022). Topics in this issue are: Disease of Garlic Scapes, Blossom End Rot, Preventing Bruising in Apples and Peaches, Corn Disease Identification, Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, Tomato Pith Necrosis, July IPM Tips, Mowing: IWM Tool, and Upcoming Events

Fruit and Vegetable News, Volume 13, Issue 1 (April, 2022). Topic in this issue are: Check for Allium leaf miner in onions and leeks over the next few weeks, Edema problem in high tunnel tomatoes, Using Plant Growth Regulators to Improve Apple Return Bloom, Botryis Fruit Rot (Gray Mold) and Crown Rot in Strawberries, Spring Pest Scouting in Strawberries, and Early Spring Vegetable Insect Scouting Tips.

Fruit and Vegetable News, Volume 12, Issue 4 (July 15, 2021)

Over the last few weeks in almost all of the tomato fields I’ve been in have rain check on the tomato fruit (fig. 1). Rain check is the many, tiny concentric cracks that form on the shoulder of the fruit and these small cracks can expand over time into unsightly scabs.

I recently received an inquiry from a high tunnel grower about unusual symptoms on tomato leaves.

An odd problem was seen in tomato plants being grown for harvest in a greenhouse that showed blister- or callus-like growths usually along veins that first appeared on the underside of older leaves (fig. 1). Leaves also showed unusual curling and other odd distortions on the top side of the leaf (fig. 2).

A very unusual and seldom seen tomato foliar blight was found by an intrepid county educator in Southern Maryland last week.

Corky root is caused by the fungus Pyrenochaeta lycopersici. Tomato plants affected with corky root may appear stunted and generally lack vigor.

Normally at this time of year, I’d be writing about how bad yellow shoulders and other fruit ripening problems are in Maryland tomatoes. But this has been a strange season with May weather in March and March weather in May, which caused a great deal of catfacing problems this year. However, except for a few fields in a few places there have been far fewer troubles with tomato yellow shoulders or fruit ripening problems than we normally see this time of year—at least for now. Why is this?