Knowledgebase
tomato leaves deformed & curled #332528
Asked June 14, 2016, 10:48 PM EDT
My tomato plants were healthy until the weather suddenly turned hot, and then the new leaves started to become all deformed, thick, and curled. I'm hoping it's not a virus!! There is no yellowing or mottled color. The older leaves still look normal. I started some of my plants from seed and others were purchased. They were all planted in new raised bed containers with new soil that we got from a local landscaping supply, a 'Garden Mix', a 60/30 blend of topsoil and compost. Please advise!
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
This looks a lot like herbicide injury. Are there other plants affected in the garden or just the tomatoes? Have you used any herbicides around these plants?
Unfortunately, these tomatoes may not recover...and if they do, it will likely delay fruit production (if they fruit at all). But sometimes herbicides can be in soil, so replanting may not be a good idea. That's why it's important to hear if you have other crops showing signs of injury.Â
Thank you, Alison. We have planted many other veggies in the same planter boxes with the same garden mix of soil/compost obtained from a local landscape supply company. Peppers, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, and beans are all doing fine. I did have some trouble with bean seedling transplants (just an experiment on my part) but I pulled out the struggling plants and planted seeds and they came up fine. Only the tomatoes have this deformity.Â
The only herbicide we use is a Weed-Be-Gone that my husband uses a wand to put the herbicide directly onto individual weeds, so that there is no spray affecting nearby plants. I do not use any of the grass clippings for mulch because of this.
I gave some of my tomato seedlings to 2 other people and they also are showing deformities. The only common denominator seems to be the garden soil mix because we brought some soil to my daughter to plant her tomatoes in, and I may have used some of the soil to transplant seedlings from the flat I started them in to larger pots (but I don't remember this for sure).Â
Is it possible that the soil we bought was tainted? And if so, why wouldn't any of the other vegetables be affected? We were going to try buying a few tomato plants and planting one in the suspect soil and the others in totally different soil and see what happens. I'm not sure what else I could test.
Thank you for your help!
But going back to the herbicide residue...can you find out more information about the compost that was used? Was it manure? Was it obtained locally? Can the company you purchased it from trace back its origin?
Some plants are more susceptible than others (tomatoes, peppers) to herbicide damage...so that's why it's interesting (and important) to know that the beans and cucumbers are not affected.
