Curled new growth and some chlorosis on tomatoes - Ask Extension
Is this tobacco mosaic virus exhibiting on the new leaves of my tomato plants or something else? Could it be a nutritional deficiency? Treatment? They...
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Curled new growth and some chlorosis on tomatoes #751206
Asked May 21, 2021, 1:37 AM EDT
Is this tobacco mosaic virus exhibiting on the new leaves of my tomato plants or something else? Could it be a nutritional deficiency? Treatment? They were planted with a handful of rock phosphate at the bottom of the hole and organic tomato fertilizer with beneficial microbes around the roots. I grew them from seed, and they had been flourishing. They were planted outside on May 3rd--due to the very mild weather then. They had been grown under lights and hardened off for a couple of weeks outside in dappled light, sheltered from cold. They are drip watered but we have had rain for the last three days. This is a new bed filled with organic garden soil (according to the landscaper). Some of the leaves have "dust" on them, which is actually pollen. Everything outside has been covered with a yellow layer. Any help appreciated!
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Thank you for the images of the affected tomatoes.
Please send several more images, showing the entire planting and its surroundings.
At first glance, the distorted leaves resemble herbicide damage. The two most common reason during recent years are drift (movement on the breeze) when weeds were sprayed, or addition of contaminated manure.
Please send several more images, showing the entire planting and its surroundings.
At first glance, the distorted leaves resemble herbicide damage. The two most common reason during recent years are drift (movement on the breeze) when weeds were sprayed, or addition of contaminated manure.
Also, please add the following information:
- The seeds, were they purchased or saved from previous crops?
- Are people who are smokers helping with plant/garden care?
- How was the soil prepared for planting? Include any additives that were added to the area, among them straw, animal bedding, good soil, planting mix, compost, manures, etc.
- What has been done for weed control?
I look forward to receiving your images and additional information.
Hello,
1. Seeds are 6 types of heirloom tomatoes. Seeds were purchased this year from Johnny’s and are organic. I sprouted a bunch of seeds and then moved the best three of each kind to Solo cups. I planted 2 of each kind in the raised beds.
I also planted 2 Sungold tomatoes that I purchased at Fred Meyer. Those were planted 1-2 weeks before the ones I grew from seed and do not show the same symptoms.
2. No smokers
3. Organic garden soil from local nursery purchased by landscaper. Added only fertilizer Dr. Earth organic tomato and vegetable fertilizer and a handful of organic rock phosphate. No other amendments added.
4. No weed control necessary in raised bed. I only use Captain Jack’s caprylic acid based weed spray but not near tomatoes.
The tomatoes I purchased do not seem to be affected. That is why I thought it might be some deficiency. The plants that I grew were in solo cups after first true leaves appeared. I filled the solo cups gradually. They were inside until about the middle of April. They had over two weeks of hardening off next to the house on our deck, which is 30’ above the ground. The bed is toward the back of our property but not near neighbors, who do nothing in their garden, except have the grass mowed. FYI I have bunny fences on the back half of each bed.
I have taken a bunch of photos. I will try and attach one here that shows the location of the bed. The photo is taken from our deck. I’ll send the other photos in a separate email.
Thanks so much for your help. BTW there is a dawn redwood next to the beds that is compromising the sunlight so we are having a couple of lower branches taken off early next week.
Susan Mersereau
<personal data hidden>
Photos. The two plants in the front outside corners of the beds are blooming. They are the sun gold plants that I purchased.
Thanks,
Susan MERSEREAU
Thank you for the information and additional images.
I strongly suspect the problem is from herbicides, most likely herbicide carryover in organic matter (compost).
During recent years, such carryover has become a widespread problem for gardeners, showing up in purchased composts and soil mixes, also free manures, composted or not. So much so that gardeners would be wise to do a simple bio-assay on all organic compost and soil mixes before they mix the material into their garden.
You can do a bio-assay in the garden with a few radish seeds.
- Plant 3 to 4 seeds near each affected tomato plant.
- If carryover herbicide is the problem, the radish seedlings will be distorted when they come up, or shortly afterward.
(See http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/bioassay.html)
- If the radish seedlings are normal, we need to continue looking for the reason behind the distortion.
For full details about herbicide carryover, see "Aminopyralid Residues in Composts and Other Organic Amendments."
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/Aminopyralid_pdf.pdf
I strongly suspect the problem is from herbicides, most likely herbicide carryover in organic matter (compost).
During recent years, such carryover has become a widespread problem for gardeners, showing up in purchased composts and soil mixes, also free manures, composted or not. So much so that gardeners would be wise to do a simple bio-assay on all organic compost and soil mixes before they mix the material into their garden.
You can do a bio-assay in the garden with a few radish seeds.
- Plant 3 to 4 seeds near each affected tomato plant.
- If carryover herbicide is the problem, the radish seedlings will be distorted when they come up, or shortly afterward.
(See http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/bioassay.html)
- If the radish seedlings are normal, we need to continue looking for the reason behind the distortion.
For full details about herbicide carryover, see "Aminopyralid Residues in Composts and Other Organic Amendments."
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/Aminopyralid_pdf.pdf
So, what happens next? In the above link, see the section titled "What can I do ...?"
P.S.: Please let me know what happens to the radish seedlings, along with a picture or two.
Thanks. I will try the radish seeds. I am curious, however, as to why the two purchased plants have not been affected. Could it have been that they were more acclimated and stronger due to having been planted earlier? In addition, it appears that the affected plants, with the exception of one, are continuing to grow and even begin to flower. I have sprayed them with a dilution of Dr. Earth liquid fertilizer in the last couple of days.
There is major backyard construction work next door, which involved digging up a huge hole to facilitate drainage from underground streams as well as from runoff on the hills and houses above us. The construction team dug down (with an excavator) many feet but were unable to find solid, dry ground. They eventually partially filled the hole with gravel in order to continue work dredging and draining to an existing creek that borders both properties. The sludge that they uncovered was ghastly and smelly. That backyard has always been swampy with water continually running through its "dry" streambeds. New neighbors are finally trying to deal with it. Is it possible that the dust (lots of it) that was kicked up could have brought herbicides to my plants?
In addition, I had forgotten that we are part of the state or county wide Japanese beetle spraying area, and our grass was sprayed in the last couple of weeks. Could that have been the problem?
Thanks for your help!
Susan
Thank you for the update, Susan.
I'm also curious as to why the two purchased plants are unaffected. One reason could be the potting mix used for your seedlings. So, if you still have any of that mix, use it to fill several small pots for radish tests.
Another route for contamination could be the sprayer used to apply the fertilizer.
If the sprayer previously contained a weed killer -- either purchased or homemade -- a residue clings to the sprayer that will damage very sensitive plants such as tomatoes. That's true even if the sprayer was thoroughly rinsed afterward.
The sprays used in the eradication effort against Japanese Beetles don't contain products that will damage plants.
Further, I doubt the excavation next door would affect the tomato seedlings.
I'm also curious as to why the two purchased plants are unaffected. One reason could be the potting mix used for your seedlings. So, if you still have any of that mix, use it to fill several small pots for radish tests.
Another route for contamination could be the sprayer used to apply the fertilizer.
If the sprayer previously contained a weed killer -- either purchased or homemade -- a residue clings to the sprayer that will damage very sensitive plants such as tomatoes. That's true even if the sprayer was thoroughly rinsed afterward.
The sprays used in the eradication effort against Japanese Beetles don't contain products that will damage plants.
Further, I doubt the excavation next door would affect the tomato seedlings.
Please go ahead and plant the radish seeds in both the garden and potting mix, then let me know what happened.
In the meantime, I will consult with a colleague for assistance in resolving this issue.
Thanks for all of your consideration. The sprayer bottle was new. I don’t have the bag of potting soil any longer but when the tomato seedlings were transplanted they doubled or tripled in size in a couple of weeks and when I filled the solo cup up to encourage more roots, they did the same. The growth was so extraordinary that I had to move them out from under the lights because they were getting burned by touching the lights. I moved them outside for a couple of weeks, and their growth slowed down as they adjusted. Everything looked normal, however. The problem began a couple of weeks after they were transplanted to the raised bed. I just went down and double checked to make sure that nothing else is affected. I started lots of things from seeds, including radishes and kale, and everything looks normal. My dahlias in another bed do show some of the stunted aspects in their new growth. Their newest growth, however shows none of that. I am wondering if too much water could cause this. I know the dahlia bed was getting too much water due to a mistake In the programming. They were getting double watered. When we cut the water off, everything rebounded, in that bed, including perennials. More dahlias began coming up. It was about the same time that I noticed that the tomato and vegetable bed was overwatered. Things seemed to stop growing and the tomatoes showed the curled leaves and chlorosis. The chlorosis showed first. I turned the water off and the vegetables started growing more quickly. The new sucker growth on the tomatoes does not seem to show the same deformity.
I will send you a photo of a tomato with the deformity on the top growth and a sucker below without it. I can send you pictures of the tomato seedlings in the solo cups but they look extremely healthy, dark green and perfectly formed leaves. I have attached a couple of photos of dahlias, also.
Thanks for all of your help in puzzling this out.
Susan
Susan,
Sorry for the delayed response. Seems that the Ask Extension site was down for a while such that my colleague couldn't access your inquiry, with the images and information.
Okay, now the bad news: We've decided the underlying problem is herbicide-carryover in the planting media which was used to fill your beds.
All the plants in your images, including the dahlias, basil, and purchased tomatoes are affected. Kale and other crucifers are said to be somewhat tolerant.
Sorry for the delayed response. Seems that the Ask Extension site was down for a while such that my colleague couldn't access your inquiry, with the images and information.
Okay, now the bad news: We've decided the underlying problem is herbicide-carryover in the planting media which was used to fill your beds.
All the plants in your images, including the dahlias, basil, and purchased tomatoes are affected. Kale and other crucifers are said to be somewhat tolerant.
I need to correct the suggestion about the bio-assay. Instead, please use pea seeds as described in the Bio-assay Protocol: - http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/bioassay.html.
Plant the peas directly in your beds, also in any extra planting mix you may not have used as yet. Results should be apparent within days.
For an easy-to-understand discussion of herbicide-carryover see http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/Aminopyralid_pdf.pdf. In this pdf, near the top of page 2, review the section "Are flowers and vegetables ... safe to eat?"
Unfortunately, herbicide-carryover has taken many gardeners by surprise for a number of years. During that time, I've seen examples
resulting from commercially-packaged mulch, compost, and/or potting soil as well as various "organic" products, both bulk and packaged.
As a result, I now counsel gardeners to always do a bio-assay before adding any compost, manures, or potting mixes, "organic" or not, to their gardens. It's better to be informed rather than disappointed.
Thanks but, unfortunately, the dahlias are in a completely different bed and the mix has been in there for 8 to 10 years. They are not related at all.I don’t think that could be the answer, and that it could happen to two different beds from the soil that is unrelated and has not been intermixed. The Dahlia bed is about 50 feet long with half of it planted in perennials and the other half in dahlias. The perennials are flourishing. The dahlias are looking good too with only a few shoots showing difficulty. If you look at the photo I sent that shows the two new beds from our deck 30 feet above the ground, the Dahlia bed is kitty cornered across the basketball court from the new beds. As you will be able to see, it’s not that close and it’s 4 feet off the ground.
I planted the radishes yesterday. I’ll add some peas tomorrow.
What about pinching off the deformed growth and letting the suckers take over. How would that change the growth of the tomato plant?
Thanks,
Susan
Another few thoughts. You mentioned that the basil in the bed looks deformed but it is not and looks exactly the same as the plants on my deck, which I planted at the same time. There is a sad self-seedling of borage (which you may have thought was basil) that I pulled out of another bed with no care and just stuck in with the tomatoes. I know it will survive, so I had just stuck it in. I don’t think it had even been watered. There is no deformity on the purchased tomato plants, and some of my seedlings are beginning to look normal. I do have pea plants, both sweet and sugar pod, within the same beds in the bunny-proofed sections. They are fine and growing with no chlorosis or deformity. They are about three times larger than when I planted them, which was about the same time as the purchased tomatoes.
I look forward to,seeing what happens to the radish and pea seedlings.
Thanks,
Susan
Concerning the dahlias: The pale slender new growth is abnormal. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next with them.
Concerning the tomatoes, the herbicide is systemic within the plants. Pinching off the affected growth won't stop the damage. But it's true that the plant wouldn't need to spend any energy to maintain those tissues.
What happens next with the tomatoes will depend upon how large a dose of herbicide is present. If the dose is low enough, growth may return to normal. Again, it will be a waiting game.
I neglected to comment further about the affected basil.
The term "herbicide-affected" includes more than deformed. Other effects are off-color, as on the basil; and light-colored veins, as on some leaves of the purchased plants.
A site that shows an herbicide-affected basil next to a healthy one, is at https://candidegardening.com/GB/stories/e593ce5c-b570-40b9-903e-d951d13bf9cb. It's the final image there. The damage in that case is a subtle amount of yellowing.
My colleague, who has much more training and experience than I, wrote, in part, "To my eye, even the plants purchased as transplants look off to me, I inspected the plants in all the corners in case I was confused about what is the front of the bed. The bottom plant on the right has deformed suckers. The plant on the bottom left looks the most healthy but has a general chlorosis. And the plants in the top corners look affected even more."
The term "herbicide-affected" includes more than deformed. Other effects are off-color, as on the basil; and light-colored veins, as on some leaves of the purchased plants.
A site that shows an herbicide-affected basil next to a healthy one, is at https://candidegardening.com/GB/stories/e593ce5c-b570-40b9-903e-d951d13bf9cb. It's the final image there. The damage in that case is a subtle amount of yellowing.
My colleague, who has much more training and experience than I, wrote, in part, "To my eye, even the plants purchased as transplants look off to me, I inspected the plants in all the corners in case I was confused about what is the front of the bed. The bottom plant on the right has deformed suckers. The plant on the bottom left looks the most healthy but has a general chlorosis. And the plants in the top corners look affected even more."
