| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| ariana |
Ailing tomatoesMy (glasshouse) tomato plants have been doing really well up to now. They all have plenty of fruit which is just starting to ripen.I've noticed that the ends of several leaves are turning brown and powdery and shrivelling up. So far it is only the leaves on the ends of each branch and does not appear to be affecting the fruits. Can someone advise me what it is and what (if anything) I can do. I water the plants daily and have been feeding with a general purpose soluable fertiliser twice a week. |
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| tahir |
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/tomatoproblemsolver/ | ||
| BahamaMama |
Excellent site. | ||
| ariana |
It is indeed an excellent site Tahir. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
It would seem that I have Verticillium Wilt 
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| TAVASCAROW |
I'm not saying it's not verticillium but check for mineral deficiencies as well.
http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/tomatoes.htm |
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| ariana |
Thanks for that link. I don't think they can have a mineral deficiency as they are in good compost and are fed well with Miracle Gro Tomato Feed. The brown bits are very powdery and withered. I keep cutting the bits affected off. I don't know if that is thr right thing to be doing? |
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| Slim |
Hard to say in any direction without a picture.... 
Browning around the leaf margin is a pretty classic sign of potassium deficiency, and while you may be adding plenty of potassium to the soil, if there's not enough air circulating through the house the plants may not be transpiring enough water to keep moving fresh water into the roots (and the potassium that's in solution in the water). Magnesium deficiency can also look a bit like that. Did it start on the lower leaves? How's the airflow in the house? The powderiness sounds a bit fungal, but it may just be attacking the dead remains of the leaves. Does it look powdery before or after the plant kills off that part of the leaf? Or were just using powdery to describe how dried up the leaf is? 
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| Slim |
No offense Tahir, but I'm not sure how I feel about that site... while some of those pictures show symptoms that are very definitive, some could be caused by many different things, and they don't really touch on the nutrition that much... Verticillium wilt is fairly distinctive. It doesn't usually affect every leaf - at least not initially. One section of the plant will start to wilt and yellow. To check for sure, cut through the stem, and you'll see a brown section of the phloem (nutrient and sugar transport part of the stem right inside the 'skin') that corresponds with the yellowing section of the plant. If it is verticillium, pull the whole plant out and burn it if possible... |
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| Slim |
I take it back, the site is great for a lot of things, I just don't like their foliar diagnosis section....
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| tahir |
I think you're right, haven't looked at it in years but 1 photo per disorder clearly isn't enough and it certainly doesn't show every kind of disorder I've ever seen. |