Hi Folks : I am in South Florida (east, Boca Raton) and have a couple raised garden beds. During the fall our growing season I was able to grow tomatoes, so got crazy and am trying now.
I have 4 plants I started from seed and they start out ok, but now leaves are curling... I took one plant out, thinking nematoids but the roots were ok.
I have been watering when it is not raining. Trying to determine if it is bugs, heat, water? I can post different angles.
one of the plants a week apart?
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It looks like you have tomato yellow leaf curl virus. It is transmitted by white flies. See the publication from Florida in the link below. Tomato yellow leaf curl first appeared in Florida in 1997. Controlling the white flies and getting rid of infected plants asap is really the only avenue unless you grow the resistant varieties.
I got this problem last year. I found some tomato cultivars that do have resistance. Champion II, Tribute, Panzer, Security 28. I could only find seeds of champion. It is resistant, but the taste is not all that great and I usually don't mind a bland tomato as long as the flesh is firm and the tomato is not seedy. Of my survivors early girl and husky did fairly well. I ended up last year really selecting for tomatoes that are resistant to the disease. Unfortunately most of the successes rated blah and yuck on flavor. Even the birds don't bother them. My tomato guru told me I should not plant tomatoes for a while and let that generation of white flies die out. She said it was not worth planting tomatoes that don't taste good.
Cultivars I found that were not resistant. Momotaro (the first one that showed the disease), better boy, better bush, sungold, celebrity, new big dwarf, brandywine, sunsugar.
White flies are peaking now and they are bad this year. You may have better luck growing tomatoes later in the year, when white flies are not so much of a problem.
I can grow my tomatoes better later in the year although, I will have more issues with mildew when the rainy season starts.
https://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2823&q=377974
I got this problem last year. I found some tomato cultivars that do have resistance. Champion II, Tribute, Panzer, Security 28. I could only find seeds of champion. It is resistant, but the taste is not all that great and I usually don't mind a bland tomato as long as the flesh is firm and the tomato is not seedy. Of my survivors early girl and husky did fairly well. I ended up last year really selecting for tomatoes that are resistant to the disease. Unfortunately most of the successes rated blah and yuck on flavor. Even the birds don't bother them. My tomato guru told me I should not plant tomatoes for a while and let that generation of white flies die out. She said it was not worth planting tomatoes that don't taste good.
Cultivars I found that were not resistant. Momotaro (the first one that showed the disease), better boy, better bush, sungold, celebrity, new big dwarf, brandywine, sunsugar.
White flies are peaking now and they are bad this year. You may have better luck growing tomatoes later in the year, when white flies are not so much of a problem.
I can grow my tomatoes better later in the year although, I will have more issues with mildew when the rainy season starts.
https://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2823&q=377974
I agree with imafan26, looks like a tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). A closer picture of the leaves would also be helpful.
Symptoms are curling leaves, yellow-ish leaves but green near the veins, small/stunted new growth, and blossom/fruit drop. Other problems can cause a few symptoms but usually not all at once. Some plants may react different to the virus as well.
Look carefully at the plants. If you see tiny silvery whiteflies, whitefly eggs, and/or whitefly pupae, it is most likely a tylcv virus.
Getting rid of whiteflies and the virus will be a difficult task. The whiteflies feed on many type of plants. The virus also has various hosts plants such beans, pepper, asthma weed. The best time to wipe them out would probably be during the cooler months when their numbers are down,
Other resistant varieties: Sophya, Charger, Margo, Tycoon, Shanty, Katana
Most commercially available resistance/tolerant tomato varieties only have intermediate resistance. The secret to get better tolerance is to grow F2 seeds, about 1/4 of the plants may have better tolerance. The downside to growing the f2, f3 and so-on is some undesirable traits that may appear. But this can be masked by crossing or by selecting good plants.
I had champion II earlier this year when the whitefly population was really low. It produced pretty good(but bland-ok taste). The new plants I started got infected really early. They are showing strong symptoms and are not producing.
I've read the later/older they get infected the better off they'll be, but info on this is pretty scarce. I'm currently attempting to test this out.
Symptoms are curling leaves, yellow-ish leaves but green near the veins, small/stunted new growth, and blossom/fruit drop. Other problems can cause a few symptoms but usually not all at once. Some plants may react different to the virus as well.
Look carefully at the plants. If you see tiny silvery whiteflies, whitefly eggs, and/or whitefly pupae, it is most likely a tylcv virus.
Getting rid of whiteflies and the virus will be a difficult task. The whiteflies feed on many type of plants. The virus also has various hosts plants such beans, pepper, asthma weed. The best time to wipe them out would probably be during the cooler months when their numbers are down,
Other resistant varieties: Sophya, Charger, Margo, Tycoon, Shanty, Katana
Most commercially available resistance/tolerant tomato varieties only have intermediate resistance. The secret to get better tolerance is to grow F2 seeds, about 1/4 of the plants may have better tolerance. The downside to growing the f2, f3 and so-on is some undesirable traits that may appear. But this can be masked by crossing or by selecting good plants.
I had champion II earlier this year when the whitefly population was really low. It produced pretty good(but bland-ok taste). The new plants I started got infected really early. They are showing strong symptoms and are not producing.
I've read the later/older they get infected the better off they'll be, but info on this is pretty scarce. I'm currently attempting to test this out.
Yeah, the younger they are affected the less likely they will live to fruit. I read that some commercial operations grow the seedlings in controlled greenhouses to exclude the white flies. They said even growing the tomatoes inside or in a shade house until they are older before transplanting them out helps them survive long enough to produce fruit.
Some of the early symptoms of the disease are the leaf curling. Most of the time the leaf will curl up but sometimes they start off curling down instead. the stunted growth and the yellow margins in the leaf are the dead give away. Initially you may think it is a nutritional problem, but if you have seen this problem enough it becomes pretty obvious. The plants can be tested at the university extension office for virus or they can make a positive id for you. Virus testing is expensive and if it is virus there is little that can be done about it.
White flies are difficult to control because the adlults flit around the plants and it is hard to capture them.
Some white flies are also resistant to pesticides so all you will be doing is killing the beneficial insects that feed on them. You should also look to control the alternate hosts which could be weeds, peppers, squash, sweet potato, and many other plants.
Some of the early symptoms of the disease are the leaf curling. Most of the time the leaf will curl up but sometimes they start off curling down instead. the stunted growth and the yellow margins in the leaf are the dead give away. Initially you may think it is a nutritional problem, but if you have seen this problem enough it becomes pretty obvious. The plants can be tested at the university extension office for virus or they can make a positive id for you. Virus testing is expensive and if it is virus there is little that can be done about it.
White flies are difficult to control because the adlults flit around the plants and it is hard to capture them.
Some white flies are also resistant to pesticides so all you will be doing is killing the beneficial insects that feed on them. You should also look to control the alternate hosts which could be weeds, peppers, squash, sweet potato, and many other plants.