ifpt999
Newly Registered
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:38 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Tan tomato leaves? Help!

Leaves on my early transplants (in North Texas) are turning a weird tan, light green color as shown in the picture below. Has anyone had this before? Anyone have a guess at what this could be? I would hate to lose my plants so early.

[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/ifpt999/tomatoProb3567.jpg[/img]

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

What's your weather been like there? Sunny? How did you harden the plants off?

I don't know for sure, and there are probably other possibilities, but if it's been really sunny and the plants weren't used to that it could just be sunburn. I have had tomato plants that grew too tall and were right up against the lights indoors get burned like that.

Keep an eye out. If that is it, once your plants adapt they will be fine and it will not keep happening. If it starts spreading or new leaves get that way, then I am wrong and it is some kind of disease process or nutrient deficiency

Sunburn or sunscald can also happen outdoors, especially if there is water on the leaves and then sun gets on them; it acts like a magnifying glass.

Here's a thread where we had some discussion of that.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=134638&highlight=sunburned+leaves#134638

The top pictures show the sunburned leaves. Some people were thinking it was a disease, but I think the consensus opinion was sunburn or "light poisoning."

ifpt999
Newly Registered
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:38 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Thanks for the reply... I didn't do as good a job of hardening off as I probably needed to. It has been sunny, but also cool. When I examine the underside of the leaves, I don't notice any sort of mold or anything like that.

An issue of sun scald would make me very happy indeed.



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