User avatar
ion
Full Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 8:40 pm
Location: HI

Help ID - light veins/webbing/deform leaves

Some of my tomato plant are showing weird lines on their leaves. The lines are vein-like, light green in color. The leaves are also partially deformed, they don't look as full as normal leafs. The edges are a bit "rounder" and .
Does anyone have any idea of what's happening to my plants? Could it be pest, disease, virus, chems, or any other damage?

The plant in the pictures is one of the seedlings I pulled. They were started outdoors and I used a net(tulle) to protect them from bugs. The damages showed up a little over a week after transplanting.
Attachments
leaf3.jpg
leaf3.jpg (38.91 KiB) Viewed 1159 times
leaf2.jpg
leaf2.jpg (40.91 KiB) Viewed 1159 times

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I'm thinking they look like mechanical damage -- like the leaves got folded over somehow or beaten up -- has it been windy?

On the other hand, my imagination is saying it could possibly be something like mice climbing (scrabbling) and nibbling?... But I don't have personal experience with that. Anyone else?

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It looks like thrip damage to me especially the puckering. Thrips are hard to see so they are usually identified by the kind of damage they cause. Thrips have a wide host range so they are difficult to control.

There are good thrips and other predators that eat them. If you choose to spray you will need to spray just about everything in sight and get rid or spray weeds too, they are also hosts. You will also then be on the pesticide treadmill since the predators will also be killed.

https://www.ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7429.html

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Thrips again! No experience with those, so I defer to others' expertise. :wink:
Good luck.

:?: can you use sticky traps to see if they are around?

User avatar
ion
Full Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 8:40 pm
Location: HI

imafan26, I think you're right. I see a lot of insects that could be thrips, I wasn't quite sure. They look a bit different from online pictures, but it could be just be differences in species or growth stages. It looks like only certain tomato plants are affected showing light veins and the leaf edge deformity&curl. They are on the sungold, brandywines, betterboy, 2 of 4 tycoon, but none on margo, currants, and champion.

applestar, I have to admit I'm a bit rough or careless when I handle them, but I don't think the damages are from physical brute force. I don't have sticky traps, but I see them on my toms, maybe I'll catch a few without squishing them and take pics.

thanks applestar and imafan.



Return to “TOMATO FORUM”