Tomato leaves curling and wilting, no other "bad stuff?"

[jessjasjam]

I've planted my tomato in a big 8-ish gallon pot. It grew really well over the last 6 weeks, outside, well covered when the temps dropped. When I moved it from the indoor pot into the outdoor BIG pot it was about 6 in tall, and now it is about two feet tall!

However, recently the leaves have started to curl in on themselves, even the very small new ones. It doesn't have any spots or chewed-up bits, but the ends of the branches (is that the right word?) are drooping, too. The blossoms seem fine, but are facing the ground now.

I check the soil twice daily, and give it a really good watering if I put my finger two inches in and the dirt is dry. It gets about 2tsp of Epsoma Garden Line fertilizer every two weeks. And it seems to get a good amount of sun.

However, my back porch (where it has been) is to the south and is getting much less sun as the year goes. So I moved it to the North porch a week ago. About the same time, we got a bit of a cold rainy snap, but temps were only down to the low 40's. AND I accidentally spilled an extra spoonful of fertilizer on it. Then my sister told me that if I smoked a cigarette and then touched the plant, it would be poisoned!

I'm really worried and can't figure out what is wrong. I don't want to do the wrong thing and kill it, it was doing so well!

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but the plant gets about 4 hours direct light and another 4 of kinda-shady light (big trees here) on the North porch now. Also it's on a fairly busy road, and less sheltered from wind.

[rainbowgardener]

A couple pictures would help.

Your sister exaggerates. There is a virus called tobacco mosaic virus that can infect tobacco and tomato plants. IF the tobacco in your cigarette has the virus and IF you touch the tobacco directly (not just the cigarette paper) and IF you then immediately touch the tomato leaves, it is possible (though by no means guaranteed) that you could transmit the TMV to your tomato plant.

Mosaic in this case means mottled/ patchy colored. Symptoms include: mosaic (mottled) areas on the leaves and fruit with alternating yellowish and dark green areas. Leaves can curl. Green areas may be thickened and look blistered or pucker.

tomato with TMV:


https://www.shouragroup.com/Images/galle ... TMV_01.jpg

There is a thing called physiological leaf roll. It usually happens in hot, dry conditions. The leaves roll up and thicken a little in order to reduce moisture loss. Excessively windy conditions would help promote that. But in that case, I don't think the branches would be drooping.

Wilting can be caused by over watering or under watering or some wilt disease. Again, I don't think we can really say what is happening to your plant without seeing some pictures/

[jessjasjam]

These are the leaves.

[ElizabethB]

Tomato yellow leaf curl is a virus transmitted by white flies. Apparently it is a relatively new problem that is rapidly spreading across the country.

Have you noticed white flies around your plant?

https://www.lsuagcenter.com/nr/rdonlyres ... lowres.pdf

In the first picture the leaves are curled down - a new infestation. In the second picture the leaves curl up - an older infestation.

I need to find another link. Be back.

Tomato spotted wilt virus will also cause the leaves to curl. This virus is carried by thrips.

https://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/lawn_gard ... +virus.htm

Unfortunately once the plant is infected you can't "cure" it.

There are also soil born viruses but if you used commercial potting soil that should not be an issue - unless you planted starts that were infected.

Good luck

[jessjasjam]

I havent seen any white flies, nor any yellow on the leaves. If anything, the puckered leaves are darker than the good lower leaves- more of a forest green.

[imafan26]

That is not tomato yelllow leaf curl virus. The leaves are yellow between the veins on with TYLCV and the leaves cup or curl upward. The edges are not so frayed and crispy looking.

It looks more like a response to stress. How big is your pot? The tomato if it has been hardened off should actually do better in full sun. If your pot is too small the tomato may be going through dry spells and reacting by wilting. A small tomato can be in a 5 gallon bucket, but a large tomato should be in an 18 gallon or 20 inch pot. Actually, I would put the small tomatoes in the 20 inch pot too. Tomatoes have large root systems and they need a lot of water.

[Lindsaylew82]

It looks like dicamba injury to me. From 2-4D. I currently have 4 Rutgers doing this thanks to the side my garden being contaminated from a neighbors use of weed n' feed. My garden is downhill from his yard and about 6 feet of the entire length (about 60 feet) of the back side of my garden got it. More on the front side. So bad that it took out a large chuck of my green beans and okra. I'm hoping that they'll grow out of it since the season is still early. They are otherwise healthy, they just have the same curly crisp lettuce look on all the new growth.

This is what I found when I googled for myself.
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vege ... r-Curl.pdf

[rainbowgardener]

Good call, Lindsay. Makes a lot of sense to me. What do you think, jessjas. Could someone have been spraying Weed and Feed or other herbicide near by? (If you check the link that was posted, near could be up to a mile away.)