ShaneW
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tomato plant new growth is yellow

I'm in the southern hemisphere. I have some sweet 100 tomato plants that got to about a meter high then started producing yellow leaves at the top of the plant. Growth of the plant and the tomatoes has almost stopped. I don't think they're lacking nutrients or water. Any idea what could cause this?
Last edited by ShaneW on Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

PaulF
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I could not open your links, so I will suggest a couple of things. If they are in the soil rather than in pots, there may be a viral problem not allowing nutrients to reach the ends of the plant. Yellow leaves indicate either water or nutrients or both is not making it the whole length of the plant. Often yellow leaves also indicate too much moisture and the plant is drowning and photosynthesis is not taking place.

If all 100 plants are showing the same problem, the lack of nutrients in the soil would be the first guess. A virus may infect some but most likely not all the plants at the same time. For a test, back off on the water, side dress with a liquid fertilizer to see if they green up. Sacrifice a plant and cut open the stem and see what it looks like. If the top is turning crusty and brown a viral infection could be the problem. Insect damage from a borer may also be there, but not all the plants at once.

Try to resend the link and that should help a lot.

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rainbowgardener
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sweet 100 is the variety of cherry tomato. We have no idea how many plants this person has.

The links didn't work for me either.

Are these plants in the ground or in pots?
Last edited by rainbowgardener on Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

ShaneW
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The plants are in the ground. There are six plants and they've all got the problem. Sorry about the link not working - I don't know how to post images. They're on my google plus. Maybe these links will work. Thanks.

https://goo.gl/photos/E81iDB4ronjvN7iQ8
https://goo.gl/photos/orRjhTbuTzp5q3JM6

ShaneW
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It's possible I've been over-watering. How often should I water them and how much to water them?

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rainbowgardener
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Why do you say "I don't think they are lacking in nutrients" ? The bottom picture particularly with the dark veins and pale / discolored leaf tissue is classic chlorosis, which is a nutrient deficiency syndrome. Can be an iron deficiency or other minerals/ trace nutrients.

Have you had your soil tested? How have you been fertilizing that makes you convinced there's not a nutrient issue?

imafan26
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Below are a couple of good sites to visual signs of nutrient and other ailments of tomatoes. Your leaves are more reddish purple than yellow. I will get the purplish color especially when seedlings have been in the pot too long and they lack phosphorus. The purple will be more pronounced on the stem an underside of the leaves, but the reddish color to the leaves I get that more in summer when it is actually getting warmer. Sometimes it is from mites but it usually is on the underside of the leaves not the whole leaf unless it is severely infected. I have had some of the red colored leaves from temperature changes usually when it is either too hot or too cold. Temps less than 50 degrees F or less than 10 C or over 90 F or 29.5C. It seems to be a physiological reaction to stress. If the tomato is not wilting at midday, it probably is getting enough water.

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... oblems.pdf
https://www.haifa-group.com/knowledge_ce ... _symptoms/

I would look for pests under the leaves
If temperature has been hot, try shading and mulching as well as midday watering to help cool things off
Tomatoes are heavy feeders and should have a starter fertilizer and supplements every month. If you are using organic you may have to go every week. If you used a lot of compost, the pH may be a little high so go with an acidic fertilyzer.
Since you are in the southern hemisphere your seasons are probably opposite of ours. It would help to know what your average daily temps are as well as the kind of soil you have.

ShaneW
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I bought some enriched compost to start with and added sheep manure pellets to it and that's what I planted the plants into. I may have added some general garden fertilizer, I don't remember, but I did apply some potash about 4 weeks ago as I heard that's good for flavour. When I noticed the problem a couple of weeks ago (after being away for ten days) I asked a local garden shop and they said maybe a nutrient problem. They gave me a "fully mineralised" liquid fertilizer which I applied but it hasn't made any difference.

ShaneW
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Yes, it's mid summer here. The daily max temperature has been between 20 (68) and 30 (86) degrees celsius and overnight around 10 degrees celsius (50 fahrenheit).

ShaneW
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PaulF
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It looks very much like fusarium wilt. This would also look like a phosphorus or iron deficiency. Fusarium wilt is a fungus entering the plant at the root, moving up into the stem with a slime-like fungus that blocks water and nutrient pathways to the leaves. Cut a stem lengthwise and the slime will be a brownish streak in the stem. Often this will affect one side of the plant more than the other and begins in the outer leaves. There is no known cure. Prevention is the key.

Fusarium remains in plant material for a long time so complete clean-up of all garden material every year is essential. High nitrogen soils attractive wilt also, so a balanced nutrient soil condition is best. Healthy plants will fight off the wilt better than weak ones. Wet soils assist fusarium growth. A good mulching program helps reduce plant stress. Fungicides appear not to help much. Most plants with fusarium die quickly and the entire plant should be removed from the garden area.

I hope this is not fusarium and your plants recover, but the precautions work for many soil borne diseases. Good luck.

ShaneW
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Ok, thanks for all the advice.

imafan26
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If you added potash, compost and sheep manure you may have added a lot of potassium and the the pH may be quite alkaline. Tomatoes like a slightly acidic pH but will tolerate a slightly alkaline pH. When pH heads higher tomato plants remain small, micronutrients like boron and iron are less available at pH approaching 8. Boron deficiency: The younger leaves remain small. They show chlorotic spots between the veins which are yellow to orange. The veins themselves become yellow or purple. The older leaves appear yellowish green. At higher pH phosphorus is bound to the soil and is less available to plants. Phosphorus is most available at a pH around 6.5. Potassium is involved with the cation exchange capacity of the soil and excess will compete with Ca and Mag.

People think because something is good then more of it is better. It isn't always so. You should only add what is needed and it is possible to add too much organic fertilizer as well as synthetic and create and imbalance of the nutrients in the soil. Soil is a living thing and everything has to be in balance for everything to work well. A pH that is too alkaline or acidic makes some nutrients more available while locking up others. Too much of any element can interfere with another.

I would get a soil test and find out what the pH and nutrient levels are and make adjustments from there.

https://www.yara.us/agriculture/crops/to ... ---tomato/
https://www.growing-life.com/shop/pH_and ... chart.html
https://soiltest.umass.edu/fact-sheets/ ... emediation

ShaneW
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Thanks. I'll see if I can get a soil test kit.

MaryDel
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I'm going with Ph problems also. If Ph is not within the correct range, the plant cannot absorb nutrients, no matter how much you put on there.

I always do a Ph test of the water I am putting on my plants too.



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