Tomato Problems - Small Green Leaves

[cukes2009]

I've got a plant about 1 month old. Plant slowed growing for a while due to leaf miners (which I now have under control).

New growth seems to produce small leaves with bright light-green coloration.

[img]https://www.pqGallery.com/sites/259412/reg/tom2.jpg[/img]


[img]https://www.pqGallery.com/sites/259412/reg/tom1.jpg[/img]


Not sure if this is a deficiency of some kind... was hoping someone here could tell me.

Thanks

[The Helpful Gardener]

Hope it has nothing to do with this but the symptoms match...

[url]https://www.springerlink.com/content/wr425311873u8682/[/url]

I suspected iron or magnesium deficency, but neither of these account for the dwarfing so much; while it still looks like possibly iron, magnesium usually leaves the veins green...

So my final take on it all? Tobacco leaf curl virus. Everything fits and it's not so rare as the Japanese virus...

[url]https://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/agriculture/vegetables/tomato/tylcv_home_mgmt.shtml[/url]

HG

[TZ -OH6]

Calcium and iron deficiencies affect top growth, most everything else (nitrogen, magnesium, etc deficiencies affect the oldest leaves first). Hard tap water generally provides enough calcium unless you are using some odd potting mix that has pH outside of the proper range, and many plant foods contain chelated iron.


https://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/tomatoes.htm

https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/waterfert_pages/fig_water2.html

[The Helpful Gardener]

So TZ, do you think it's a mineral deficiency? Or TLCV?

If it's the latter, this plant has to go and fast before it infects the others (which happens pretty quickly). SO how about a second opinion?

HG

[TZ -OH6]

That looks like deficiency coloring to me, and the leaves are not upcupped/curled as can be seen in pics of TYLC, but deficiency in young tomatoes is rare if you are trying to keep them healthy with the usual methods so if other tomato plants are being grown the same way with the same type of medium and fertilizer, and are not showing those symptoms virus is very possible.

[The Helpful Gardener]

So would you recommend destroying the plant immediately?

HG

[TZ -OH6]

Destroying the plant would have to be the grower's call because I can't see enough of the overall picture (what does the whole plant look like, what do the other plants look like, how prevalent is that virus in that area?). Assuming that the 1 mo. old plant is still in a pot, about all I can do is recommend moving the plant to the otherside of the house/property to inhibit insect transmition of any virus to the other tomatoes while it is treated for nutrient deficiency. Aphids, whiteflies and thrips are the primary vectores and they don't travel far. If the plant is in the ground the owner could dig it up and pot it for a while.

[The Helpful Gardener]

And now you have a second opinion, Cukes. Your call...

HG

[cukes2009]

Thanks for all the input everyone... The plant is still in a container so I think I will isolate it and keep an eye on it to see how it does.

[The Helpful Gardener]

In the meantime, a tablespoon of epsom salts in a gallon of water will not hurt anything, and if it starts to green up then TZ was right...

HG

[bg233]

I had the same problem and it turned out to be a deficiency, I used the epsom salt and over time my tomatoes turned out great!



Thanks!
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