Yellow Discoloration in Tomato Leaves - Why?

[amanda1164]

So I am attempting my first small garden. All seems to be going well. except for the tomato plants! I am growing super sweet 100 cherry tomatoes (2) and lemon boy tomatoes (only 1). I am in the dallas area of texas, and I water about every other day for about 15 minutes. all my other plants are sprouting and doing well. The tomato plants have about doubled in size, they where transplants that I purchased. and seem to be growing but I have noticed some discoloration in the lower leaves. I have attached some pictures so you can see some examples of what they are looking like

[JayPoc]

Looks to me like sun damage...I'd trim those leaves off and see how it goes...

[hendi_alex]

Just a temporary problem, not to worry. The leaves still have some chlorophyll left in them, so if many are damaged, leave them on, to keep working for the plant. As the previous poster suggested, it is sun damage or abrasion from wind or rain on very tender plants that were not hardened off properly. For the first week to ten days, delicate indoor grown plants need to gradually be introduced to sun, wind, heavy rain.

[gixxerific]

I'm not 100% on sun damage being it is on the lower leaves only as it sounds. Is this happening to all of them?

[TZ -OH6]

It looks like old sun/wind burn. You can get minimal damage to young leaves (sun and wind burn etc) especially when you are hardening them off or when you first plant them, and it really shows up later when the leaves get big. It's no big deal. Its like marking on a balloon and then blowing it up.