Tomato Plant Diseases

Akin to several diseases, a tomato disease must be detected in the initial stage. This will result in avoiding spread of the disease to other tomato plants and to other plants like eggplants, potatoes and peppers that are members of the same family. In the presence of effective management practices, the disease would not be fatal.

Tomato diseases
The prevalent Tomato diseases are listed below:

1. Early blight
2. Southern blight
3. Late blight
4. Septoria leaf spot
5. Gray leaf spot

Early blight
In this tomato disease identification it is ascertained whether the stem, leaves and fruit of the tomato plants have been affected or not. Initially, the older leaves will develop dark spots with concentric rings. The nearby leaf region turns yellow. Such affected foliage perishes prematurely, thereby exposing the tomato fruit to the sun. Wet weather intensifies the probability of an attack. This disease can be minimized by removal of affected plants and cleaning of fallen waste. Spraying copper or sulphur necessarily prevents further propagation of the disease.

Southern blight
In this disease, white mold is seen on the stem near the ground. Circular and dark spots are seen on the lower part of the stem. Gradually, the inner and outer stem color fades. As a fungus surrounds the stem, water and nutrients are restricted from moving upwards through the stem. The plant collapses near the ground level. It has been found that using some fertilizers having ammonium and the use of extra calcium provides resistance against this tomato disease. Crop rotation would also prove useful.

Late blight
To identify this disease, watch for abnormally shaped, greasy and gray spots on the leaves. A circle of white mold encircles the spots. After some time, these spots become paper-like and dry. The stem shows black regions. Abnormally shaped, greasy, gray and huge spots can be seen on the fruits. In cool and wet climate, the fungus causing this disease prospers.

Septoria leaf spot
This tomato plant problem can be easily thought to be Late Blight. There are paper-like patches on the foliage that form minute and dark spots inside them. At the beginning, the older leaves get affected. Generally, copper sprays are employed to overcome the situation.

Gray leaf spot
In this disease, only the leaves of the plant are affected. On the top as well as the bottom of the leaves, tiny and dark specks are visible. These broaden and have a grayish brown hue. Finally, the centers of these specks crack and fall. The region of the leaf near these spots changes to yellow. The leaves dry and drop down. The production of tomato fruit is hindered. In warm and moist environment, this gray leaf spot problem becomes worse. It is binding to uproot all the affected plants and dispose the fallen garden debris.

Tomato plant diseases
A couple of prevalent tomato plant problems are mentioned below.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV)
The first symptom of TSWV is that the growth of the leaves in the terminal areas of the plant ceases. They become distorted and pale green. The veins of fresh leaves become thick and purple. These leaves attain a bronze color. Circular, purplish-gray and dark spots appear on the affected leaves. Stems of such plants have purplish brown streaks. If the fruit gets infected, it exhibits ringspots and distorts. TSWV is caused by aphids and thrips. So, to control them an insecticide like malathion or neem would come handy. As soon as the initial symptoms are seen, the infected plants must be removed.

Bacterial Wilt
The distinguishing factor of this disease is that the plants droop and die quickly. The leaves do not turn yellow or do not develop spots. This tomato problem is caused by soil borne bacteria. These attack and block the food and water carrying vessels below the outermost layer of the stem. There is no known method to cure this disease. The gardener must rotate crops to minimize the presence of bacterial wilt. Also susceptible crops (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers) should be grown in different regions of the field in consecutive years.

Timely and adequate measures are mandatory to control or eliminate the various diseases related to the tomato plant.