Help!!! Tomato plant problem.

Whats wrong with my Tomato plants?

First time growing these. They are in organic compost (from growbag) in very large pots and were doing great until I spotted a dead leaf and the stem next to the leaf looks dark purple colour. In the enlarged pics below I can see white speckles which I assume is some kind of mould/fungi.

Want to keep them organic so dont want to use nasty spray. Any help greatly appreciated!!
Thanks.

reply to post by VoidHawk

Is it just a few leaves, or is it spreading? I would remove the affected leaves, identify fungus or pest first. For either, you can use neem oil once a week.
Here is a helpful link
Good luck

reply to post by VoidHawk


This looks like happens to mine. I have never been able to grow any, I live where it is very moist. I did read that adding calcium to the soil would cure it but it did not work for me.

looks like grey mold (botrytis) stem lesion to me.
caused by high humidity.

Originally posted by speculativeoptimist
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Is it just a few leaves, or is it spreading? I would remove the affected leaves, identify fungus or pest first. For either, you can use neem oil once a week.
Here is a helpful link
Good luck

At the moment its just one leaf on two plants, and the stem where the leaf is situated.
Thanks for the advice and the link.

Originally posted by reficul
looks like grey mold (botrytis) stem lesion to me.
caused by high humidity.

Yep, its been very hot with several rain showers per day since I put them out so is definately humid.

Any suggestions for treatment? (organic) appreciated

Neem oil, kills fungus and is natural and safe.

HD neem oil

Brand I have used in the past to get rid of mold and fungus in my garden.

reply to post by VoidHawk

If it is botrytis, your plants will begin turning to goo in a week, and the only thing you can do is cut away the bad areas and spray the plant with food grade hydrogen peroxide, then rinse off the next day. Fighting botrytis is usually a losing battle, but I don't think that is what you have unless a few leaves start going bad every day. Another, less aggressive mold is powdery mildew, which is easier to mange with the neem oil.
Get a magnifying glass and make sure the specs are not moving, to rule out pests.

reply to post by VoidHawk


It has been a bad year for Mildew and Slugs in UK - So much rain and humidity,
Wish I could help further

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Well aint the uk government a bunch of a-holes.

To market or use a product containing azadirachtin(active ingredient in Neem oil) in the UK is an offence.

Link

I second neem oil. You could try a safe spray such as safers. H2o2 is good in moderation but could kill the organic in your soil.

I hope its not spider mites..I can't stand spider mites.

Yellowing of leaves and purple stems is sign of a nutrient deficiency though. Yellowing is usually lack of nitrogen and purpling is usually a sign of potassium deficiency. Tomato plants looove calcium and magnesium as well. You can find a good organic supplement at any hydroponic store.

A good way to combat disease is to make sure the plant has good nutrient uptake, so that it can defend itself.

Good luck!

....I wonder what ever happened to the dude that was growing a tomato plant in pvc?

Whoa! They outlawed neem oil!!?? What the hell do they do for a neem plant?

reply to post by VoidHawk


First of all let me say you have a really good camera Secondly, it could be a plant virus. One thing you can do is mix hydrogen peroxide with epsom salts and run through your plant. This will pull out any viruses that may be attacking your plant if this is the case. it won't hurt if a virus is not your problem and as a matter of fact it is a good rule of thumb as preventive. The Hydrogen peroxide will however, kill any beneficial bacterias and fungus living in your root zone, so you will have to replace them.

Tomato plants also succumb to spider mites, but it doesn't look like you have any as they live under the leaves and suck the life right out of your plants and first sight of damage is definitely on the leaves not the stems like in your picture. You may want to check for scale...they live on the stems and are hard to detect. Do you have grasshoppers or the classis white butterflies? The white butterflies will lay very tiny eggs on your leaves and you can spot them (Larvae) with the naked eye if you look closely. Once the larvae hatch, they will grow into very big green caterpillars and are hard to find unless your whole plant is brown, then they stand out like a sore thumb!

Are you growing in soil? I grow all of my plants hydroponically, and could possibly be missing something due to the medium I use which is Perlite/Coco Coir...50/50 mix. By the way, if it's over 85 degrees where you live, I would not spray Neem Oil on my plants until dusk as the oil will surely burn your plant or what's left of it.

Hope some of this helps and good luck

ETA
By the way if it's a mold or fungi, then use a product called Serenade...it stinks to high hell, but it works. Use also at dusk if it's hot and dry where you live. For the spider mites use SM-90, it's corriander oil, add a little dish soap and lemon juice, they hate it. Although I must say, that doesn't look like spider mite damage at all.

Spider Mite Damage


(Red) Spider Mite Infestation


Spider Mites (Two Spotted)


You can only see these little parasites with a mag loop of 60% unless your eyes are trained. Dam, I hate those things. Look into thrips, root aphids, fungus gnats and their larvae which will be in the root zone, aphids, lacewings and whiteflies in the future. You can look up the images and cures on google. To find the root critters of course you will have to pull your plant up and look at the roots. You can do this if you know how and your plant MAY survive, but I doubt that particular plant will survive a transplant at this point

If it is mite infection
You can make a mix of coffee and washing up liquid and spray on

reply to post by ThePublicEnemyNo1


Yes epsom salts is also good for Mildew
2

Dish soap has been known to work, about 2ml in a spray bottle. So does rubbing alcohol, but can harm the plant if not diluted properly.

...What's up growers! ..Gotta love the growing community!

Originally posted by becomingaware
Dish soap has been known to work, about 2ml in a spray bottle. So does rubbing alcohol, but can harm the plant if not diluted properly.

...What's up growers! ..Gotta love the growing community!

edit on 20-8-2012 by becomingaware because: (no reason given)

Dish soap is good, but it won't kill any pest and that's a myth, it will just help in making them slide off. Unless you use dish soap as a "sticking agent" with some other organic pesticide will the process actually eradicate whatever bug.... if it's a bug, causing that damage.

ETA
What up grower

reply to post by VoidHawk


By the way....what are you feeding your plant? Maybe it's just a nutrient deficiency like some of the other posters stated.

Originally posted by ThePublicEnemyNo1
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

By the way....what are you feeding your plant? Maybe it's just a nutrient deficiency like some of the other posters stated.

Havent fed them anything. The compost claimed it was good for growing tomato's and the pots contain a lot of compost so I assumed the plants would be fine. Do you think I should add something?

reply to post by VoidHawk

Tomato plants are heavy feeders.
I feed mine twice a month when I remember....keeps the plants as healthy as possible to prevent disease and bugs.

In the US we have an organic fertilizer for tomatoes....but I would guess an organic veggie fertilizer would work too.
As for the pictures....not something I've encountered.

reply to post by ThePublicEnemyNo1


Yeah I've heard that its a good wetting agent, but I've never done it because I was afraid it would kill my beneficials. Ive used wet betty before but didn't really see the need for it after a while. Molasses works well enough for me and it has appropriate sugars. That or just disturb the top soil a little bit.

I was thinking more along the lines of using it to kill spores not pests.

...To the op, yeah you need to use at least a light nutrient. If your going all organic try worm castings and seabird or bat guano. When the plant is flowering or producing fruit they need phospates and potassium.