My tomatoes are starting to look a little sad, what's going wrong?
December 02, 2022
Early prevention methods are best to protect your plants from disease and keep them healthy. Stop overhead watering (water at the base), water regularly and thoroughly, and don’t crowd your tomatoes.
Plus use appropriate garden hygiene such as daily weeding, washing hands, and using clean tools.
Here are some common diseases and symptoms to watch out for
Septoria leaf spot
A fungus that causes small, circular spots with a greyish-white centre and dark edges.
Anthracnose
A disease that causes small, circular, indented areas on tomato fruits. Eventually rings around the original spot.
Fusarium & Verticillium wilt
A fungal disease that first appears in the top or lower leaves of the plant, causing them to lose colour and die back from the tips, eventually affecting the entire plant.
Early blight
Another fungus that causes leaf spots. Lower leaves show brown or dark spots with dark edges. The stem ends of the fruit may be affected, showing large, sunken black areas with concentric rings.
Late blight
Fungal issue that appears with fruit, stem and foliage displaying large, irregular-shaped brown blotches that quickly become rotten.
Mosaic blight
The virus shows mosaic markings of light green and yellow on the leaves and mottling on the fruits.
Bacterial diseases
These include bacterial spots, bacterial specks, and bacterial cankers.
All are slightly different but appear as spots on leaves and fruits.
Blossom end rot: Usually caused by a calcium deficiency or under/irregular watering. It starts as a water soaked looking stain at the blossom end of the fruit, that eventually becomes dark brown or black, dry, sunken and leathery