I'm growing toms in the tunnel for the first time, and since I started late brought in half a dozen Roma plants. It's been rather cold lately, but now the plants have started to get brown blotches on their lower leaves. The leaves then start to yellow and finally begin to rot - so I've started to remove them.
Is this underwatering? Overwatering? Blight? (A bit early, surely!) I'll take some photos if it doesn't sound straightforward.
Cheers in advance!
Tomato trouble
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hedgewizard
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Muddypause
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It does sound like the blight I had a few years ago. How far advanced are the plants - it will affect the fruits too; they begin to ripen, and then go brown and rotten.
But I just looked it up in my Bumper Asda Book of Garden Pests And Problems, which lists 9 pages of problems for tomato plants. The most likely sounding are blight and possibly magnesium dificiency, of which it says:
Blight. Caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. May attack established plants. Not common in the greenhouse. Symptoms: brown areas on the leaves; dark streaks on the stems; reddish-brown marbled patches on green fruit, which later shrivel and become useless. Control: reduce humidity in the greenhouse by ventilating and giving a little heat; spray regularly with fungicides suitable for potato blight such as Maneb, Mancozeb (commercially) or Zineb, especially if the blight is present on potatoes nearby.
Magnesium deficiency. May occur at all stages. Symptoms: yellowing and browning between the veins on lower leaves which later curl up and die. The condition progresses up the plant. Control: spray with a sloution of magnesium salts (Epsom salts) at 20g per litre (3oz per gallon) and repeat at intervals; reduce potash fertilizer applications temporarily, as potash aggrevates the condition.
But I just looked it up in my Bumper Asda Book of Garden Pests And Problems, which lists 9 pages of problems for tomato plants. The most likely sounding are blight and possibly magnesium dificiency, of which it says:
Blight. Caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. May attack established plants. Not common in the greenhouse. Symptoms: brown areas on the leaves; dark streaks on the stems; reddish-brown marbled patches on green fruit, which later shrivel and become useless. Control: reduce humidity in the greenhouse by ventilating and giving a little heat; spray regularly with fungicides suitable for potato blight such as Maneb, Mancozeb (commercially) or Zineb, especially if the blight is present on potatoes nearby.
Magnesium deficiency. May occur at all stages. Symptoms: yellowing and browning between the veins on lower leaves which later curl up and die. The condition progresses up the plant. Control: spray with a sloution of magnesium salts (Epsom salts) at 20g per litre (3oz per gallon) and repeat at intervals; reduce potash fertilizer applications temporarily, as potash aggrevates the condition.
Stew
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Ignorance is essential
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hedgewizard
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