How important are diseases on tomatoes?
Several diseases affect tomatoes. After tomatoes have been grown in a garden for several successive seasons, leaf spots (early blight and Septoria leaf spot) usually appear and can start to become significant by mid-August. In addition, fruit rots can appear following dry weather (blossom end rot), and when fruit ripen (anthracnose). What diseases can affect tomatoes? Listed below are four groups of diseases that most frequently occur on tomatoes. Symptoms are described briefly. Colored pictures of disease symptoms can be seen in the publication Identifying Diseases of Vegetables. Wilts Plants wilt and may die. There are several different causes. Special soil fungi (Verticillium and Fusarium) are a common cause of wilt. Walnut trees also are associated with tomato wilting; a toxin from walnut roots causes this problem. These wilts also cause internal woody stem tissue to turn brown. Control: Avoid garden areas where tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes, strawberries, and brambles wer
