Tomato Problems

[ueacnaklp]

Hi, I have 3 tomato plants that I haven't used any chemicals on whatsoever. However, nearly every tomato on the plants are covered in small black spots that get bigger as the tomato grows. Now one plant was a grafted that was doing very well until the dog chewed off several branches and dug a big hole near the base of the stem. Since then the plant is losing all its leaves as they are browning and dying off and the stems are turning a browny colour instead of the nice green.

Thanks

 

[Ed Roland]

Bacterial diseases of tomato
Bacterial Diseases of Tomato Fact sheet

 

[bobt]

Sounds like Anthracnose to me. The black spots you describe are symptomatic for it. The spots start out as small round soft spots and progress to larger area with black centers. Kind of a fungus.

It happens mostly on ground that doesn't drain particularly well in wet periods.

A few years ago, I had planted about a dozen "Celebrity" tomatoes, and they were bearing heavily. It was a hot, wet, muggy summer. About a week before the maters were going to turn red, anthracnose hit them, and all the tomatoes finally dropped to the ground, and the plants died. I didn't get any canned tomatoes that year! Haha!

Bob