Black Spots on Leaves. Cannot identify.
 

I noticed some black spots on the leaves of my Sungold today. It is affecting the older leaves on the plant. The plant otherwise looks healthy. I have been looking at images of disease and I am having trouble identifying the issue. It looks similar to bacterial spot or maybe tomato spotted wilt virus, but still pretty different from the images that I have seen. Can anyone help me identify this issue? Thanks!

Looks like bacterial spot to me. But i am no expert. I would spray immediately with a liquid copper and follow up in a few days with daconil.

TSWV would show more spots, plus the plant would be stunted, with some weird leaf curl, along with purple-bronze.

Blow on flowers (any flowers) and wait a few seconds, thrips usually come out and investigate when a large mammal threatens to eat them.

As suggested above, give it some Cooper and see how it does.

Bacterial spot, or Septoria. Like the others said liquid copper fungicide at 1/2 of the weakest recommended strength will do the trick with both bacteria and fungi.

I wonder if it could be pest damage. The lighter spots look like thrips or other tiny pests feeding history to me.. the dark spots could be the oldest feeding areas that are necrotic after being sucked dry. One of your pics the dark parts look sunken as in tissue is collapsed and gone.

Mind you I am no expert in disease either, could be something I've never seen.

I have a similar issue on two of my plants, looks similar to yours but more spots. Marsha- these are better pictures of what's going on. I did treat with copper today so I hope they make it! I saw no evidence of thrips on any of my plants....

Thanks for the advice! I sprayed with copper tonight. I will let you know how it goes. I am worried this is because I have a smallish garden right up against a building, so I cannot really rotate the location of my tomatoes.

Spartanburg, yours are not similar since they are on the younger leaves. Yours are actually quite suspicious of TSWV, but I think you are more familiar with that disease then me.

To OP: I am almost certain it's not septoria, I can't really say about bacterial though, I haven't seen any 'live'. Disease symptoms can differ on certain type of tomato leaf types compared to the standard. My first impression was deficiency. Are the older leaves equally affected or are the ones exposed to the sun mostly?

@spartanburg: Cheetarah + curling + sudden onset = tswv.

I've seen some extremely susceptible plants like yours, and others that can handle it.

If it is a young plant with TSWV which it appears to be then it will not survive long. If it stops growing vigorously and new growth starts looking stunted and discolored over the next week or so then you might as well pull it and replace it. If on the other hand it keeps setting new fruit and growing just let it continue. I have had large healthy plants continue producing for quite a while after getting TSWV; but not often.
Good luck.

Bill

Neither one of those are Septoria in my opinion. Spartanburg's is definitely not Septoria. Septoria is the only leaf disease I get so I am familiar with that one.


My cure for Septoria is pair of scissors and some sunshine. Never lost a plant to Septoria and never sprayed for it. That may or may not work with other leaf disease. :)

[QUOTE=Spartanburg123;701588]I have a similar issue on two of my plants, looks similar to yours but more spots. Marsha- these are better pictures of what's going on. I did treat with copper today so I hope they make it! I saw no evidence of thrips on any of my plants....[/QUOTE]

Much better picture. Not Septoria. Septoria has yellowing around the spots, so does bacterial.This is almost definitely TSWV. I am so sorry.:no::panic:

If I was you, I would put out some yellow sticky traps right at transplant, every 5 feet.Thrips are very attracted to the yellow.

[QUOTE=ginger2778;701665]Much better picture. Not Septoria. Septoria has yellowing around the spots, so does bacterial.This is almost definitely TSWV. I am so sorry.:no::panic:

If I was you, I would put out some yellow sticky traps right at transplant, every 5 feet.Thrips are very attracted to the yellow.[/QUOTE]

With years of experience with TSWV I can say that the thrips do tend to attack the lighter more yellow/green plants than the dark green ones. That being said they will still get any tomato plant just that they seem partial to the lighter shaded foliage on some or possibly those varieties are more susceptible.

Bill

Thanks folks- that’s a shame. Both plants are beautiful and have set numerous fruit. I will pull the when I return. I lost two last year, and they happened to be in the same spots!

Ugghhhh!!!!!! What a shame !

Found my 1st TSWV infected tomato plant Sunday morning. It was a young seedling that didn’t even have blooms on it yet. I only planted it last week. I hope but doubt it will be the last. I usually lose between 3 and 20 plants to TSWV each year.

Bill

Sorry to hear that Bill. I pulled both plants (Zena's Gift and one other PL plant) today. Should I replant in the same holes, or can I be sure that it's only transmitted through insects (thrips)?

[QUOTE=Spartanburg123;702131]Sorry to hear that Bill. I pulled both plants (Zena's Gift and one other PL plant) today. Should I replant in the same holes, or can I be sure that it's only transmitted through insects (thrips)?[/QUOTE]

There is no problem with planting in the same hole. If I had a replacement plant the hole would already be filled; but as it is it will just mean a bit more space between two of the plants. I have already picked over 50 tomatoes so far and with the rain every day for the last 10 days there has been little sun so when this weather finally moves out I am expecting a rush of ripening fruit when the weather here returns to the normal steamy, hot and sunny conditions. I may also experience a real upsurge in disease and insect activity because spraying for foliage diseases has been rather useless lately.
Hope you don't see any more TSWV this season.

Bill

Thank you Bill- I always learn a great deal from you. And we aren't that far apart climate-wise. Now I have to go to Piedmont Feed and Seed and pick out two babies to plant there- wonder what I should get? It's so addictive, tomato gardening... :)

[QUOTE=Spartanburg123;702230]Thank you Bill- I always learn a great deal from you. And we aren't that far apart climate-wise. Now I have to go to Piedmont Feed and Seed and pick out two babies to plant there- wonder what I should get? It's so addictive, tomato gardening... :)[/QUOTE]

This late in the season I used to have really good luck with Big Beef. It always did good for me during the heat of the summer and fall. My favorites for this late planting are some of the black varieties like Spudakee, JDs Special C Tex and ISPL. I also have found a few others that do well in the heat of the summer like Pruden's Purple, Arkansas Traveler, and 1884.

Bill

[QUOTE=b54red;702334]This late in the season I used to have really good luck with Big Beef. It always did good for me during the heat of the summer and fall. My favorites for this late planting are some of the black varieties like Spudakee, JDs Special C Tex and ISPL. I also have found a few others that do well in the heat of the summer like Pruden's Purple, Arkansas Traveler, and 1884.

Bill[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestions! The pickin's were slim at the feed store, but I picked up an Anna Russian heart plant, as well as a Kellogg's Breakfast. Can't go wrong with those!:D

Wow, score! I have never seen varieties like that locally. Very lucky to find Pruden's Purple and Box Car Willie this year. Usually it is only the most common heirlooms, like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple.

What do y'all think?
 

Theses are Early Girls. I started noticing this discoloration a few days ago, mainly on older, lower leaves. The tops are still looking healthy and putting on new growth...they are almost 6 ft tall. I have noticed more aphids this year and those tiny little white fly-looking things...

I get this same thing most years when the hard heat sets in. I just prune off the affected leaves and go on. It doesn't seem to have affected the fruit at all.[ATTACH]82021[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]82022[/ATTACH]

Looks like Early Blight.

Bill

Yes, early blight is my guess as well. Spray with daconil as soon as you can.

Early blight for sure. Daconil is a preventive but won't do much for an active infection. Use copper spray at 1/2 of the weakest recommended strength, and avoid spraying the blossoms. Spray after you have trimmed off infected leaves.
Therefore fly lookjng things are probably whiteflies, and they are trouble. That's how tomato plants get TYLCV,and its incureable plus the whitefly feeds on yhe infected plant then gives the virus to the next one, so if you get it you have to pull the plant immediately. I use yellow sticky traps put out every 5 feet and I don't have issues with whiteflies anymore. They are strongly attracted to the yellow color.

If you have had this same issue for years and your tomatoes did fine with just trimming the affected leaves, makes sense to me to keep doing just that :)


The White Flies if you have them need to be taken care of

[QUOTE=seaeagle;703602]If you have had this same issue for years and your tomatoes did fine with just trimming the affected leaves, makes sense to me to keep doing just that :)


The White Flies if you have them need to be taken care of[/QUOTE]

I agree with this.

What happens when you spray the Blossoms with Draconil?

[QUOTE=tryno12;703623]What happens when you spray the Blossoms with Draconil?[/QUOTE]

I don't know, I don't use it. Copper stunts blossom growth, they fall off, but very light mist of copper accudentally falling wont hurt, just a direct spray will. This was something I learned the hard way.:?!?: