Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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September 8, 2019 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,540
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stink bug resistance
I had a great harvest this year, but just as my big tomatoes started coming in, the stink bugs (leaf-footed bugs) arrived in force. This is the first year I've had them!! Some varieties were hit hard, some only a little, some not at all. Thick skin is one feature that confers resistance (Green Bee F1). It also might have to do with the exact location in the garden -- edges, what's nearby, etc.
Anyway, here are my observations so far, of some varieties. Lots of stink bug damage (large patches of green/black, or significant numbers of fruit affected): Rosa di Benevento Ananas Noire Black Krim Grandma Oliver's Chocolate (everyone is attacking this one!) Some damage (a single patch of damage on a few fruits, or some tiny spots of damage): Sweet Ozark Orange MatSu Express Moravsky Div Rose de Berne Orange Caprese No damage so far (fruits are pretty much perfect): Green Bee Brad's Atomic Grape Kodiak Brown German Johnson Benson Big Cheef Rebel Yell Indian Stripe Potato Leaf Cherokee Purple Marzano Fire Polaris |
September 8, 2019 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,540
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I just picked a bunch of tomatoes, and these are showing a little stink bug damage, alas:
Polaris Rebel Yell German Johnson Benson Tobolsk There were a half dozen adult leaf-footed bugs on one Sunsugar fruit, but so far the fruits look ok. I saw a cluster of juveniles on GJB. |
September 9, 2019 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
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The hardest hit in my garden:
Maglia Rosa- the #1 choice of Stinkbugs Velvet Red Those two are in the same area of garden, but other nearby varieties were less affected. Of the others in the area, some minor damage: Post Office Spoonful Bajaja Zero damage: Sungold. |
September 12, 2019 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Siena-Monteriggioni, Italy
Posts: 213
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It's been a terrible season with the stinkbugs over here. They were late in my garden but they did arrive. They seem to like three varieties that I grow this summer:
1) Japanese Black Trifele 2) Marzano Fire 3) Cuore di bue Luckily, JBT and MF were also the two most productive varieties for me this summer, so I could afford losing some tomatoes. I also read that we have a new stinkbug from Asia (brown/grey). It does the same damages as the European one (green) , but it's spreading faster. |
September 12, 2019 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: virginia
Posts: 733
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I guess I have the brown stinkbug. I called them green because they are green underneath but they have brown wings. I have seen one or two green ones though. I guess it is something you have to live with unless you want to go chemical and declare all out war, something I am not willing to do. Seem to be worse this year than ever and they are spreading from state to state every year.
Stink bugs generally reach high population levels in late August through September and early October in the mid-Atlantic. While only one generation per year is thought to occur in the mid-Atlantic region, with the warming climate we may start to see two generations in the southern parts of Maryland and in Virginia. https://extension.umd.edu/learn/comm...a-pentatomidae |
October 29, 2019 | #6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sunol, CA
Posts: 2,723
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This is great!!
I can now add "preferred by stinkbugs everywhere!" to the Marzano Fire packet labels. Quote:
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October 29, 2019 | #7 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b
Posts: 1,685
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Quote:
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October 29, 2019 | #8 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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I wonder if the tomatoes with anthocyanin skin (blue tomatoes) are resistant.
If you need a trap crop, try wonderberries. The light green stink bugs really loved mine in 2017 (but I haven't had major issues with them since; I saw just a few brown ones on them, this year, 2019, but I didn't see any on the tomatoes as far as I recall). In 2017, lots of green ones were on my wonderberries (but didn't seem to hurt my wonderberry harvest much), and later on in the season, they graduated to a few of my tomato plants (just a few of the plants, though). Stinkbugs weren't a pest at all in 2018. Same for before 2017. Last edited by shule1; October 29, 2019 at 06:05 PM. |
October 29, 2019 | #9 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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habitat_gardener mentioned Marzano Fire being one that wasn't affected yet.
Last edited by shule1; October 30, 2019 at 12:58 AM. |
October 29, 2019 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sunol, CA
Posts: 2,723
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I read her post to mean that they "liked" Marzano Fire.
Little foodie buggers... At least that's my spin! |
October 30, 2019 | #11 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Fred,
It's kind of surprising that two people would mention it independently in this particular thread; I think that's what's causing the confusion. Just to be sure we're on the same page, habitat_gardener said, "No damage so far (fruits are pretty much perfect):" and included Marzano Fire in the list. Fritz77 said, "They seem to like three varieties that I grow this summer:" and listed Marzano Fire as one. It looks to me like the stink bugs attacked Fritz77's a lot, but habitat_gardener's was unaffected (in September, anyway). Last edited by shule1; October 30, 2019 at 01:47 AM. |
October 30, 2019 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
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I have the brown stinkbugs and they attack everything, everywhere, every year. I also tell myself that it isn't worth it to keep the tomato plants up beyond August, but I do anyway. Risk/reward is about 80 percent damaged beyond salvage and tiny black bugs invade in large munbers and make a rotten mess after the stinkbugs have their way.
Next year there will be a thick skin tomato in my line up to save my sanity. - Lisa |
October 30, 2019 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: connecticut,usa
Posts: 1,150
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I never see them outdoors,only indoors.
I call them sloth bugs,they walk in slow motion but fly about 100mph. Saw one yesterday in the house. |
October 30, 2019 | #14 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sunol, CA
Posts: 2,723
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Thanks! I didn't notice HabitatGardner's classification!
Now my spin is "Stink Bugs love Marzano Fire, but it is Stinkbug resistant!!" I know.. not helpful... Quote:
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October 30, 2019 | #15 |
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Posts: n/a
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