RE: [tomato] Tomato Blight reply

Pete (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Tue, 14 Dec 1999 09:38:22 -0500

I never read that either Marge, here is another answer I got:

>>Peter-
Although there are great dangers in internet diagnosis using pictures alone,
the symptoms you illustrate are very typical of a fairly new viral disease
of tomato known as tomato yellow leaf curl.  The symptoms you describe also
fit the expected syndrome for this disease.  It is transmitted by
whiteflies.  Check out the information on the UF site:

     tomato yellow leaf curl

This disease made its way into Florida from the Caribbean in 1997.  The
silverleaf whitefly vector has been a real pest in its own right, but the
added insult of transmitting geminiviruses makes it one of the most damaging
crop pests around.  I hope the link to the UF page works, but if not, if you
will send me a mailing address, I can send you some literature with color
illustrations.  Unfortunately, once a plant gets infected, there is nothing
you can do to cure it.  Early infections are more damaging than infections
on older plants.

On future tomato crops,  watch that whitefly population very carefully and
use an insecticide such as Safe-T-Cide or Admire at the first sign of
infestation.

Good luck,
Tim Schubert


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-tomato@GlobalGarden.com
[mailto:owner-tomato@GlobalGarden.com]On Behalf Of margaret lauterbach
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 8:14 AM
To: Tomato@GlobalGarden.com
Subject: RE: [tomato] Tomato Blight reply


At 03:54 PM 12/13/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>Here is another reply I just received:
>
>>>It looks suspiciously like a virus, but could also be a nutritional
>problem,
>particularly micronutrients.  If it is a virus, it is probably whitefly
>transmitted.  If this is the case, there is nothing that can be done for
the
>plants now.  In the future, you would have to keep the plants free of
>whiteflies.  Why not assume that it is nutritional, however-- this is
>something you can do something about now.  Apply a foliar nutritional spray
>that includes iron, manganese, and zinc.  Because these plants are
>indeterminate based on the photos, they are more prone to nutritional
>stress.  Commercial growers are having a lot of trouble with a virus right
>now, called tomato yellow leaf curl.  Good luck .>>
>
>Ken Pernezny
>
Do you have a printed source for your comment that indeterminate tomato
plants "are more prone to nutritional stress?" Thank you, Margaret L