Re: [tomato] Leaves turning yellow from the ground up

Thomas Giannou (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Tue, 27 Jun 2000 17:22:44 -0700 

Dear T Wallace,

A couple of questions...  Is the foliage above those leaves quite thick so
that sun is not getting to those lower leaves?  Is it quite hot where you
are?  What kind of fertilizer did you apply to your plants?   Do all of the
leaves eventually turn yellow or just the lower leaves?  Does your soil
drain quickly?   Do the yellow leaves dry up?

Here's something you might want to try...  purchase some 5-1-1 fish emulsion
and dilute it back a bit from the manufacturer's recommendation and spray it
on your plants once a week to see if that elicits a change.

What kind of tomato plants do you have?

Another thought:   When tomato plants get quite large there may be more
nutrients routed to the growth parts of the plant... the upper folliage for
example.   It might be normal for those lower leaves to yellow out as
nutrients are going to the fruit and growth branches.  It may not be a
disease at all.  Try removing the yellow leaves if there are plenty of green
leaves above them.  That might help to also not attract in insects or have
fungal diseases start up on those weaker leaves.

Best Regards,
Thomas Giannou - zone 5


----- Original Message -----
From: "T Wallace" <twallace12@yahoo.com>
To: "tomato_list" <tomato@GlobalGarden.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2000 4:49 PM
Subject: [tomato] Leaves turning yellow from the ground up


> OK, this has happened for the second year in a row
> now.
>
> I have huge, healthy tomato plants. I'm growing them
> inside cylinders of chicken wire, and they seem to
> love that. We have lots and lots of blossoms and quite
> a few 1" green tomatoes growing.
>
> However, the leaves are starting to turn yellow,
> starting with yellow patches on green leaves, from the
> ground up. I've tried dusting them with a copper-based
> dust, but I'm not sure I see any improvement.
>
> They are weird-looking plants -- they look totally
> healthy on the top, but sickly toward the ground.
>
> I've been trying to research this problem. At first, I
> thought it was manganese deficiency, but in that case,
> the plants wouldn't be so huge, I think. I've read a
> little about fusarium, but I'm not sure that's it
> either. Can anyone help me understand this?
>
> Thanks,
> Todd
>
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