Tomatoes

This is just a reminder with the peculiar weather we have had lately with stretches of very high temperatures then cooler days and throw in the very heavy down pours we have had over the last few weeks, blossom end rot can become a real problem in tomatoes.

There have been some reports from growers and educators of several sets of tomato fruit with catfacing or that are deformed (Fig. 1). Catfacing results in fruit with deep indentations in the blossom end or fruit with significant distortions. It is thought to be caused by a problem during the formation of the flower that results in the fruit not developing normally. However, there is little information as to its exact cause. At times the first set of tomatoes in fields looked good, but the second, third and in some cases 4th sets are having problems in some fields. The problem is most probably due to the cool night temperatures we had 20-30 days ago in some areas.

This heat wave we have had this past week will have repercussions over the next few weeks as the flowers of several crops including cucurbits, peppers and especially tomato will not pollinate or fertilize properly to develop into fruit. Daytime highs of 90o F and above and nighttime lows only getting down to 70o F in much of the midAtlantic for the last week will cause blossom drop and fruit abortion in tomatoes.

Physiological Tomato Fruit Disorders

This has been a very wet period for most of us in the mid-Atlantic. Some fields have received repeated downpours of rain and have standing water while others have not gotten as much. But in almost all of the tomato fields I have found rain check (fig 1).

Tomato plants were transplanted on 7 May 2012 into black (grower standard), white or reflective plastic mulch.

An odd problem was seen in tomato plants being grown for harvest in a greenhouse that showed blister- or callus-like growths usually along veins that first appeared on the underside of older leaves (fig. 1). Leaves also showed unusual curling and other odd distortions on the top side of the leaf (fig. 2).

I have been seeing some ozone damage to cucurbits and oddly to tomatoes over the last 2 weeks or so, which is not unusual with the hot hazy conditions we are having. Ozone is the most common air pollutant in the eastern United States.

Rain check is the many, tiny concentric cracks that form on the shoulder of the fruit and these small cracks can expand over time into unsightly scabs.

Vegetable and Fruit News-2024 (Volume 15, Issue 8) Topics include Corky Root Disease in Tomatoes, Club Root Found in Brassica Crops, Rain check may become a problem in tomato fields, Rain Cracking in Gala Apples, Insect Scouting Tips, and UME and UMES Events