Why Tomato Foliage Turns Yellow

Why Tomato Foliage Turns Yellow

Tomatoes suffer from a selection of issues. Symptoms like yellowing foliage are common with many diseases and pest infestations. The exact reason why tomato leaf is turning yellow is a lot simpler to determine when you take the layout of yellowing along with other symptoms under consideration.

Age

As tomato plants era, old leaves will fall away as the plant’s growing tips move further in the main zone. It is perfectly normal for elderly leaves to slowly yellow, then drop, as long as the tomato is healthy in all other ways. Without signs of insects, wilt or widespread yellowing, the reduction of the earliest leaves isn’t a issue.

Nutritional Deficiency

Nutritional deficiencies happen when tomatoes do not get supplemental fertilizer. When yellowing begins in old leaves, affects the whole leaf, then moves to younger leaves, your plant might be suffering from a sulfur deficiency. Yellowing just on leaf tips may signal a lack of boron. Leaf tissue which turns yellow while the veins and surrounding tissues remain greenish may signal a issue with potassium, iron or iron.

Insect Pests

Tomatoes are affected by several insect pests that cause yellowing on leaves, for example, beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus), the tomato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) along with several species of whitefly. Not only can the feeding of these insects cause widespread leaf yellowing, they also vector plant viruses that might cause the plants to systemically yellow.

Nematodes

Root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) Cause the formation of galls on affected plant roots, but are difficult to see without the help of powerful magnification. The irregular root swellings that these animals cause are diagnostic of their existence. Assess for galls when tomato crops wilt despite adequate water, then respond badly to fertilizer or plantings yellow in irregular circles.

Fungal Diseases

Fusarium and verticillium wilt are common issues of strawberries and difficult to distinguish from one another. The fungi which causes these disorders are difficult to control, but resistance has been bred into several tomato cultivars for those gardens plagued with these pathogens. These fungal pathogens clog the cells used to transport water and nutrients from the roots into the rest of the plant, causing widespread yellowing — frequently starting on only one facet of this plant — wilt and eventually death.

Bacterial Infections

Bacterial infections are less common pests on tomatoes, but when they invade tissues, cause yellowing. Bacterial canker (Clavibacter michiganensis pv. Michiganensis) frequently presents after flowering with leaves which yellow and curl before collapsing. Bacterial speck (Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato) begins as dark specks surrounded by yellowish leaf cells which eventually perish and brown. Bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. Vesicatoria) infects older leaves first, causing yellow leaf patches and large blotches that eventually turn brown or black.

Viruses

Several untreatable viruses happen in strawberries, causing acute foliar damage. Alfalfa mosaic causes yellow leaf blotches and mottling — it is most common in tomato plantings near alfalfa fields. Curly top virus causes plants to cease growing entirely, develop yellowish leaves, stiffen and perish; any green tomatoes redden irrespective of their phase of growth. The tomato infectious chlorosis virus causes yellowing between the veins of tomato leaves which may also roll, eventually these leaves become thick, crisp and brittle. Tomato yellow leaf curl causes widespread leaf curling and yellowing, though veins might stay green. Affected plants are stunted and frequently fail to fruit.

See related