Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
1janetta0

curling leaves-photos

1janetta0
17 years ago

Anyone have any ideas about this? I posted a message last week titled 'curly top virus' but didn't have the photos. The leaves seem to curl worse when it's warmer. In the mornings it's not quite as obvious.

thanks

Janet

Image link:

Comments (5)

  • jean001
    17 years ago

    Perhaps herbicide damage? The usual suspect is Roundup or other weed killer containing glyphosate.

  • torquill
    17 years ago

    Are all of the tomatoes showing it? Did they all seem to get it within a week of each other, or was it a gradual one-here, one-there progression over a couple of months?

    Is there any possibility they might have caught a little herbicide drift, or gotten grass clippings (or compost) laced with Weed&Feed?

    --Alison

  • 1janetta0
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    It seems like it's been a one here one there thing. I have used no herbacides. A few months before planting I dug compost into the beds. Compost was made of my yard cuttings (lawn too, but no weed 'n feed. Lawn was fed with Scott's 'feed' only and this composted for quite awhile) and horse manure. Alfalfa and oat hay feed horses. Could the manure have not composted enough and the soil is too hot? Leaves aren't burned at all. Soil temp is between 74 and 82 yesterday around 5:00pm. There are 5 raised beds with the bed having the least composted manure (not fresh)at around 82 degrees. The tomatoes in that bed are not quite as bad as some of the others. They are all heirloom varieties. My weather conditions fluctuate, lots of wind, cooler nights and the last week has been quite warm during the day. It's foggy this morning and they don't seem quite as bad as they did yesterday late afternoon. I've some fruit set. Oh, the only thing I've been spraying with is Neem. The Green Light brand. I have some white flies and for the last 4 years I've had psyllids. A few aphids here and there but they hang mainly on the roses.(so far)
    Thanks Allison,
    Janet

  • torquill
    17 years ago

    It wouldn't be root temperature, I think, but if it is it should gradually improve as the beds settle. 82 degrees is kind of warm but not enough to damage roots.

    I guess the best thing you can do is keep an eye on them, and pull them if they show a steady stunting and decline. If a couple end up looking like curly top as time goes on, and clearly aren't growing normally -- balled-up leaves and corkscrewing stems -- you'll know that the other ones showing earlier symptoms need to be pulled too. You'll just need to balance your hope of keeping the affected plants against what you think your chances are of eliminating the presence of the virus in your yard.

    Sorry we don't have a better answer for you.

    --Alison

  • 1janetta0
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thankyou for your help Allison!! At this point the balled up leaves and corkscrewed stems have me worried. I hate pulling plants but I guess if I want to save the healthy ones.....
    I still have some late seedlings that are still in one gallon pots that I didn't have room for. Looks like maybe I'll have room.
    We'll see how the season goes.

Sponsored
Kitchen Kraft
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars39 Reviews
Ohio's Kitchen Design Showroom |11x Best of Houzz 2014 - 2022