What Is Wrong With My Tomato Plant?

Tomato plant problems show up in the leaves, stems and roots of the plant.

Figuring out what is wrong with your tomato plant starts with observing where the problem is located. Leaves, stems and roots of the tomato plant each suffer from their own disease problems.

Leaves

Observing the color of tomato leaves will help determine if a plant is diseased.

If tomato leaves have yellow or brown spots, this is an indication of disease. A mottled appearance indicates a virus while yellow or purple lines can be a sign of nutrient deficiency. Physical damage to tomato leaves is a sign that there is a problem with insects.

Stems

Sores or splitting of tomato stems can occur when canker and blight problems exist. If the whole stem is rotting away from the top of the plant down, this is a sign of crown rot or timber rot.

Roots

If tomato seedlings are grown too close together, they can die from damping off.

Young tomato plants that die often suffer from "damping off," a fungal disease. Tomato plants that have a girdled stem along the soil line suffer from southern blight or phytophthora root rot.

References

• Tomato Gardening Guru: Tomato Problems & Prevention
• Texas A&M Agrilife Extension: Tomato Problem Solver