What Are the Causes of Red Wilted Leaves on a Tomato Plant?
Home gardeners who grow tomatoes may wonder why their tomato plant leaves suddenly change color and wilt. While tomatoes are generally easy to grow and low maintenance, there are a number of diseases that can affect the health of the plant and the fruit it bears. Spotted wilt is a damaging disease of tomatoes that often causes orange to red flecks in the leaves, along with sudden wilting. Does this Spark an idea?
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Description
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Tomato plants can develop a viral disease known as spotted wilt or tomato spotted wilt virus. This disease often affects tomato plants both in the greenhouse and in the landscape. There is currently no cure for spotted wilt in tomatoes. This virus can affect many types of plants such as tomato, pepper, potato, pea and eggplant. Many flowers and weeds are also affected by this disease as well.
Causes
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Spotted wilt virus is caused by the larval form of thrips, which infect the tomato plants during feeding on the leaves of the plant. Thrips typically use their piercing mouthparts to pierce plant leaves, extracting the sap. Controlling thrips in the garden is essential to preventing spotted wilt.
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Effects
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One of the first symptoms of spotted wilt in tomato plants is the development of orange or red flecks in young leaves. The lower and middle leaves are most often affected by this symptom, older leaves eventually turning from red to brown before dying. Discoloration may occur on the calyx and stems as well. Other symptoms include raised, yellow spots on green fruit and premature plant death.
Prevention and Control
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Avoid purchasing any tomato plants that appear stunted or abnormal in color. Select the most vigorous and healthy plants you can find. There are no varieties of tomatoes that are resistant to spotted wilt. Remove and destroy any tomato plants in your garden that develop symptoms of this diseases to prevent infection of other plants in your garden. Since many plants and flowers have spotted wilt, avoid planting tomato plants within 100 feet of flowers or weeds. Apply chemical controls for thrips.
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