The Garden of Eaden: COMMON TOMATO PESTS AND DISEASES

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Tomatoes are one of the most popular edible plants grown in the world today. Unfortunately, due to their south American origins they can be prone to a certain amount of damage from various pests and diseases. Below are the most common tomato pests and diseases you are likely to come across.

Most tomato fruit problems are caused by irregular watering. Usually physiological the most common of these are 'Blossom End Rot' (dark patch at the base of the fruit - more common if the plant is grown in a growbag), 'Blossom Drop' (flower bud falls off), 'Dry Set' (fruitlet growth stops when the fruit is the size of a match-head), and 'Fruit Splitting'. The key is to give the plant an even, regular amount of water. Try also to water around the base of the plants, misting the flowers will also help to increase the humidity and give better pollination results. Too much water too late tends to be the problem in most cases, especially with plants grown in pots and growbags.

Other problems tend to be caused by too much direct sunlight. While tomatoes have to have lots of sun to grow well, to much can cause blotches, scalds or spots on the developing fruit, even the dreaded 'Greenback' is caused by too much sunlight. If you find that this is a problem with your tomato crop, increase the 'potash' in the plants' feeding regime and use fleece or shading as a cover in the hottest part of the day.

As with most plants, look out for green and white fly - both can spread viruses. Spray with a recommended proprietary spray as soon as any pest is noticed. Luckily, any seed collected will not carry viruses, but mottling, leaf distortion and stunted plant growth will be caused by virus tranfered by sap sucking pests. They can quickly spread viruses through your whole crop so keep an eye for them and treat accordingly

If leaf yellowing starts on the older leaves and moves upwards it may not be a virus but a deficiency of magnesium. It is common, but a general feed is unlikely to help. Use a multi tonic or special magnesium feed if required.