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tomatoes

• Message 1. 

  Posted by snotrag (U14920610) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  my neighbour has a problem with her toms. They are in a greenhouse in a border constructed last year. The plants looked fine then all of a sudden collapsed. The stems appeared to be hollow and rotten yet leaves, flowers n fruit all looked ok. Help please!

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  Any chance of a photo of one of the collapsed stems? In cross-section? Or a description of exactly what you see inside the stem? There are various wilt diseases - Fusarium,
  Verticillium, etc - that are systemic, they strike the plant's internal system rather than, say, a blight that affects a plant externally. They're soil-borne diseases rather than air-borne.
  
  The symptoms sound like a wilt but it's hard to be sure without more info. Because the disease works from the inside to out, it doesn't immediately manifest on leaves, etc. I'd take one of the collapsed stems, cut off a length, place one end in a glass of water and watch for any discharge from the stem into the water.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by snotrag (U14920610) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  Thank you for replying.
  She has binned the offending plants but i did notice while we were talkind the stem dripped a gooey green deposit on the path. The stems felt to be hollow. They were a good size, about 3/4in in diameter.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  Mmmm. Pity, in this case, they were binned. A healthy tomato stem, broken, shouldn't immediately ooze anything. It's hard to be definitive in the absence of strong evidence but it sounds like a wilt. In which case, it's in the soil. It's not transferable between plants, though plants in the same soil are likely to develop it. Are there any plants left in the same soil?

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by snotrag (U14920610) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  yes there are another 3 plants. The tomatoes were fine last year but seem to remember she planted in pots with bottoms removed.They are straight into soil this year.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  Well, straight into the soil would make a big difference. I'll be interested to hear what happens to the other plants. As I said, it's very hard to be definitive without more detail, but tom plants that self-destruct from inside to out are usually victims of a systemic disease.

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by snotrag (U14920610) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  just been next door n managed to fish offending plant out of bin. The stem was green on the outside but hollow in the middle with a brown ringbetween the outside edge and the middle. Further up the stem looked normal with a solid green centre.There seemed to be an area at the bottom of the plant that had gone brown as though it was rotting. Hope this helps cos im not keen on fishing bins as a rule.
  Hope the others dont go the same way as there is a fair bit of fruit on them.
  Just a thought are the tomatoes safe to eat?

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  A-ha! The brown ring is certainly symptomatic of Fusarium Wilt. The brown ring is the plant's damaged vascular system, the means by which the plant transports water from the roots to the rest of the plant. FW damages the vascular system, hence no moisture is circulated, hence the wilting, and, ultimately, death.
  
  The tomatoes should be fine to eat. I'd suggest to your neighbour not to plant toms in that soil next year.

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by snotrag (U14920610) on Monday, 15th August 2011

  Thank you for your help. Glad it happened before she went away cos i'll be looking after the greenhouse and would have felt very guilty if it had happened on my watch!!!

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