College ofAgriculture and Natural Resources
Isn’t six months enough?
• With planning and not that much more effort• Harvest up to 10 or more months in MD• Increase variety and flavor
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)• Self-pollinating, tender herbaceous perennial;
produced as an annual crop around the world.• Fruit is 95% water; flavor determined by free
sugars and acids, texture and growing conditions.• Optimal growth and development occurs when
mean daily temperature is 70-75 degrees F.; growth stops below 50 degrees F. Flowers and fruits may drop when day temperatures >90 degrees F. and night temperatures >75 degrees F.
• Produces adventitious roots along stem.• Growth habits vary –determinate, indeterminate,
patio, jointless.• “What’s the best tomato?” They all grow well in
MD!
Tomato is tops!
• 2001-2013 HGIC answered 1765 e-mail vegetable questions; 38% were for tomato.
– Vegetable abiotic plant problems: 53% tomato– Vegetable disease problems: 62% tomato– Vegetable insect problems: 30% tomato– Vegetable weed problems: 11% tomato
Some IPM tips…
• Prevent problems and increase satisfaction by picking at breaker to pink stage. Ripen indoors unrefrigerated.
• People don’t notice the start of foliar diseases.• “Wilt” (loss of turgor) is a misused descriptor.• Don’t suspect late blight unless warranted.• Disease resistance is variable (field vs. genetic).• Is it ok to plant in the same location? (common
question)
Pick these…
Tomato plant & pest problems that cause greatest yield loss
• Arthropods- spider mites, stink bugs• Diseases- foliar leaf blights (early blight,
Septoria, gray leaf spot), late blight, fusarium wilt
• Wildlife- mainly deer; also groundhog, squirrel• Abiotic- poor growing conditions, climate
change, blossom-end rot, catfacing, cracks/splits, pithiness
INSECTS AND MITES
Some effective organic insecticides
• Pyrethrins- controls or suppresses a wide range of insects (Pyganic- 1.4%)
• Neem extract – suppresses beetles and caterpillars
• Neem oil- insecticide and preventative fungicide
• Spinosad- controls beetles, caterpillars, flies, thrips
Some effective organic insecticides (cont.)
• Bacillus thuringiensis- controls young caterpillars; suppresses large caterpillars
• Surround- controls aphids, mites, caterpillars; suppresses bugs
• Hort oil- controls aphids, mites, soft-bodied immatures
• Insecticidal soap- suppresses aphids, mites, soft-bodied immatures
Lady bird beetles chow down on aphids
Tobacco hornworm
I’m feeling sluggish these days… and what’s with these hitchhikers?
The braconid wasps win!
Photo: Rosemary Noble
Brown and green stink bug (native) and fruit injury
Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB)
Photo courtesy: Susan Levi-Goerlich Photo courtesy: Jane Hayes
Eggplant leaves coated with Surround (kaolin clay)
Surround- kaolin clay
• 2006 research demonstrated significant flea beetle suppression in eggplant- may be effective against other pests.
• About $1 per lb. Rate: 1 cup/1 qt. water.• Spray when leaves are dry. Apply thoroughly to all
leaf surfaces. • Maintain white film coating on leaves; may take 2-3
applications. Re-apply if rainfall washes off white coating.
• Can be used up to the date of harvest.
‘Juliet’ has tough skin- suffers less BMSB feeding
Is it a problem? What can be done?
Climbing cutworm
Corn earworm a.k.a tomato fruitworm
Usually enter at stem end
Larvae mine and fold leaves and infest fruits.
Tomato pinworm
Spider mites love it hot and dry
Spider mites
Spider Mites• 8 legged, non-insect; active on leaf
undersides. Two-spotted and European red are primary pest species.
• Sucking mouthparts produce “stipples”; tiny bleached areas on leaf surface; leaves yellow and die
• Webbing is a sign of severe infestation • Wide host range; many vegetable plants• Thrive in hot, dry weather• Many quick generations each year
Organic Management
• Mites like it hot, dry, and dusty. Hose off plants to dislodge and annoy mites.
• Horticulural oil and insecticidal soap is most effective on eggs. May be used if leaves are not too damaged or hot to tolerate it.
• Excessive nitrogen fertilization increases mites• Mites will migrate from neighboring weeds, so
keep weeds supressed. Clean up garden residues.
PLANT DISEASES
Cultural control strategies• Grow resistant varieties.• Clean up and compost plant debris at end
of season.• Prune out injury; bag up badly infested
plants.• Plant lots of flowering plants to attract
beneficial insects.
Disease ID codes help you select resistant hybrid varieties
Totally Tomatoes
Early blight (fungal disease)- tomato
Advanced symptoms of early blight
Early blight- Alternaria solani• Principal foliar disease of tomato; also attacks
potato, eggplant; a cosmopolitan pathogen.• Splashes up to lower leaves and progresses up
plant; often appears with other leaf spot diseases.• First symptom is irregular brown lesions with
bulls-eye pattern and yellow halo.• Can spread rapidly with warm, humid weather
and defoliate plants.• Over-winters in crop debris, wooden stakes, and
in soil.
Organic management
• Cultivars vary somewhat in susceptibility.• Give plants more space; improved air
circulation.• Remove badly infected lower leaves.• Spray with fixed copper fungicide; other
organic sprays have not proven effective. Manzate (mancozeb) and Daconil 2787 (chlorothalonil) are chemical fungicides.
Septoria leaf spot… another foliar leaf spot disease
Cutting or pruning out suckers also increases air flow around leaves , reducing disease incidence.
Late blight – Phytopthora infestans
‘Iron Lady’ (resistant cultivar from Cornell breeding program) is available in 2013 from High Mowing Seeds.
Late blight fruit symptoms
Fusarium wilt of tomato
Fusarium wilt- brown streaking under stem epidermis; also visible in many cases on outside of stem.
Anthracnose- a fungal disease of ripe and overripe fruit. (Another reason to pick fruit at the “turning” stage).
ABIOTIC PROBLEMS
Frost/cold injury- leaf whitening, small gray/brown spots, or blotches
Phosphorous deficiency early in season due to cool soil and small root system
Edema- excessive soil moisture early in season, especially in containers.
Blossom drop due to environmental stress (usually high temp.). Photo courtesy: Jerry Brust, Ph.D.
Clopyralid herbicide injury
2,4-D herbicide injury
Blossom-end rot (nutritional disorder)
Epsom salt is NOT the answer.
Muskmelon leaf burned with pyrethrum and soap insecticide
“Catfacing”
Adventitious (aerial) roots
Physiological leaf roll (heat stress)
Concentric cracking
Radial cracking
Graywall (blotchy ripening); inside fruit walls are brown or black
Pithiness- excessive white tissue
Green shoulder
Uneven ripening
Zippering
Garden located next to large driveway that was resurfaced. Injury from petroleum products coming off “liquid asphalt cement”
Weird stuff…
ENJOY!
Resources
• Grow It! Eat It!http://www.extension.umd.edu/growit
– We have all types of practical food gardening tips and information. Check out our popular blog!
• Home and Garden Information Centerhttp://www.extension.umd.edu/hgic
– Here you will find factsheets, photos, and videos. You can also subscribe to the free monthly e-newsletter.
– We answer gardening questions 24/7…just click “Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts”
• Maryland Master Gardener Programhttp://www.extension.umd.edu/mg
– Consider becoming a trained MG volunteer!
This program was brought to you by the Maryland Master Gardener Program
Howard CountyUniversity of Maryland Extension
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