# What's wrong with this tomato plant?



## LBK_419 (Jul 25, 2018)

We are on day 7 of 107 degree heat.
This plant was fine until this evening. It is now drooping. Yesterday it was perfectly fine. It has had the same amount of drip irrigation as the ones beside it (see attached photos) and the soil under the mulch is moist but not soupy if that makes sense. The last watering was this morning. There are no spots or dry areas on the leaves. Any ideas?


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

If it's getting enough water in the soil, either something damaged the stem by boring through it and it's not able to move that water to the leaves, or it's a bacterial/fungal issue. Personally , if it doesn't recover , or recovers and then does the same thing again when it gets hot, I'd dispose of it away from the rest of the tomatoes.


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## LBK_419 (Jul 25, 2018)

@j4c11 
Thank you.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

I had something similar happen before I knew to keep tomatoes away from black walnut trees. They secrete a chemical that messes with other plants. Any chance you have a similar problem?


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## LBK_419 (Jul 25, 2018)

BobLovesGrass said:


> I had something similar happen before I knew to keep tomatoes away from black walnut trees. They secrete a chemical that messes with other plants. Any chance you have a similar problem?


@BobLovesGrass 
Not that I know of. No trees around


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## dicko1 (Oct 25, 2019)

I've given up on tomatoes because every single plant I stick in the ground does this. No matter where I plant on my property, it always wilts during the heat of day, recovers at night, and keeps wilting until it dies. Pumpkin plants do the same thing. If it is a disease, I dont know if it would affect both tomatoes and pumpkins.

There is such a thing as tomato "water wilt" where overwatering causes the roots to rot and thus the plant cant take up enough water during high temperatures. Do a Google search for the term and see if any of the provided solutions work for you.


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## LawnSolo (Jul 17, 2018)

I'm having the exact same problem and it just started this year.

I've learned it was lack of calcium and magnesium so I came up with several YT videos where they dissolve regular Tums calcium tablets into water and do foliar spray along with planting one or two Tums next to the plants. This is so it's fast acting calcium rather than egg shells.

I also sprayed Epson salt (for magnesium) with water and sprinkled a little bit around the plants.

So far some tomato plants showed signs of relief and also got greener but not 100% too early to call.


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## Saint Louisan (Jul 31, 2019)

I'd check and make sure the dripper isn't clogged. Beyond that they all look perfectly healthy, that middle one looks like a producer.

If it looks healthy in the morning I'd say its just the way that variety acts when the temps get high. I grow different varieties and some handle the heat better than others, some keep producing in cool temps..?

I've seen plants in my garden look the same way before sundown, kind of wilted from the heat. Same way I feel sometimes


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## LBK_419 (Jul 25, 2018)

@****o1 @LawnSolo @Saint Louisan 
Thank y'all for responding.
I found out what it was... After digging under the soil, there were two main trunks. One of them had broken almost in half. Maybe the wind? I cut it out and watered the remaining one with superthrive. It looks much better this morning.


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## LawnSolo (Jul 17, 2018)

LBK_419 said:


> @****o1 @LawnSolo @Saint Louisan
> Thank y'all for responding.
> I found out what it was... After digging under the soil, there were two main trunks. One of them had broken almost in half. Maybe the wind? I cut it out and watered the remaining one with superthrive. It looks much better this morning.


Nice!
Is Superthrive the real deal? I have been reading and watching videos about it but never a good conclusion.


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## LBK_419 (Jul 25, 2018)

LawnSolo said:


> LBK_419 said:
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> > @****o1 @LawnSolo @Saint Louisan
> ...


I've never been one to buy "snake oil" but a local Walmart had it on clearance for $1 bottle last year so I stocked up. I use it on my vegetables and flowers and lawn and I think there is definitely something to it. It certainly causes plants to bloom more for some reason.


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## LawnSolo (Jul 17, 2018)

LBK_419 said:


> LawnSolo said:
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> 
> > LBK_419 said:
> ...


Interesting. I know it's used mostly for plants under stress when re-potting, etc.


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## Riot (Aug 25, 2020)

It seems to be the extreme heat. I'm in Southern California and our tomato plants have been doing the same thing in high heat. I've been watering 2-3 times a day and they seem to bounce back. They're also in the shade until about 12pm. When it's in the 90s, I've noticed that they're completely fine. Anything higher than that and they start to droop.


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## SeanBB (Jul 11, 2020)

@LBK_419 If your tomato plant looks like that at the end of the day but bounces back in the morning it is just normal heat stress. HOWEVER, that looks a little more than normal. I would pull back the mulch and see if it is getting adequate watering. If your soil was underwatered it may be hydrophobic a bit and shed the water you are giving it. Once checked out, you can add a bit more mulch. Tomatoes should be fine with that heat, but many will wilt mid-day. I second @Riot


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## Necrosis (Jul 12, 2018)

Mine did this and I moved them out of direct afternoon sun into the shade and they perked up in 10 minutes. Maybe try a shade cloth?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Necrosis im pretty sure that plant is dead after the winter.


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## Necrosis (Jul 12, 2018)

&#129318;‍♂ Well it is there for future readers I suppose.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

https://migardener.com/what-does-tomato-plant-leaf-curl-mean/


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