plants wilting

[martilee]

[align=left]My tomoato plants look healthy - bushy with plenty of buds and fruit, but suddenly will die, the leaves wilt and start to look dried out and then within a day or 2 the whole plant is dead. HELP![/align]

[Newt]

Hi Martilee,

There are several diseases that cause tomato wilt.* Take a look here to see which one fits the symptoms you see.
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publi...es/sp370-C.pdf

Newt

[martilee]

[align=left]Yes, thank you, I found a similar site yesterday, but my plants are (supposedly) a variety that is resistant to Fusarium wilt, nematodes and Verticcilium wilt. There are no noticeable insects on the plants nor are there any spots on the leaves - they just die. We've been pulling the dead plants as soon as we see they are beyond help, but we left the last one (hoping a new spray would help), and the green tomotoes that were on the plant when it died are turning red! This is the craziest thing I've ever seen; are those tomatoes safe to eat?[/align]

[thanrose]

You'll have to read your spray's label. I'd say not, but it's possible that you have one of the more benign sprays like maybe insecticidal soap?

Most sprays have a fairly long period where you can not pick crops to eat. It will vary with the chemicals. Some stuff like Bacillus Thuringiensis won't hurt you, but others will leave at least a trace of the poison in the fruits and leaves. Washing well does not remove the poison. Letting the fruit/veg sit in the house for the waiting period is also not an answer: the poison has no where to go and will likely remain in the part that is picked.

[Newt]

Martilee, I'm wondering where you live.* It could be something in your soil and a soil test might be a good idea.* As to whether or not the now ripening tomatoes are edible, I would say it depends on two things.* The first would be to know what the problem is and the second would depend on what and when you sprayed.* I do find it a bit frustrating that you mention your plants are supposed to be resistant to wilt but you don't say what variety, and you sprayed something on them without telling us what it is and want to know if the fruit is edible.* Without ALL the info it's impossible to answer your questions.* I would say to consider contacting your local extension service if you are in the US.* They might be able to help.

Newt

[martilee]

[align=left]They are Better Boy VFN (of which one has started to wilt but may hang in there and the rest look ok) and Beefmaster*VFN (of which 2 have completely died, one is dead with ripening tomatoes on it, and one looks like it has wilted alot but we may have arrested the wilt with the insecticide (which is a permethrin concentrate made by Hi Yield). I live in Georgia and we had problems with nematodes years ago,*so this ground has lain fallow for 3 years, and we bought the nematode resistant varieties. If you have ANY other suggestions, I'm all ears. I will keep you posted on whether the permethrin works or not for others who may have a similar problem![/align]

[ChuckBartok]

[align=left]Regarding question on green tomatoes turning red:[/align]
[align=left]Every year we pull plants with green tomatoes, hang then in barn and eat as they ripen.[/align]
[align=left]Not as good as total Vine-ripe but better than store shipped tomatoes.[/align]
[align=left]Also we have a friend who dies for Green tomatoes, so we end up with some Thanksgiving extra Cash[/align]
[align=left]We enjoy our tomatoes[/align]

[align=left]*[/align]

[Newt]

Martilee, did you read the descriptions from that site I gave you for Southern Blight and Bacterial Wilt?* If nothing else fits I think you should have a soil test done.

I'm wondering why you used permethrin if you didn't see any pests.* It's not meant to treat diseases, but is used as a pesticide.* You can read about it's toxic effects here.
http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pest...report/cox.htm

Newt