stem issues
 

Any clue what is causing the color on the stem?

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y245/tanagerzoo/frontnoleaves.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y245/tanagerzoo/frontleaves.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y245/tanagerzoo/flipside.jpg[/img]

Variety: Sara's Galapagos

It is the only plant (out of 30) showing these symptoms

Any black flecks on the leaves you might notice are caused by rust from the cage.

Nights have been 65 degrees. We've had a sudden turn to hot and humid (85-95) this week.

My garden is *very* prone to fungal disease and despite preventative daconil, heavy straw mulching, and careful watering, I am already showing signs of Early blight.

But I've never seen this stem coloration--any ideas? (crossing my fingers that it isn't a bacterial or viral condition).

Thanks!
Christine

Christine, I'm looking at the first pic and am not really sure what I am seeing -- part of it is green, part of it is that purple. Did you peel back part of the epidermis?

yes, I peeled it back looking to see how deep the color went. As you can see, it is just a thin layer of the epidermis.

I've been googling and googling and reviewing all the posted websites but I haven't seen anything remotely similar. The rest of the plant looks "normal" (knock on wood!). No wilting. Leaves are okay.

Although, I haven't had a recent soil test done, it just seems unlikely to me that it would be a mineral deficiency, but that's what I'm wondering. After a couple weeks of no rain, it has decided to go on a 3-4 day heavy rain period, so I think I oughta wait before I try throwing some fish fertilizer at it.

I wasn't sure if maybe it is a quirk of Sara's Galapagos, which may or may not be a true currant tomato.

Christine

I'm not sure what could cause that, but a spray with a fish or seaweed prep certainly wouldn't hurt.

Tomato spotted wilt virus can cause purple streaking of the stem, but it doesn't look anything like in your picture.

Hmmm, wonder if it could be a sort of anthocyanin (pigment) expression? Maybe Keith would know.