Why is my tomato plant wilting and dying?
 

I can't figure out why this is happening to my Rutgers tomato plant. It's in an earthbox and was doing great until about a week or so ago when it just started to wilt and stop setting fruit. Not all the leaves/branches are wilting, just the majority, and the same plant on the other side of the box seems to be in a lot better shape. It's getting good water, I don't see any type of pest problem, and don't really see any bad spotting on the leaves either. Help.

Are they in the ground, raised beds, or pots?

It could be a number of things. It could be fusarium wilt or bacterial wilt and these would be my first guess. Either one is bad news for the plant or it could possibly be Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus; but it usually gives some indication on the leaves. There are other things that could cause it also like bad root knot nematodes but I have rarely seen them in a container or possibly something burrowing in the soil and eating or damaging the roots. It could be the soil is so packed or sodden that the roots are dying. Lots of things can go wrong with a tomato plant. There are even some tiny stem borers that can cause wilting and if you get them they are hard to spot because they enter through a tiny hole that is hardly noticeable without close inspection.

I hope you figure it out.

Bill

I was also thinking Bacterial wilt or fusarium, but those wouldn't be the issue if grown in pots, just like you said Bill.

Could it be the water is getting built up in the container? Many times the drainage isn't good and water gets sour-.

[FONT="Calibri"] brian1269, I have the EXACT same problem!!![/FONT]
[FONT="Calibri"]Earthboxes, draining fine, the other plant in the same box is healthy and green. I actually pulled my Anna Russian 2 days ago because it had been wilted for a week or more and I was worried it had bacterial wilt. I am starting a new thread w/ my photos - I actually cut the stems to test for bacterial wilt and came up negative. I am baffled.[/FONT]

Thanks for the responses.

[QUOTE=ginger2778;573746]Are they in the ground, raised beds, or pots?[/QUOTE]

It's in an Earthbox, which is a self-watering container.

[QUOTE=ginger2778;573756]I was also thinking Bacterial wilt or fusarium, but those wouldn't be the issue if grown in pots, just like you said Bill.[/QUOTE]

So those don't happen in containers? They are on my back deck, 10 feet off the ground.

[QUOTE=JoParrott;573759]Could it be the water is getting built up in the container? Many times the drainage isn't good and water gets sour-.[/QUOTE]

I think the water is good, the other plant is using it and it also gets flushed out some when the water timer kicks in twice a days and fills the reservoir.

[QUOTE=kerns125;573778][FONT="Calibri"] brian1269, I have the EXACT same problem!!![/FONT]
[FONT="Calibri"]Earthboxes, draining fine, the other plant in the same box is healthy and green. I actually pulled my Anna Russian 2 days ago because it had been wilted for a week or more and I was worried it had bacterial wilt. I am starting a new thread w/ my photos - I actually cut the stems to test for bacterial wilt and came up negative. I am baffled.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

Please let me know if you discover anything.

Brian, I note that your photos actually show diseased-appearing leaves with brown/yellow on them, while mine do not -- so I am no longer convinced we have the same problem. I am wondering whether you have blight or verticillium or fusarium wilt. Here is a good reference to look at for more info and photos:
[URL]http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomWlt/TomWiltKey.html[/URL]
Did you have cool/wet conditions recently?

Jen

Jen, early in June we had lows of 56, 49 and 56 for three consecutive days and that's the lowest it's been all month. Not much wet conditions lately.
You are correct, there are a handful of leaves that are yellow/brown near the base of the plant. I have included a good pic of them. Anyone recognize this? Like I said before, maybe about half the plant looks like it's wilting and the other half looks ok. Should I just take out the whole thing or is there any hope?

Brian, please, what did you put in to your earthboxes, what potmix, what ferts, what added?

Just the norm for an Earthbox: potting mix (Miracle Gro, second year in use), fertilizer, dolomite lime and some calcium nitrate once a week. Same thing I've always used to great success.

OK, then totally ruling out bact. wilt, and Fusarium unless....but maybe did a possible contamination of ground soil get into the EB? Like even a small amount, such as my yard man did when he tipped the weed whacker at an angle and native soil got flung on top of the EB plastic mulch. Then I went to clean it off by hosing, which put some right down the holes where the plants were placed. In my case, that gave me nematodes in an EB, which I used to think was impossible. You could get a fusarium or bact wilt that way. On the side where it is yellowing, can you cut the stem off, then lengthwise and post photos? If you can, try to place the stem cut through a yellowing area. Get a closeup if you can. I am looking for if there is any brown in the vascular tissue of the stem.

I lost a tomato plant to wilt two weeks ago - first time in 40 years I ever had this problem. Last week another next to the first bit the dust, and now two more adjacent plants are partly wilted on one side. This is the first time I planted in this location at my new wife's house and I have been losing sleep thinking that whatever was causing this wilting would spread to the remaining 44 plants.

All four plants are in one corner of the garden, and while examining the plants today I happened to look up and, lo and behold, there stood a tall black walnut tree about 45' from the affected corner of the garden. While I may lose a few more plants, I am so relieved that most likely only a small portion of the garden will be affected, and I can simply move the tomatoes deeper into the garden next year. I would rather have a walnut wilt that I can avoid than some nasty wilt disease spreading through my new garden.

TomNJVA

[QUOTE=kerns125;573778][FONT=Calibri] brian1269, I have the EXACT same problem!!![/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Earthboxes, draining fine, the other plant in the same box is healthy and green. I actually pulled my Anna Russian 2 days ago because it had been wilted for a week or more and I was worried it had bacterial wilt. I am starting a new thread w/ my photos - I actually cut the stems to test for bacterial wilt and came up negative. I am baffled.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

Bingo that is what I was thinking too.
Look like a case of root rot coming on.

Worth

[QUOTE=ginger2778;573936]OK, then totally ruling out bact. wilt, and Fusarium unless....but maybe did a possible contamination of ground soil get into the EB? Like even a small amount, such as my yard man did when he tipped the weed whacker at an angle and native soil got flung on top of the EB plastic mulch. Then I went to clean it off by hosing, which put some right down the holes where the plants were placed. In my case, that gave me nematodes in an EB, which I used to think was impossible. You could get a fusarium or bact wilt that way. On the side where it is yellowing, can you cut the stem off, then lengthwise and post photos? If you can, try to place the stem cut through a yellowing area. Get a closeup if you can. I am looking for if there is any brown in the vascular tissue of the stem.[/QUOTE]

This is about the best I could get. I cut off two different stems. Hope this is what you were looking for.