Container plant turning brown on top

[Fert1]

My Cherokee Purple that had been doing so amazingly well in a pot has recently taken a turn for the worse. We've already gotten a good many, large, luscious tomatoes from it, but now I've noticed that the very top leaves are turning brown and shriveling. The stems also have a brownist cast. I didn't know if this was a disease or something caused from growing in a pot.

It's not the same disease symptoms I see from plants in the ground. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Have any ideas as to cause?

Even if I never get another ripe tomato from the plant, it has already yielded as much as any CP I've grown in the ground, (prior to the disease problem). So I would still have to consider the experiment a success for the most part. I just wish I knew what was going on with it now though. I'd love to get even more tomatoes from it if possible. I don't think it's lack of water, because it is no hotter now than it was the first week of June, and it made it through that heat wave just fine.

So any ideas?

[mdvpc]

Holly-If you could post a photo, that would help.

[feralcatfriend]

Do you have a moisture meter? They are very cheap. Perhaps you are overwatering. Tomatoes do not like wet feet.

Cynthia

[Fert1]

I'll try to take some photos and post them. I would think too much water would cause leaves to turn yellow, not turn brown and dry. I'm wondering if it may have just gotten root bound or used up the nutrients in the soil. I thought some of container growers here may have gone through a similar experience and might have an answer for me.

[mdvpc]

If you said that the leaves on the bottom were getting dry and brown, I would tell you that is an expected thing-but starting at the top? Never seen that.

[Fert1]

Some leaves toward the bottom are brown too, but it is definitely worse toward the top of the plant. I took some pictures today. Now I just need to find the time to download them and attach a few.

[dice]

Some nutrient deficiencies will cause "meristem" (growing tip)
necrosis, boron if I recall correctly
( http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289 ).

I imagine that there are different kinds of diseases that can
cause it, too, though, as well as competitive oversupply of
some other nutrient that is blocking uptake of what the plant
feels is lacking.

Jeff Fleming's description of Cherokee Purple in Tania's
TOMATObase says that Cherokee Purple does not keep
producing indefinitely for him, that after some number
of fruit it just stops (whether they have had a frost or
not, regardless of the fall weather, etc). So maybe it is
just the cultivar (a rare variation on determinacy in tomatoes,
where it grows and fruits like an indeterminate all summer and
then when it is done, it is done, end of story).

[Fert1]

Okay, I am going to attempt to post some photos of my sick plant.

[dice]

That leaf in the last photo certainly looks diseased, although
I could not say right off what it is.

[newatthiskat]

I was wondering how this plant turned out? Did you get any more tomatoes from it? did they taste as good as the others? I was thinking of growing some in pots next year and I was wondering
Kat