Curling leaves. Stress?

Kazedwards · May 9, 2019

Hello everyone. So this year I started about 30 different tomatoes. I used the baggy method and planted them into solo cups when they started to germinate. Then they all came up and were stunted for about a month because the the potting mix I used was crap. Literally no growth for a month. I repotted them having 3-4 seedlings to a cup thinking a lot wouldn’t make it. Well most did and the took off. Fast forward a month and they were all around 9 to 12 inches tall so I thinned them by just snipping them at the soil line to just one per cup. The remaining just kept growing strong. Then about a week and a half ago they got to the top of my lights with my light as high as they go. A few of them got a bit of light burn at that point. We had rain every day all day in forecast for a week. It still hasn’t stopped raining btw and it’s a muddy mess. Anyway I decided to take them outside under our covered porch to start hardening off. My thought was it will by raining and cloudy the whole week so they will start to get use to outside conditions and only get use to the sun little bit at a time. Plus the covered patio blocks them from the rain. It can get pretty windy but I brought them back in if it did. My problem now is what I think is just a lot of stress on them. The wind has beat them up a few time for just a moment until I brought them in. By just a moment I mean like 20 minutes. They shouldn’t be over watered. The soil is barely moist if that. Honestly it’s not dry but closer to that than wet. Right now and for several days now I have a ton of curling leaves on any new growth. I’m thinking it is just stress but though I would ask you guys for your opinion. Its on most of them. Is there something I can do or something I’m doing wrong? I’m planning on planting them out next week if it ever drys out.

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KarenO · May 9, 2019

Any chance they were exposed to even the slightest drift of somebody spraying weeds etc with herbicide? Even a neighbor?
Hopefully they will outgrow this but it appears as herbicide damage to me.
KarenO

Kazedwards · May 9, 2019

Well actually I had somebody treat my front yard while they were in the garage. The door was closed to whole time. The day after they were out front for a bit of sun but yard was dry at the point. Where they have been for the last week is quite a ways away from anywhere he sprayed.

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Kazedwards · May 9, 2019

If it is herbicide damage is there a way to treat it? Should I cut off the affected areas?

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KarenO · May 9, 2019

At this point I would just care for them well and get them planted provided they don’t get worse.
Tomato seedlings are extremely sensitive to the slightest exposure to herbicide.
KarenO

maxjohnson · May 9, 2019

A common herbicide that causes this is aminopyralid. Can be usually found in contaminated cow and chicken manure. They can last a while in the soil too.

This symptom can be strange since it may effect some plants and not others, but what I found once I got rid of those chicken manure compost fertilizer and use fresh potting mix I no longer have the problem.

AKmark · May 9, 2019

TMV will exhibit those fern leaf foliage.

SueCT · May 9, 2019

The pictures are too large and close up to see the overall plants, but last year i had something called physiologic curling of the leaves from too fast growth, and they put out new, normal growth after going into garden.

clkeiper · May 9, 2019

24-d drift usually feels like the leaves have turned to leather. those look soft and wispy. could it just be the variety, by the way?

Kazedwards · May 10, 2019

I do has some hearts that are normally wispy foliage. It’s the new growth only for the most part that is curling. Some of them are starting to grow out of it from the looks of it tonight. Today and tomorrow they will be in the house. Lower light from just our windows then I will start hardening them off again. I still plan of getting them in the ground later next week. Hopefully they will pull out if it. Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it!

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ginger2778 · May 10, 2019

It's a sad thing to see the herbicide leafs, and unfortunately from personal experience,they don't actually recover. I hope yours will.

Worth1 · May 10, 2019

I have seen hickory trees poisoned with 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T mixed with diesel where they didn't use enough.
Agent orange.
The leaves got huge and strange looking.
My first job ever was to poison hardwood trees for the forest service at 16 years old.
It made me sick to kill huge hardwoods to make room for pine trees.
Some of these old hardwoods were 3 to 4 foot in diameter.
So I quit.

Here is a pictuer of the tool we used.

May 9, 2019	#1
Kazedwards Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 368	Curling leaves. Stress? Hello everyone. So this year I started about 30 different tomatoes. I used the baggy method and planted them into solo cups when they started to germinate. Then they all came up and were stunted for about a month because the the potting mix I used was crap. Literally no growth for a month. I repotted them having 3-4 seedlings to a cup thinking a lot wouldn’t make it. Well most did and the took off. Fast forward a month and they were all around 9 to 12 inches tall so I thinned them by just snipping them at the soil line to just one per cup. The remaining just kept growing strong. Then about a week and a half ago they got to the top of my lights with my light as high as they go. A few of them got a bit of light burn at that point. We had rain every day all day in forecast for a week. It still hasn’t stopped raining btw and it’s a muddy mess. Anyway I decided to take them outside under our covered porch to start hardening off. My thought was it will by raining and cloudy the whole week so they will start to get use to outside conditions and only get use to the sun little bit at a time. Plus the covered patio blocks them from the rain. It can get pretty windy but I brought them back in if it did. My problem now is what I think is just a lot of stress on them. The wind has beat them up a few time for just a moment until I brought them in. By just a moment I mean like 20 minutes. They shouldn’t be over watered. The soil is barely moist if that. Honestly it’s not dry but closer to that than wet. Right now and for several days now I have a ton of curling leaves on any new growth. I’m thinking it is just stress but though I would ask you guys for your opinion. Its on most of them. Is there something I can do or something I’m doing wrong? I’m planning on planting them out next week if it ever drys out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Zach Last edited by Kazedwards; May 9, 2019 at 01:07 AM.

May 9, 2019	#3
Kazedwards Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 368	Well actually I had somebody treat my front yard while they were in the garage. The door was closed to whole time. The day after they were out front for a bit of sun but yard was dry at the point. Where they have been for the last week is quite a ways away from anywhere he sprayed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Zach

May 9, 2019	#4
Kazedwards Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 368	If it is herbicide damage is there a way to treat it? Should I cut off the affected areas? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Zach

May 9, 2019	#8
SueCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,460	The pictures are too large and close up to see the overall plants, but last year i had something called physiologic curling of the leaves from too fast growth, and they put out new, normal growth after going into garden. Last edited by SueCT; May 10, 2019 at 05:54 AM.

May 9, 2019	#9
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	24-d drift usually feels like the leaves have turned to leather. those look soft and wispy. could it just be the variety, by the way? __________________ carolyn k

May 9, 2019	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	Any chance they were exposed to even the slightest drift of somebody spraying weeds etc with herbicide? Even a neighbor? Hopefully they will outgrow this but it appears as herbicide damage to me. KarenO

May 9, 2019	#6
maxjohnson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: OH 6a Posts: 592	A common herbicide that causes this is aminopyralid. Can be usually found in contaminated cow and chicken manure. They can last a while in the soil too. This symptom can be strange since it may effect some plants and not others, but what I found once I got rid of those chicken manure compost fertilizer and use fresh potting mix I no longer have the problem.

May 9, 2019	#7
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	TMV will exhibit those fern leaf foliage.

May 10, 2019	#10
Kazedwards Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 368	I do has some hearts that are normally wispy foliage. It’s the new growth only for the most part that is curling. Some of them are starting to grow out of it from the looks of it tonight. Today and tomorrow they will be in the house. Lower light from just our windows then I will start hardening them off again. I still plan of getting them in the ground later next week. Hopefully they will pull out if it. Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Zach

May 10, 2019	#11
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	It's a sad thing to see the herbicide leafs, and unfortunately from personal experience,they don't actually recover. I hope yours will.

May 10, 2019	#12
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I have seen hickory trees poisoned with 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T mixed with diesel where they didn't use enough. Agent orange. The leaves got huge and strange looking. My first job ever was to poison hardwood trees for the forest service at 16 years old. It made me sick to kill huge hardwoods to make room for pine trees. Some of these old hardwoods were 3 to 4 foot in diameter. So I quit. Here is a pictuer of the tool we used.