Tomato Damage

Landisil · June 1, 2017

Greetings all. It is time for my daily report...lol. I work a bit with my tomatoes a little each day. Accordingly discovery is a daily thing. Today I discovered that 3 Tomatoes on one plant were split...almost resembling blossom end rot....but on the side...pic is attached. This area has had steady rain almost everyday for the last 3 weeks. Ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

Worth1 · June 1, 2017

Nothing to worry about at this point I wouldn't think, nothing you can do about the rain.
Worth

Landisil · June 1, 2017

My question is....is this likely the result of rain....or something else?

Thanks

Worth1 · June 1, 2017

I think it is rain but I am no expert.

Worth

RayR · June 1, 2017

I agree, the crack looks like a form of catfacing, most likely because of the constant rain you been having.

AlittleSalt · June 1, 2017

I agree, even sprinkling or a mist can do that when it happens day after day.

However, as I think about it, I don't remember seeing splitting on many green tomatoes (I don't grow Green When Ripe varieties). Hmm.

Father'sDaughter · June 1, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayR

I agree, the crack looks like a form of catfacing, most likely because of the constant rain you been having.

That's what it looks like to me. Basically the effects of weather at the time the plant was setting fruit.

Cole_Robbie · June 1, 2017

Cold weather creates cat-facing for me, especially in my early high tunnel crop.

McGee'sX-Roads · June 2, 2017

The rain wouldn't cause catfacing that I'm aware of. Cool temps can cause catfacing as mentioned above and poor pollination can result in catfacing.

So if you have had multiple days in a row of rainy, cloudy, humid weather with little breeze that may cause poor pollination which could very well lead to catfacing. Some varieties are also more prone to catface than others. It's not anything to worry about in the long run though. You could get an electric toothbrush and give the flower clusters a buzz every other day to ensure better pollination, but if the plants are outside I wouldn't even bother normally, wind and insects will take care of you. In cases of prolonged periods of overcast, wet weather it certainly would help though.

BigVanVader · June 2, 2017

Sometimes the immature fruits can have holes/splits. Sometimes the flower after pollination can get stuck and as the fruit forms it grows around it. Once it rots it leaves a gap/hole that never seems to heal. I usually just pull those off now since I cant sell them and I dont want to save seeds from fruits that arent perfect.

McGee what part of NC are you from? My sister lives in Asheville.

**carolyn137** · June 2, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Sometimes the immature fruits can have holes/splits. Sometimes the flower after pollination can get stuck and as the fruit forms it grows around it. Once it rots it leaves a gap/hole that never seems to heal. I usually just pull those off now since I cant sell them and I dont want to save seeds from fruits that arent perfect.

McGee what part of NC are you from? My sister lives in Asheville.

When I see folks referring to splits I see something very different.

There are two kinds of splits, concentric and vertical,here's some pictures showing that

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....0.At7tHMurO9w

And the links that go with that

https://www.google.com/search?q=conc...&bih=790&dpr=1

Concentric splitting, seen around the stem at the top of the tomato is very often seen with heirloom type tomatoes, it scars over and all is well,but if heavy rains or too much irrigation is used, they can reopen and any bacteria or fungi in the air can drop in and start a rotting process.No,this is NOT related to BER at all.

For those of you who migh thave my heirloom tomato book,if You look at the cover next to where the word American is seen you can see a good example of concentric splitting that is so unique that it can ID the variety as Black from Tula,see also page 62 and 63 for Black from Tula and you can see that even better.

Major damage can occur due to vertical splitting,which happens when the tomato epidermis has formed, and again too much rain or irrigation doesn't allow for any more water uptake so the body of the tomato splits.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn,whose brother and family moved to Mars Hill a few years back,which is about 20 miles north of Asheville, so I know very well what weather conditions can be like in that area.

McGee'sX-Roads · June 2, 2017

I'm at McGee's Crossroads, thus my name lol. About 20 minutes southeast of Raleigh.

The temps here are much different than Asheville and the mountains of NC.

I grow in greenhouses anyhow, growing out of season, have already topped all my tomatoes and have about 4 weeks left of picking I'm guessing.

**carolyn137** · June 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by McGee'sX-Roads

I'm at McGee's Crossroads, thus my name lol. About 20 minutes southeast of Raleigh.

The temps here are much different than Asheville and the mountains of NC.

I grow in greenhouses anyhow, growing out of season, have already topped all my tomatoes and have about 4 weeks left of picking I'm guessing.

I thought you said your sister lived in Asheville, which is why I initially talked about that area.

One of my seed producers lives and grows tomatoes in a suburb of Raleigh and Lee already has good sets of fruits, and he grows outside. Lee and Craig LeHoullier, nctomatoman here at Tville, have been the co-persons who put on that fabulous tomato tasting each year, called Tomatopalloza,I think in Efland,NC.

Carolyn

oakley · June 3, 2017

Curious what the variety is. Looks like a heart?
I had a heart produce a dozen folded fruit that ripened but no corking.
(the variety slips me mind)

I usually think of early fruit with 'corky' brown deformities and voids be put in the
cat-facing category. Cold wet and damp early fruit. Thought it was fused or deformed
blossoms but had not thought about pollination trouble.

I would have to slice it across and see what is going on inside...curiosity.

Rest of the fruit will be fine. Most of my plants are in but the nights are still cool so
growth is slow. I've been removing any early flower sets.

Landisil · June 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by oakley

Curious what the variety is. Looks like a heart?
I had a heart produce a dozen folded fruit that ripened but no corking.
(the variety slips me mind)

I usually think of early fruit with 'corky' brown deformities and voids be put in the
cat-facing category. Cold wet and damp early fruit. Thought it was fused or deformed
blossoms but had not thought about pollination trouble.

I would have to slice it across and see what is going on inside...curiosity.

Rest of the fruit will be fine. Most of my plants are in but the nights are still cool so
growth is slow. I've been removing any early flower sets.

The Variety is Red Beefsteak.

Thanks

Frank

June 1, 2017	#3
Landisil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: S.C. Posts: 27	I guess My question is....is this likely the result of rain....or something else? Thanks

June 1, 2017	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Nothing to worry about at this point I wouldn't think, nothing you can do about the rain. Worth

June 1, 2017	#5
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,465	I agree, the crack looks like a form of catfacing, most likely because of the constant rain you been having.

June 1, 2017	#6
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I agree, even sprinkling or a mist can do that when it happens day after day. However, as I think about it, I don't remember seeing splitting on many green tomatoes (I don't grow Green When Ripe varieties). Hmm.

June 1, 2017	#8
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Cold weather creates cat-facing for me, especially in my early high tunnel crop.

June 2, 2017	#9
McGee'sX-Roads Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: NC Posts: 21	The rain wouldn't cause catfacing that I'm aware of. Cool temps can cause catfacing as mentioned above and poor pollination can result in catfacing. So if you have had multiple days in a row of rainy, cloudy, humid weather with little breeze that may cause poor pollination which could very well lead to catfacing. Some varieties are also more prone to catface than others. It's not anything to worry about in the long run though. You could get an electric toothbrush and give the flower clusters a buzz every other day to ensure better pollination, but if the plants are outside I wouldn't even bother normally, wind and insects will take care of you. In cases of prolonged periods of overcast, wet weather it certainly would help though.

June 2, 2017	#10
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Sometimes the immature fruits can have holes/splits. Sometimes the flower after pollination can get stuck and as the fruit forms it grows around it. Once it rots it leaves a gap/hole that never seems to heal. I usually just pull those off now since I cant sell them and I dont want to save seeds from fruits that arent perfect. McGee what part of NC are you from? My sister lives in Asheville.

June 3, 2017	#14
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	Curious what the variety is. Looks like a heart? I had a heart produce a dozen folded fruit that ripened but no corking. (the variety slips me mind) I usually think of early fruit with 'corky' brown deformities and voids be put in the cat-facing category. Cold wet and damp early fruit. Thought it was fused or deformed blossoms but had not thought about pollination trouble. I would have to slice it across and see what is going on inside...curiosity. Rest of the fruit will be fine. Most of my plants are in but the nights are still cool so growth is slow. I've been removing any early flower sets.