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Johnston, Iowa

I would love to get any advice on what may be causing this leaf issue, which is present on the leaves of the soil grown plants I'm growing for the winter tomato challenge:

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=299787

What is it?
What could be causing it?
How should I deal with it?

Thanks! :-)

12/23/2018 2:57:15 PM

Grittyville, WA

Strange. Any insect vectors? by soil grown you mean??? Garden dirt?

I just posted a pic of mine I deep froze the garden dirt to get rid of any insects (seems to have worked). I'd say it looks like a fungus, yes. Concede defeat lol!!! Maybe lower your humidity.

12/24/2018 12:53:31 AM

Grittyville, WA

Some of your nutrients might be high?? Leaves look like you have plenty of fertilizer salts... I'm no expert though.

12/24/2018 12:57:34 AM

Johnston, Iowa

Soil grown ( as opposed to hydroponic). I always heat up The potting soul are use to kill off fungus gnats, so I don’t think an insect vector. I use FF Ocean Forest. Zero nutrients applied. When I peek in during the day the temperature is around 80°, and the humidity level is usually at 60%

12/24/2018 2:11:29 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Seed borne?

12/24/2018 10:59:45 AM

Grittyville, WA

When you say you heat up the potting soil... What do you mean? Is it recycled/ repurposed? If it was soil out of the bag why would you heat it? Sorry...Growing techniques strip search here...!

12/24/2018 11:15:16 AM

Grittyville, WA

I dont mean to be overly invasive but if its in any way a recycled setup from growing anything previously this could be an issue

12/24/2018 11:28:50 AM

central Nc

Looks like edema from overwatering/ground temp too warm compared to air temp.

12/24/2018 1:19:04 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Is it fatal Doctor ?

12/24/2018 1:57:16 PM

Grittyville, WA

There we go that sounds like a diagnosis and a solution. Dry that plant out. Peat moss can hold too much water. Throw in some gypsum perhaps... to buffer in case ph is getting low? Not a real doc but i can get heads or tails right half the time so you can trust me sometimes...

12/24/2018 2:52:39 PM

central Nc

Lol Don't take my word for it, it's just my guess. I had it once years ago and that was my conclusion. Doesn't look fungal, bacterial, or deficient to me so what's left is "mechanical". Technically, transpiration cant keep up with root uptake. Think of bugs bunny sticking his finger in Elmer fudds shotgun to make it explode. The bumps along the vein are water pockets building up. Atmosphere is too humid, soil too hot or too wet. My guess anyway.

12/24/2018 3:50:50 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Whatever it is it is the worst case of it I have ever seen.

12/24/2018 9:51:08 PM

Western Massachusetts

I'd guess humidity issue - leaves look healthy

12/24/2018 10:16:33 PM

Johnston, Iowa

Thanks everybody!

12/25/2018 2:11:03 AM

Johnston, Iowa

Glenomkins- to answer your question: its potting soil out of a brand new bag of Fox Farms Ocean Forest, which is good stuff, but I had several incidents where fungus not larva were inside of that bag of brand new potting soil. When I say “ heat up the pot in soil” I literally take it out of the bag, put it in a bowl, and heat it up in the microwave to kill any fungus gnats larva that may be in there, prior to using it for growing.

12/25/2018 2:15:40 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

I have never seen anything exactly like that. I have had edema in between the veins before and raised spots where spider mites were feeding. It appears yours is on the top side of the leaf. I have looked at some of the various sources I use for problem diagnosis. Here is one source:
https://www.norseco.com/pdf/Tomato_Disease.pdf
I am not finding something that pins down what the problem is. Good luck figuring this one out.

12/25/2018 6:30:28 AM

Dillonvale, Ohio

I can't help with the problem, but Glenomkins, adding gypsum does nothing for the pH. Lime would raise the pH.

12/25/2018 9:55:19 AM

Grittyville, WA

wolf3080 Yes thats correct. I do not know if his ph is low or high... depends on the water source. I believe it would be a weak buffer if his ph was low his calcium might be low in terms of % of available cations. My understanding of this is very weak though... There is probably a better buffer - I cant think of it right now - or he can test his ph and go from there. I think calcium and ph problems can do weird things to plants. A lot of top growers use gypsum even though it doesnt technically change the ph... maybe it would help?

12/25/2018 12:17:50 PM

Grittyville, WA

ps I understand the reasons for heating the soil but maybe this decomposes the ammonium or breaks down the carbonate... It seems logical to heat soil until you realize maybe it messes up the chemistry. I think deep freezing soil is the better choice and then add good microbial products if needed.

12/25/2018 12:25:54 PM

Tinykinville

Actually Gypsum does affect PH. It is a bad info that says otherwise. It is PH neutral which means if PH is high or low it will bring it back towards 7.0

12/25/2018 5:08:41 PM

Grittyville, WA

The cause of all fake news has been identified... It is gypsum.

12/25/2018 7:31:03 PM

SW Ohio

What does the underside of the leaf look/feel? Is it purpley looking and fuzzy?

12/25/2018 7:43:35 PM

Dillonvale, Ohio

This, along with several other sites say otherwise about gypsum changing pH.
http://www.gypsoil.com/news-and-events/gypsum-and-lime

12/25/2018 10:48:21 PM

Dillonvale, Ohio

That being said, my pH raised to 7(fall test) from 6.7 or 6.8(spring test) after growing a kin and adding 200 lb of gypsum in the spring.

12/25/2018 10:53:30 PM

Johnston, Iowa

Bnot - thank you for sharing this is an awesome resource: https://www.norseco.com/pdf/Tomato_Disease.pdf

Barbeetoo - I'll take a look at underside of leaves + post an update when I get home.

12/26/2018 3:57:52 PM

Johnston, Iowa

Top of affected leaf: http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=299833

Bottom of affected leaf:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=299834

The Final Outcome:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=299835

12/27/2018 9:53:18 AM

Johnston, Iowa

Wolfpack and another member who email me were right, its "edema"

https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5369136

This year I switched from a hot HPS light to a couple of LED lights, and one result is that humidity level in my grow tent has been way higher than last year, leading to the edema.

12/27/2018 11:54:11 AM

central Nc

Good to hear you got it figured out.

12/28/2018 10:40:07 AM