Tomato plant issue

[Nbardelli]

Hi! New gardener here. I need help identifying what wrong with my tomato plant! Leaves are spotting and are becoming brittle too. Thanks!

 

[Chuck]

Not being there to see the plant it is difficult to give you a 100% diagnosis but it is one of the leaf spot fungal diseases. If it started at the bottom of the plant and worked upward it is Alternaria Leaf Spot/Early Blight. If it is affecting mainly the center and top of the plant it is probably Septoria Leaf Spot. Septoria only affects the foliage but not the fruit. The pictures do not show Phytophthora/Late Blight. At this stage there is really not much you can do for any bacterial leaf spot disease on tomatoes.

 

[Nbardelli]

Ah that’s what I was afraid of. Will the plant eventually die because of it? Thanks for your help.

 

[Chuck]

Ah that’s what I was afraid of. Will the plant eventually die because of it? Thanks for your help.

It will defoliate and die but hopefully you will have enough time for a complete harvest. I would try to slow down the disease by spraying it with hydrogen peroxide 50/50 and then the next day with Neem.. Before harvest and after harvest remove ALL plant debris and do not touch the plant with contaminated tools or hands. Do not allow water to spash up. Is this a determinate or indeterminate plant.

 

[Nbardelli]

Great. It is indeterminate

 

[Chuck]

Great. It is indeterminate

If it were a determinate plant you could probably guarantee a complete harvest. It will probably be an iffy proposition being an indeterminate. The disease does not affect the fruit but with the plant defoliating it will not set many more. Just try to keep the plant alive as long as possible and get as many tomatoes as you can. If you have other tomato plants nearby it will spread to them as well and probably has already done so, so keep a sharp watch out. It can, but doesn't always affect peppers and eggplants.

 

[Nbardelli]

Got it. Thank you so much for your help!