Young tomato leaves twisting and not unfurling

[lagrefer]

Hi all,

I am trying to grow 4 Wild Fred (https://www.dwarftomatoproject.net/product/dwarf-wild-fred/) tomato plants on my balcony in Paris, France.

I have 2 containers with 2 plants in each: the left one is filled with fresh potting soil purchased this year, while the right one is mostly filled with older potting soil reused from last year.



My issue is that the young leaves at the top of both plants in the "Reuse" container are twisted, grow very slowly or not at all, and are not unfurling. I started noticing it 2-3 weeks ago.




I had the same problem last year (with a different variety), and this year I'm not seeing it in the Fresh soil container (although growth is disappointing), so I strongly suspect that it has something to do with my old soil:
- either a soil-borne pathogen, but I haven't been able to find one that really fits the description
- or a nutrient deficiency, but same problem (at first I was using a NK fertilizer, I switched recently to NPK, but phosphorus deficiency looks like it should give a bluish-purple tinge to the leaves, and I haven't observed that)

The problem only affects the young leaves. The older leaves look normal to me, I'm not seeing any curl or wilting even at the hottest time of the day.

Last bit of info: on the first pic you'll see that I also have 2 Cayenne peppers. The left one is planted into old potting soil, and the right one into new. Both have grown quite well in my opinion, but the left one has trouble producing fruits (many blossoms fall without bearing fruit).

Does anybody have a clue what might be going on ? With healthy tomatoes, how long should it take for the young leaves to unfurl ?

 

[Mick Emery]

Just a wild guess... maybe the old soil is depleted of nutrients?

 

[lagrefer]

Just a wild guess... maybe the old soil is depleted of nutrients?

That's what I tend to think... but how can I know which nutrient is lacking ?

 

[Chuck]

Healthy tomato leaves are NEVER curled and twisted. This is not a nutritional problem. A lack of any nutrition will not cause what is shown in the pictures. If I were to give an educated guess I would say it is a variant of cucumber mosaic virus. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Mick Emery]

Healthy tomato leaves are NEVER curled and twisted. This is not a nutritional problem. A lack of any nutrition will not cause what is shown in the pictures. If I were to give an educated guess I would say it is a variant of cucumber mosaic virus. Hope I'm wrong.

wouldn't it also infect the plants next to it?

 

[DirtMechanic]

wouldn't it also infect the plants next to it?

Bacteria and virus often come via insects. They must penetrate into a plant somehow and chewing or drilling bugs are a perfect vector. So this water you use, do you collect it from rain? And this potting soil, did you buy it or dig it? Did you use any composted manure of any sort? This question goes toward Aminopyralid, which produces a similiar look. These chemicals and many like them are auxins, which force cellular elongation. This produces tensions that push the plant into odd forms. The forms can be identifiable. However, like @Chuck said, a virus can do similiar things. Viruses work on a dna level, interfering with amino acids, and that can impact cellular growth as well.

Killer Compost

 

[Chuck]

wouldn't it also infect the plants next to it?

Not necessarily. If it were a fungus it probably would.

 

[lagrefer]

Bacteria and virus often come via insects. They must penetrate into a plant somehow and chewing or drilling bugs are a perfect vector. So this water you use, do you collect it from rain? And this potting soil, did you buy it or dig it? Did you use any composted manure of any sort? This question goes toward Aminopyralid, which produces a similiar look. These chemicals and many like them are auxins, which force cellular elongation. This produces tensions that push the plant into odd forms. The forms can be identifiable. However, like @Chuck said, a virus can do similiar things. Viruses work on a dna level, interfering with amino acids, and that can impact cellular growth as well.

Killer Compost
View attachment 81975

I use tapwater, and some vermicompost that I make myself. Could it be some herbicide residue from the veg and fruit peels that I'm using for the vermicompost? If that's the case it's scary... I'm a big banana eater, and I've heard that banana culture is chemical intensive.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I use tapwater, and some vermicompost that I make myself. Could it be some herbicide residue from the veg and fruit peels that I'm using for the vermicompost? If that's the case it's scary... I'm a big banana eater, and I've heard that banana culture is chemical intensive.

I have no idea. I do know that for a growth regulator a auxin called Superthrive has a given application rate of 1.25 ml into 1892.706 ml of water for a rate of 6.7 hundredths of 1 percent. (.00067%) A drop per gallon.

 

[Chuck]

I use tapwater, and some vermicompost that I make myself. Could it be some herbicide residue from the veg and fruit peels that I'm using for the vermicompost? If that's the case it's scary... I'm a big banana eater, and I've heard that banana culture is chemical intensive.

Very very unlikely. What herbicide is this selective and still viable months later? And why would an herbicide be sprayed on a fruit tree to begin with? Perhaps there could be a pesticide but pesticides don't harm plants.

 

[lagrefer]

Healthy tomato leaves are NEVER curled and twisted. This is not a nutritional problem. A lack of any nutrition will not cause what is shown in the pictures. If I were to give an educated guess I would say it is a variant of cucumber mosaic virus. Hope I'm wrong.

CMV seems to fit the bill indeed...

 

[Chuck]

CMV seems to fit the bill indeed...

You said your plants were on a balcony. How high up are the plants and are there any other plants, large or small in the area. Trees, grass, flowers etc? And if so, do any of them look strange?

 

[lagrefer]

You said your plants were on a balcony. How high up are the plants and are there any other plants, large or small in the area. Trees, grass, flowers etc? And if so, do any of them look strange?

I'm on the second floor. The other plants on my balcony are 2 Cayenne peppers and 1 calamondin tree. They look normal even if one of the peppers has a few elongated leaves that could look like those on the tomatoes (but not as bad). I can't tell what plants the other residents have on their balconies, but the people right next to me are always travelling and therefore don't have any.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I got the calamondin at the end of 2019. I grew tomatoes at the same spot for at least two seasons before that, and I didn't get these symptoms, whereas I've seen them both last year and this year. Maybe the calamondin is an asymptomatic virus carrier...

 

[Chuck]

I'm on the second floor. The other plants on my balcony are 2 Cayenne peppers and 1 calamondin tree. They look normal even if one of the peppers has a few elongated leaves that could look like those on the tomatoes (but not as bad). I can't tell what plants the other residents have on their balconies, but the people right next to me are always travelling and therefore don't have any.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I got the calamondin at the end of 2019. I grew tomatoes at the same spot for at least two seasons before that, and I didn't get these symptoms, whereas I've seen them both last year and this year. Maybe the calamondin is an asymptomatic virus carrier...

The reason I asked is that aphids and some beetles are the vectors of this disease. Transmission through soil is possible but only in rare circumstances. If you were 3 or 4 stories high I doubt if insects could be a vector but, at 10-15 feet insects are easily the most culpable. It is also theoretically possible that the citrus is also infected, but by a different strain of mosaic Have you done a very close examination of the calamundin and is the fruit of this tree normal in every way?