There are various factors that can cause curling or rolling of tomato leaves. These factors can be environmental stresses, fungal, bacterial, or viral infections, insects, herbicide damage, overfertilizing, and excess or insufficient water. These factors trigger physiological problems that manifest this condition.
If your soil is too high in nitrogen, your tomato plant will produce too many leaves and your soil won't have enough nutrients and water to sustain them. As a result, the leaves will curl and droop downwards.
The roots themselves may turn black or brown, indicating that they are problematic. Withered leaves are one of the most common signs, indicating that your tomato plant is receiving more fertilizer than they need. If you add too much fertilizer, you may see the edges of the leaves drooping and curling downwards.
In the case of zealous gardeners, leaves may curl up due to excess fertilizer. Overdosing occurs when you don't respect the frequency or doses prescribed by the manufacturer. Other signs indicate that your plant has been over-fertilized. For example, brown spots appear on the foliage.
Heat and low moisture can cause the edges of the tomato leaves to die back, then twist and curl. Hot dry weather may also cause a symptom called physiological leaf roll. This is a self- defense response, where leaves and leaflets curl slightly to prevent further water loss (Fig. 6).
Preventive Measures
Maintain uniform and adequate soil moisture. Avoid over-use of fertilizers, especially nitrogen. Provide appropriate phosphorus. Avoid severe pruning and maintain temperatures below 35°C by shading or evaporative cooling.
Overwatering generally makes the plant look almost like it's rotting, as in drooping and turning soggy brown. My guess is it is having Nitrogen problems. Any type of vegetable fertilizer you buy at the store should work fine.
Plants often recover on their own from leaf curl caused by transplant shock within a couple of weeks.
Nitrogen-rich fish emulsion can be added every two weeks and blood meal every six weeks during the growing season. Around two weeks before flowering is a good time to use a fertilizer with a higher P value, such as a 5-15-5.
Depending on the contents of the fertiliser, over-fertilised tomatoes can display burnt roots, excessive leaf and shoot growth, growth disorders, and stunted growth, all of which increase your plant's susceptibility to disease. If that wasn't bad enough, tomato fruits also suffer from over-fertilisation!
Yes, over fertilized plants can recover with proper care. To help them recover, you should flush the soil with water to remove excess nutrients. Adjusting the watering schedule and providing adequate sunlight can also aid in the recovery process.
Tomato leaf curl disease is caused by viruses in the Geminivirus family of plant viruses, and is spread by whiteflies.
During hot, dry weather, tomato leaves may curl as the plants strive to conserve water. Regular irrigation can solve this problem, and for greenhouse tomatoes, judicious use of blinds or white window paint can prevent the sun scorching your tomatoes.
Physical Controls. Although symptoms of leaf curl are seen primarily in spring as new leaves develop, there is little you can do to control the disease at this time. Some people remove diseased leaves or prune infected shoots, but this has not been shown to improve control.
Leaves that curl or droop downwards often indicate overwatering or problems with the roots. Allow the soil to dry out further between waterings. Check for root rot and repot in fresh soil if needed. Keep plants away from cold drafts which can also cause downward curling.
- Leaching is a process where you “flush” away the excess nutrients with water. - Place your affected house plant in a tub, sink or outdoors then water your plants till you see the water drain out from the bottom, repeat this process 1 or 2 more times.
If you've overdone it with the fertilizer, you may still be able to save your lawn. Burned lawns will need a generous amount of water to get back to green. It's vital that you water the lawn as soon as you spot any brown or yellow patches to prevent further damage.
To grow, plants require nitrogen compounds from the soil, which can be produced naturally or be provided by fertilizers. However, applying excessive amounts of fertilizer leads to the release of harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the eutrophication of our waterways.
Water correctly: Do not overwater. The first week tomato plants are in the ground, they need water every day, but back off watering after the first week, slowly weaning the plants down to 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week.
Some growers prefer to use a high-phosphorus fertilizer, indicated by a larger middle number. You can also keep things simple with a fertilizer especially formulated for tomatoes – usually with a ratio like 3-4-6 or 4-7-10. Most importantly, don't over-fertilize. Too little fertilizer is always better than too much.
Tomato plants recover quickly from overwatering, usually in one to two weeks with treatment. How often should you water tomatoes? In the garden, water tomato plants deeply at the soil level once a week or twice weekly during hot weather depending on rainfall.