Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All,

I had 3 tomato plants 6 feet tall. Due to excessive heat in our summers my plants were not doing anything. old leaves were turning brown and very few new leaves were coming up. Blooms were not flowering.

And then we had some rain. And plant started giving off more new leaves and blooms started flowering. And then we had some more rain. And then suddenly all my three plants are almost dead overnight. Their leaves are wilted and I see not a single leave on all the three plants that is not wilted. All plants were in partial shade so they didn't get ain directly on them. They did get some strong winds however.

I don't know how come all the leaves are wilted overnight? And how that happened to all 3 plants at once?

A few months ago when we had rains then I noticed some white spots on my tomato leaves. And it was spreading so I had to cut those leaves and then all went well.

Plants were 6 months old.

No reply?

Hi: don't know much about tomato plants but there's plenty of info online, with a quick search I found this.

(Too little water can cause tomato plant leaves to wilt, turn yellow and fall off. Too much water can also make plants go limp because the excess water smothers and kills plant roots. To prevent water-related wilting, plant tomatoes in soil with good drainage. Water them deeply, ensuring the water reaches below the first few inches of soil. Tomato plants require about 1 inch of water per week, and it is especially important to water them regularly during hot weather.)

here's something about white spots on tomato leaves.

(If the white or gray spots on your tomato leaves have dark edges, it may be Sequoia leaf spot rather than powdery mildew. Like powdery mildew, Sequoia leaf spot is a fungal disease that can eventually lead to the loss of affected leaves. If raised growth appears on upper foliage before the leaves fall, Sequoia leaf spot is a likely culprit. Your best immediate defense is to remove the affected leaves. Because the disease is often caused by wet soil splashing onto leaves,)

both problems sound a lot like to much rain on top of your normal watering system..

The plants were in an aquaponics system. That means their roots were submerged in water 24/7 for last 6 months with an air pump for oxygen.

copied & pasted:
Possible Causes of Sudden Wilt and Death in Tomatoes by Don Janssen, Extension Educator
Many gardeners have been puzzled by the sudden wilting and death of tomato plants. Possible causes of wilting include lack of water, vascular wilts, tomato spotted wilt virus, walnut toxicity, or stalk borers. (look em up abhinav)

Tomato plants don't like constantly wet feet. A plant that has been over-watered may show similar symptoms to that of a plant that needs to be watered (wilted leaves, etc...). . If the bottom of the tomato plant turns yellow, it is a good indication that you are watering too much.

my say:
as I said, I don't know much about tomatoes, but I grow them here, the roots are never in water 24/7, my GB's drain every 12-15minutes and stay empty for another 15minutes.

ok......!#!huh.
did you have any other plants that wilted or did the excessive heat, rain wind, white spots only affect the tomatoes.?
The "white spots" , any pic's.? would be good also. wait for a tomato guru to read all of this then he/she could give you a suggestion.
what is the air pump doing.? is it bubbling air up into the roots.?

I'm done..........

air pump aerates the water so that roots don't rot.

I only had 3 tomato plants and all 3 of them died at the same time.

Sorry I removed them from my grow bed and didn't click any pictures so......

aerating the water stops root rot.....huh.! never heard of that before: .......that's surprising..

I only use my aerator to keep my fish alive...

did you get any tomatoes before the plants died. if yes, did the tomatoes look "normal", no lumps or bumps on them.?

Plant roots also need oxygen otherwise they rot. My plants' roots were healthy looking.

Yes, I did get lots of tasty tomatoes before the temperature rose. When temperature was above 35 C that's when blooms stopped flowering. They were 6 months old plants and were giving fruits for last 3 months. However one day after rain they all died.

I suspect fungus. Heavy rains for a long period of time are almost certain fungus issues with toms. Your roots are fine in your dwc. Lots of folks grow them in dwc rafts. No issues from roots being submerged. Adding aeration is a great idea for dwc.
Try the next plants during the dry season, or cover the growing area so you can prevent the rain from keeping foliage wet for extended periods of time.