Comments

• 

  kurt wrote:

  Check the undserside of leaves on the plant for a cattipillar type insect that will blend itself in with the foilage.Are any of the leaves chewed on?Sacrifice a mater and cut it open you might find the culprit inside if it is a insect.They usually feed at night and will go to ground during the day or hide in the plant during the day.If in containers they will crawl down into a crevice.If it is a insect remove and discard then look for any egg sacks under the leaves.If none found you might have a end rot desease.a indication of a insect might be some butterfly looking moth flying around the patch laying eggs.

  Posted on 11 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  shelleyb wrote:

  thanks, the leaves and stems look just fine. i didn’t cut a tomato open but i will when i get home. i haven’t seen any insects except grasshoppers, could they do this? i did see a little moth yesterday. i will keep my eyes open. is it possible to cover the fruits in sacks or something to protect them?

  Posted on 11 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  TangoFlowers wrote:

  Hi there, i live in hawaii and to me this damage sounds very likely to have been caused by the tomato maggot, which is the larva of the tomato fruit fly.
  A major pest of tomato crops in the Hawaiian Islands- has also gotten to some of my tomatoes this yr.
  If you cut open the fruit and find larvae(maggots) then this is what the pest is.
  Organic Solutions include:
  Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or row cover which is able to exclude fruitfly pests,
  Planting tomato varieties with thicker skins on the fruit- makes it hard for hatched pest eggs to get inside fruit and cause damage,
  Bagging fruit as soon as they are set with a nylon stocking or something similar to keep fruit flies from landing on them and laying eggs which become fruit-eating maggots,
  Spraying newly formed fruit daily with fruit fly repellent substances such as rosemary oil.

  Good luck!

  Posted on 11 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  shelleyb wrote:

  thanks so much guys, i feel more empowered already! :)

  Posted on 11 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  shelleyb wrote:

  i did put nylons over the fruits. in the evening i spotted some small black beetles on a couple of tomatos. i did not see egg sacs or any maggots in the tomato.

  Posted on 13 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  TangoFlowers wrote:

  Ok, since there were no egg sacs or maggots then the holes were likely from birds, and the black spots could be
  either blossom end rot or bacterial spot. Big spots on the blossom end (opposite end from stem) are usually blossom end rot, little ones scattered in random places on the fruit are bacterial spot

  Posted on 14 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  shelleyb wrote:

  i think it was end rot due to overcrowding and more damp conditions. followed by fruit flies. i went in and weeded and got the vines up on trellises and so far so good. i still think the nylons are helping too.

  Posted on 17 Aug 11 (almost 2 years ago)

• 

  shelleyb wrote:

  the good news are the tomatoes are ripening on the vine and delicious!

  Posted on 20 Sep 11 (over 1 year ago)

Like to add a comment? You'll need to sign up for a free account, or log in if you're already a member.