Tomato Plant Overview

• The tomato plant is a native South American herbaceous vine, belonging to the nightshade family. Although grown as an annual by most gardeners, the tomato plant is a perennial. Cultivated and grown today for its fruit, the tomato plant bears tomatoes in many shapes, colors and sizes. Tomato plants come in two classes, indeterminate and determinate. Indeterminate tomato plants ripen in sequences with one set ripening after the other and so on. Producing fruit continuously until the first frost, the indeterminate tomato plant is an ideal type to grow requiring less space for more tomato production. Determinate tomato plants are often called bush tomato plants. Tomato plants that are determinate do not require staking or caging for support. These types of tomato plants only grow to a certain size and produce all of their fruit at once.
  
  

Blossom End Rot

• Unfortunately, tomatoes can be a host for many diseases that may kill the plant altogether. The most common disease is blossom end rot. This disease is linked to a lack of calcium in the fruit. Blossom end rot can be identified by an ugly black spot on the blossom end of the fruit. This disease can be prevented by mulching and watering regularly.
  
  

Verticillium Wilt

• Verticillium wilt can affect the production of tomatoes and kill the plant if not prevented. This disease starts with the older and lower leaves of the tomato plant, turning yellow and eventually dying. Verticillium is a soil-borne disease and can affect plants for up to six years in the soil if not rotated properly. Buying resistant varieties and rotating crops regularly can greatly reduce the spread of this disease.
  
  

Root-Knot Nematodes

• Root-knot nematodes have been a bane of the tomato gardener for generations. While several types of nematodes can actually be beneficial to vegetables and flowers, root knot nematodes can be very destructive. These nematodes invade crops and cause root bumps that interfere with the plants ability to take in nutrients thereby resulting in severely stunted plants, or total destruction. Root-knot nematodes are very difficult to get rid of. Rotating crops with plants that are not vulnerable to this pest is the best way to combat this parasite.
  
  

Cutworms

• Cutworms are small caterpillars that feed on young tomato plants, or seedlings, at night. These pests can eat all the way through the plant stem at ground level destroying whole gardens or crops of tomato plants. Easily preventable, the cutworms can be controlled by placing collars made from aluminum foil, cardboard or paper around the base of the plant stems. Make sure the collars reach up to at least 3 inches in height to keep high climbers off.