![]() Physiological disorders can produce yellowing of the leaf The most common fungal disease seen in Texas is powdery mildew or early blight, which starts from the bottom of the plant and moves up as the leaves die off. Most fungal and bacterial diseases cause some kind of yellowing, he explained. Powdery mildew is first noticed on older leaves as a yellow spotted appearance, that upon closer inspection has a whitish-gray powder on the surface. Better yet, buy a soil moisture meter and use it regularly as a guide on when to water.” Diseases may present with yellow leaves ![]() “If it feels dry, it’s time to water, and as the tomato plants get closer to full maturity, they will require more and more water. “There is no perfect recipe for how much water your tomato may need, but a good rule of thumb is to do a moisture test where you place a finger several inches deep in the soil to test for moisture near the roots,” he said. It is good to keep in mind, that with the use of a lot of fertilizer, the plant will also require a lot of water. “Those three – nitrogen, iron and magnesium – are the most common nutritional deficiencies growers should pay attention to and fertilize regularly for,” Masabni said. A magnesium deficiency however will produce yellowing that looks more like speckles or spots on the older leaves. Yellowing of leaves can also be the result of an iron deficiency in the plant, but this will be most prominent in the youngest leaves. The older leaves turn yellow because they are providing their nitrogen to the younger leaves to survive. If you don’t fertilize enough with nitrogen, the older leaves will begin turning yellow and, in many cases, may fall off. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, meaning the plant requires twice the amount of fertilizer that a cucumber needs, and even four times the amount as beans, he explained. ![]() “Nitrogen is the most common cause, because people generally don’t fertilize tomatoes enough,” Masabni said. Nutrition can be a cause for yellowing leaves on tomato plants Typically, yellowing leaves are a result of a nutritional imbalance or disease outbreak, but other causes can play a part. Masabni, an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture in Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, explains that a healthy plant that is well maintained and not stressed by disease or nutrition should have green leaves from the bottom to the top. Yellowing leaves on tomato plants can be caused by multiple issues.
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