Stephen Younge wrote:

If the plants "look wilty" at the end of the day after a hot sunny day
but are healthy looking later in the evening or in the morning, it is
likely a
transpiration (think that's the word) issue. When the evaporation rate
is greater than the absorbtion rate, the plant will look wilted but will
recover as soon as the sun is down and it has a chance to "catch up" with
the evaporation rate. Or so I've been told.

So you're saying that if the tomato plants look "slightly wilty" almost
every afternoon at 3pm, but perk right up (without additional watering) by
6pm, this does not harm them or reduce production?

Cheers,
Stephen

Stephen,
Yes this does induce stress on them ... it's just that there's nothin
g that can be done about it. What happens is that the water is lost faster t
han it can be replaced by the roots. Later, when the rate of loss moderates
as the sun becomes less intense, the roots are able to keep up again.

About the only thing you can do is make certain the soil stays moist.
--
Zone 5b (Detroit, MI)
I do not post my address to news groups.