Not a great picture, but here it is:

http://webpages.charter.net/zxcvbob/tomato2.jpg

Best regards,
Bob


Norma J. Briggs wrote:
You can sign up at Yahoo for a free online photo album to share online. I
would like to see a picture of your plant myself

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

Pat Kiewicz wrote:


zxcvbob said:


One of my tomatoes has something really odd going on at the growing
point of the main stem. The stem is not elongating at all, and the
leaves and flower buds are just piling up and getting denser and denser.
Is there a virus that causes something like this, or perhaps scar
tissue from some mechanical damage or an insect sting?


The only thing I can think of that might cause seriously distorted

growth

like that is herbicide damage.

From one website:
" Herbicide Injury The most common sources of herbicide damage are spray

drift,

herbicide residue in sprayers and mulching with grass clippings that are
contaminated by herbicides. Spray drift has been known to occur up to a

half mile

from the source in agricultural fields. Heavy applications of any

herbicide simply

kills the tomato plants. The early signs of light 2, 4-D type damage is

older leaves

that are excessively pointed and rolled. They may have prominent,

light-colored

veins. Distorted younger growth will fail to expand fully and the tissue

will be

thickened. The veins appear to run more parallel to the main vein than

is normal.

Stems may curve unnaturally and have a flattened, ridged appearance. If

the

damage is slight the plants may outgrow it and still produce good fruit,

though

yield may be affected. If the damage is severe, the plant may not

recover."


Should I cut the top off the plant (and destroy it) and let the lower
part of the plant branch back out?


I think it would be worth a try.



It doesn't quite look like 2,4-D drift, and I haven't used any 2,4-D (or
any other broadleaf herbicides) this year. I've barely used any
Round-up this year. I use a little Round-up around the perimeter of the
garden to keep back aggressive perennial grasses from the lawn, and
other than that I just pull the weeds or use a hoe.

I think I'll prune it back and give it a tonic of fish emulsion and see
what happens. The weather is finally warmed up and the peppers and
other tomatoes have just started really growing in the past few days.

I'm gonna check with my ISP and see if I have some server space that I
don't know about, where I can post a pic.

Bob



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zxcvbob wrote in message ...
One of my tomatoes has something really odd going on at the growing
point of the main stem. The stem is not elongating at all, and the
leaves and flower buds are just piling up and getting denser and denser.
Is there a virus that causes something like this, or perhaps scar
tissue from some mechanical damage or an insect sting?

I wish I had a place to post a picture.

Should I cut the top off the plant (and destroy it) and let the lower
part of the plant branch back out?

All the leaves are a healthy green, and the lower leaves on the plant
look normal. The plant has only been in the ground for a few weeks, and
the night temperatures were dropping into the 40's at night lasst week.

Thanks, regards,
Bob

Plants can get screwed-up DNA genes just like animals and people. I'd
guess that's what happened.

Bob S.

Bob S. wrote:

zxcvbob wrote in message ...

One of my tomatoes has something really odd going on at the growing
point of the main stem. The stem is not elongating at all, and the
leaves and flower buds are just piling up and getting denser and denser.
Is there a virus that causes something like this, or perhaps scar
tissue from some mechanical damage or an insect sting?

I wish I had a place to post a picture.

Should I cut the top off the plant (and destroy it) and let the lower
part of the plant branch back out?

All the leaves are a healthy green, and the lower leaves on the plant
look normal. The plant has only been in the ground for a few weeks, and
the night temperatures were dropping into the 40's at night lasst week.

Thanks, regards,
Bob


Plants can get screwed-up DNA genes just like animals and people. I'd
guess that's what happened.

Bob S.


I cut it off today, along with about 3 or 4 inches of healthy growth.
On examination, I think it was a flower bud gone berzerk (cancerous).

Bob