Tomato has brown spots: it is better to remove the fruit immediately
Created: 07/03/2022, 09:00
By: Ines Alms
If the tomato develops brown spots on the bush, it should be picked quickly, because it is probably a contagious fungal disease.
Munich – Whenever it rains, inadequately protected tomatoes are at risk of fungal diseases, because the plants do not like too much moisture from above.
Be it late blight or early blight, the unsightly names come with a common symptom: tomato fruits that have brown spots.
These should be disposed of immediately.
Tomato has brown spots: it is better to remove the fruit immediately
In tomatoes, brown-black spots on leaves or stems are a sign of late blight and brown blight.
(Iconic image) © Manfred Ruckszio/Imago
Unfortunately, the probability is not high that brown spots on the tomatoes are harmless.
This is usually only the case with blossom end rot, a sign of a calcium deficiency in the plant, which is noticeable by brown-black spots in the area of the blossom base at the lower end of the fruit.
In all other cases, the disease is probably caused by bacteria or fungi.
The most important include fungal diseases such as late blight, late blight, fruit and stem rot or early blight, which can destroy the entire harvest.
Even worse: the fungal spores can survive the winter in the ground or on wooden tomato sticks and be up to mischief again the next year.
The first thing to do here is pick the fruit and examine the rest of the plant for signs of disease.
This can be curled leaves or grey-brown to black spots on the leaves or stems.
Infested plant parts must also be disposed of - in the residual or organic waste and not in the compost, where they can spread further.
If the blossom end rot occurs, the tomatoes are edible, otherwise they are not
In the case of late blight, the tomatoes are somewhat leathery or wrinkled and the brownish areas usually reach deep into the flesh.
In the case of early blight, the fruits are rather soft rotten.
In the case of fruit and stem rot, the tomato is attacked from the stem.
In contrast to burst fruit, the brown tomatoes are no longer edible, only blossom end rot is an exception here: the brown areas can simply be cut out generously.
The main measures to prevent these tomato diseases are as follows:
Tomato pinching and defoliation: Removing lower leaves down to the lowest trusses if they touch the ground, hang too close, or look diseased.
Tear the leaves from bottom to top to damage the plant as little as possible.
Protect the tomato from moisture such as rain, for example by covering the plants.
Only water the tomatoes from below to avoid splashing water.
Choose tomato varieties that have a higher resistance to fungal diseases, often wild varieties or grafted tomato varieties.
When planting the young plants on the bed, spread a layer of grass clippings five to ten centimeters thick.
This prevents splashing water from the ground hitting the plant and picking up these spores from the soil.
Plant plants at least 50 centimeters apart, not too close together and as far away from potatoes as possible.
Thoroughly clean plant stakes, especially those made of wood, after each season.
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Your tomatoes are not brown, but unfortunately not red either, only green?
You shouldn't eat them either, as they contain a lot of toxic solanine.
If the fruits are already slightly yellow, you can let the tomatoes ripen.
