Tomato Quirks Part 7 – Leaf Roll

This is final part of a seven part series on some quirks that can be found with tomatoes. This article will end the Tomato Quirks Series. If you missed the first six articles, you can check them out here:

Tomato Quirks Part 1 – Catfacing

Tomato Quirks Part 2 – Bumpy Stems

Tomato Quirks Part 3 – Green Shoulders

Tomato Quirks Part 4 – Sunscald

Tomato Quirks Part 5 – Splits & Holes

Tomato Quirks Part 6 – Spotted Tomatoes

Why Are The Leaves On My Tomato Plants Rolling Up?

All of the tomato quirks featured thus far have pertained to the tomato fruit. Today’s tomato quirk will feature an issue with the plant itself.

Environmental leaf roll (also called leaf curl) can be very common with most tomatoes, and many times is nothing to really worry about. Generally, the leaves on a tomato plant will roll, or cup, inwards as a sign of some type of stress. This could be due to inconsistent watering, or high temperatures. The leaf will curl in an attempt to reduce leaf surface so the plant can grow stronger roots for better survivability.

There is also viral leaf roll, which can be very harmful to tomato plants. Viral leaf roll is transmitted by insects. The veins of the leaves can turn purplish or spotted. The leaves will become lumpy and twisted. These symptoms will help to determine which leaf roll is affecting your tomatoes.

What Can I Do To Prevent Leaf Roll?

If your tomatoes are experiencing environmental leaf roll, begin consistently deep watering your tomatoes. Most of the time environmental leaf roll is not a threat, and will not effect the growth or production of your tomatoes plants, unless the condition becomes severe.

If you check the underside of the leaves and find the purplish veins, then you may have viral leaf roll. If viral leaf roll is suspected, pull up the affected plants and promptly discard or burn. This will help to prevent it from spreading to other plants.

This will conclude the Tomato Quirks Series. I hope you enjoy reading the entire series as much as I had preparing it. There are many disorders, diseases, and other problems with tomatoes, these are just a few. I hope everyone is having a bountiful harvest of tomatoes this season!