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Jun 26, 2020 3:27 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Whit Richardson
IN (Zone 5b)
I have four tomato plants that have been doing great for weeks now and recently two started wilting so I checked for disease, no spots, not fungus I could see. One of the wilting is responding to more watering but the other wilts totally. After heavy watering it perks up a bit then wilts again. It has a lot of fruit on it too. They were all planted about the same time, 2 are Husky Cherry, one wilter is Celebrity and the worst one is Celebrity too. The ONLY thing I've done was hit them with some year old Jobe's Vegetable and Plant fertilizer about 2 weeks back. Anyone have any ideas? I want to save this one that looks so bad but has tons of fruit on it.

thanks Gardener's
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Jun 26, 2020 4:07 PM CST
MSP (Zone 4a)
Is it hot there? Tomatoes wilt on hot days regardless of how much you water them.
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Jun 26, 2020 6:03 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Whit Richardson
IN (Zone 5b)
Not really. I'm in Central Indiana and so far we've had a mild summer, up to high 80's then back to high 70's. This isn't heat wilt. I have other tomato's in containers that wilt in the heat but they spring right back with some shade and water. Not this one.
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Jun 26, 2020 7:00 PM CST
MSP (Zone 4a)
If it doesn't come back it has bacterial or viral wilt and needs to be removed from the garden immediately or it can spread to other plants, even in containers.
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Jun 26, 2020 9:58 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Whit Richardson
IN (Zone 5b)
Got it, thx
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Jun 27, 2020 4:37 AM CST

Pictures are needed, and more information.
For example are these plants container-grown or in the ground? How did the wilting start? From the youngest shoots? A part of the plant? Or did the whole plant just wilt overnight?
Are the leaves normal-looking or have they gone yellow? Have they got purple margins? Have they started to dry up?

There are many causes for wilt and, surprisingly enough, I've found most of the times it's a physiopathy, meaning not a pest nor a disease. In some cases bad genetics (some cultivars are really troublesome, even in improved form) can play a big part.
Celebrity is an excellent cultivar as far as disease resistance goes so (and part of the reason it's so widely cultivated) and Husky Cherry was selected to be particularly resistant to wilt (especially fungal one) so I suspect there may be more here than a mere fungal infection.
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Jul 3, 2020 12:27 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Whit Richardson
IN (Zone 5b)
Update:

With lots of watering or rain most of the plant revives. The leaves are okay looking, I'll try to get a picture. It starting wilting after being in the ground for 3-4 weeks, it was about 2 1/2' tall already, had fruit and seemed to be doing well. The only yellowish leaves are at the very bottom of plant. One stalk has stay wilted the other revive okay. It wilts faster than the other plants in the sun but will revive with watering just a lot more watering than any of the other plants. One thing I do have Walnut trees in the area (it's Indiana we have Walnut trees everywhere!) but the tree is at least 30 ft away and none of the other Tomato plants seemed to be bothered. it just happens to be the plant closest to the Walnuts. Since this is going on 2 weeks now if it was a disease wilt I'd think the plant would be dead now. Thoughts?
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Jul 4, 2020 7:34 AM CST
Name: Ed
South Alabama (Zone 8b)
Beekeeper Vegetable Grower Enjoys or suffers hot summers Seed Starter Region: Alabama Garden Procrastinator
Container Gardener Butterflies Birds Bee Lover Zinnias
A thought... Could it be that the root system might be compromised/small, not allowing it to easily acquire water? When it's flooded the small/weak/diseased/etc root mass draws in lots of water and the plant revives but when the water recedes the plant can't as easily acquire water? As an extreme example...a cutting placed in a glass of water looks crisp, but take it out of the water for a few minutes and it wilts...only to revive again if placed back into the water.

It would be interesting to see the root mass when you pull this plant up and compare it to the other plants' root masses.

Best wishes,
Ed
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