Tomato Disease ID Guide

Pest ID Photo Guide
Tomato Diseases

Author: Matthew DeBacco

Reviewed by: Shuresh Ghimire, Ph.D.
Associate Extension Educator
Extension Vegetable Specialist

Date of Publication: 

Anthracnose

two red plum tomatoes with blue background. Each have a round, indented soft spot.
Anthracnose spots on fruit are initially small, circular, and depressed. The center of anthracnose spots become dark as the fungus produces spores. Photo: M.T. McGrath, Cornell University.

red tomato with a black backdrop. The tomato is covered with depressed or sunken spots with black concentric rings and some cracked skin through the middle of the spots.
An over ripe red tomato with slightly sunken water soaked and black spots, symptoms of Anthracnose. Photo: R.L. Wick, UMass Extension.

close up of the surface of a red tomato with a sunken spot that is turning black in the center
Symptoms on ripe fruit are small, sunken, circular spots with orange sporulation. Photo: J. Olson, Oklahoma State University Extension.

red tomato with six sunken spots that are darkening and blackening in the middle.
The progression of an anthracnose infection on a ripe red tomato. Photo: M.T. McGrath, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

red tomato covered in sunken spots with dark black centers and the skin has broken over each spot.
As the disease progresses, initial infection opens the fruit up to secondary rotting. Photo: J. Olson, Oklahoma State University Extension.

Bacterial Canker

the inside of a tomato stem with lots of browning.
Bacterial canker of tomato: brown streaks in the vascular system when cut lengthwise. Stem cankers, which are splitting and browning of the stem, may develop, particularly in fields. The pith (center of the stem) can become discolored, grainy or pitted. Photo: Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org.

green leaves on a tomato plant are yellowing and turning brown at the tips.
Edges of a tomato plant growing in a greenhouse are turning brown with a yellow border. Photo: S. Ghimire, UConn Extension.

hand holding a tomato leaf attached to a plant. The top of the leaves have light streaking.
Wilting of leaves that may be unilateral and the formation of light streaks up and down the outside of the leaf midrib, petiole and stem are symptoms of bacterial canker. The streaks may open to form cankers. Photo Credit: University of Florida.

ripe red tomato with small yellow raised spots
Bacterial canker symptoms on a ripe fruit. Photo Credit: Cornell University.

browning leaves on a tomato plant
Bacterial canker of tomato causes necrosis (browning) at the leaf margins, often with a yellow border and upward curling. Photo Credit: D. Egel, Purdue University.

top image is green cherry tomato with raised bumps still on the branch. bottom left image is individual green tomato with raised white spots. bottom right image is an unclose view of those spots under a microscope.
Bacterial canker of tomato: Symptoms on fruit appear as raised, white spots with tan or brown centers surrounded by a white halo, resembling a bird's eye, also known as "bird's eye spot". Photo Credit: Rubio, I. et al. (2021). Current knowledge and future challenges. Plant Disease, 105(5), 1096–1113.

Tomato Bacterial Speck

Two tomato leaves with brown spots with yellow halos.
Leaf spots first appear water-soaked, dark brown to black, sometimes with a yellow halo. Spots coalesce as the disease progresses. Photo: M.T. McGrath, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

 

close up of a tomato leaf with lots of brown spots, yellowing, and brown edges.
Symptoms of bacterial speck on a tomato leaflet. Photo: Gerald Holmes, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org.

close up of a tomato plant's stem with brown spots that have merged into large sections of the stem turning brown.
Tomato stem with lots of dark brown, superficial spots. Photo: M.T. McGrath, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

close up of a tomato leaf with brown spots, yellow areas, and brown edges.
Fruit spots are tiny, dark brown, and may be indented. Photo: M.T. McGrath, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

 

 

Consult and follow pesticide labels for registered uses.  To avoid potential phytotoxicity problems, spot test before widespread use.
No discrimination is intended for any products not listed. 

The information in this document is for educational purposes only.  The recommendations contained are based on the best available knowledge at the time of publication.  Any reference to commercial products, trade or brand names is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended.  UConn Extension does not guarantee or warrant the standard of any product referenced or imply approval of the product to the exclusion of others which also may be available.  The University of Connecticut, UConn Extension, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.