9 Reasons Why Your Tomato Plants Wilting and How To Fix This!

When the gardeners see their lovely and precious tomato plants wilted, they become hopeless, sad, and impatient. But the situation can often be reversed with proper care and adopting a few good practices.

What is Tomato Plants Wilting?

Tomato plants wilting is a common problem faced by gardeners. Wilting occurs when the plant’s leaves become limp and droop down, depriving them of essential moisture and nutrients. It’s usually caused by too little water or overly dry soil, but can also be due to disease, pest infestations, heat stress, or nutrient deficiencies. Wilting can lead to decreased yields and in some cases, death of the plant if not addressed quickly.

Monitor your watering habits and rectify them if they are not up to the mark; regularly inspecting for pests and diseases and providing the ideal growing environment can reverse the situation, and your plant can revive again.

In this article, I have explained the 9 most common reasons for a wilted tomato plant with the fixing solution.

Why is My Tomato Plant Wilting?

When the tomato wilt, leaves droop and appear irregular. Dry or soggy soil, inadequate plant watering, bad companioning of plants, hostile environment, and attack of various pests and diseases are some common reasons for wilting your tomato plants. 

I have briefly elaborated below the 9 most common reasons for wilting with their solution. Let’s get into it!!

1. Underwatering

The wrong way of watering tomato plants and providing insufficient water to your tomato plant can raise issues like wilting, yellowing, flattening of leaves, and many other problems.

Drooping of plants happens due to a lack of sufficient amounts of water. The cells of the plant hold water, due to which they can stand and grow properly. Underwatering the plants’ results in drooping and leaves also appear thin and flat.

Solution:

Water your plant thoroughly and in an adequate amount and the plant will definitely revive with your little effort. 

Also, understand whether your watering habit is up to the mark or not. Check the moisture level in the soil and water in the base of the plant as and when the top layer of the soil dries out. And never allow your plant to suffer due to lack of water. The healthier the plant, the higher and quality yield it would produce.

Here’s our guide to correctly watering tomato plants.

2. Overwatering

Just like underwatering, overwatering also stresses the plant and results in affected plants wilt. 

Due to overwatering, the soil becomes overly moist and soggy, leading to root rot. The roots become inefficient in supplying the required water and nutrients to the plants.

If there is a frequent presence of puddles around your plants, you are likely giving them too much water.

This can be easily fixed. 

Allow the soil to dry completely before you water them again. Water your plants in an ideal amount only. And see if it is recovering. 

Still, if the situation is not better, your plant is going through root rot, requiring much effort to reverse the situation. Pull the plant, trim the impacted part of the roots, and replant it in a new and fresh location.

Ensure to maintain a good soil drainage system. Your plant would likely develop new roots. Monitor it regularly to see if it is recovering. Generally, the plants recover with such treatments. 

3. Transplanting

Transplanting any tomato plants is a stressful process. Often it needs to go through transplantation shock. When the plants are moved from indoors to outdoors, replanting from warm soil to cold soil can lead to root damage which causes transplantation shock. 

It can cause the plants to wilt and turn the leaves yellow. But thankfully, it won’t harm the plants. 

Allow your tomato plant to adjust to the new surroundings and get used to it. Give regular care to the plant, and do not try to change the environment for your plant.

Do not overwater it, as the plant is developing new roots. Normally within 1-2 weeks, plants return to their normal condition and revive themselves. 

4. Damage from Cold Temperatures

Tomato plants are not much fond of cold temperatures. When young plants need to stand in cold temperatures, they can wilt. When the plants come in contact with warm temperatures, they recover. But if it’s a severe frost, the chances of survival are very rare.

At the end of the growing season, when older tomato plants need to face frost, they can wilt, marking the end of the growing season. 

5. Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is extremely hazardous for tomato plants and needs immediate attention. 

You might assume from its name that these viruses can impact only tomato plants, but that’s not right; they can attack many plants, including pepper and ornamental plants. 

As I already said, it is hazardous; any plant infected with TSWV must be treated immediately. 

Wilting is the most common symptom of TSWV attacking plants. The infected plants keep shedding their leaves, and the growth of the plant also remains retarded. The foliages turn its shade to yellow or brown and seem to appear bronze. 

The plants attacked by TSWV do not have any treatment; if such plants are ignored, they won’t continue producing fruits and even stop growing. If such plants produce any fruits, they would be completely distorted and non-edible. 

On the other hand, infected plants are more at risk of spreading the virus to neighboring plants in the garden. So it is better to completely remove and destroy the infected plant and never make the mistake of using it as mulch. Do not let the infected plant come in contact with healthy plants. 

Yes, it has no treatment but TSWV can be prevented by controlling the spread of the Thrips virus. 

Thrips are one of the most dangerous viruses, and no one would even think of their entry into their garden. Unfortunately, these viruses become more dangerous while carrying the TSWV. By any means, if the thrips carry TSWV from any infected plants, they can stay for their whole life and continuously spread the virus on which they feed. 

It would be best if you took preventive measures to avoid the invasion of Thrips in your garden.

• Before bringing any seedlings from the nursery, thoroughly check the plant.
• Regularly monitor your plants to see if there are any symptoms of thrips.
• If any symptom of thrips is detected, apply insecticide, which is safe for tomato plants, and apply during the early stage only. 
• Regularly removing weeds helps keep your plants healthy and save them from viruses. 

6. Fungal Wilt Diseases

Other fatal diseases causing wilting of tomato plants are mainly 2 Fungal Wilt Diseases, and the most common of them are Fusarium wilt and Verticillium wilt. Tomato plants are more prone to these diseases. 

They are soil-borne diseases and badly impact the vascular system of the plant. As a result, necessary nutrients and water are not delivered to the leaves, which leads to the wilting and yellowing leaves, and the plants becoming undersized. 

Unfortunately, the infected plant’s fruit production is hampered, and even the plants die. There are high chances of spreading these diseases to your whole garden. Thus, you are only left with removing and destroying all the infected plants. At Least this would help to prevent the spread of the diseases to other healthy plants. 

These diseases are soil-borne, so that they can stay in the same soil for years and years. I recommend not planting more tomato plants, nightshade family plants, or any other non-resistant plant on the same disease spot. 

Now the question is how to fix this issue. Unfortunately, it can never be cured. So it is better to prevent this. But thankfully these diseases can be easily prevented. 

Plant resistant varieties; it would be the resistant varieties labeled as V or F just next to the tomato name. Planting any of these tomato varieties can leave the risk of fungal wilt diseases.

7. Bacterial Wilting Tomato Plants

The soil-borne bacterium Ralstonia Solanacearum is the main culprit for the cause of Bacterial wilt in tomato plants and is as dangerous as fusarium wilt.

The tomato plants infected due to such bacteria can even die. The main symptom of such infection is wilting of plants, and it is born in warm wet soil and remains in the soil for many years. 

The infection is spread in the same manner as other wilt diseases. The plant’s vascular system is choked up and restricts the plant from delivering water and necessary nutrients from the soil. Initially, the wilting effect is seen in new and young leaves, and eventually, the whole plant gets impacted, resulting in the plant’s death. 

It is very difficult to diagnose the plant with bacterial wilt as the leaves remain green only, and only minor symptoms are seen in the infected plants. 

If you have made every possible treatment to save your wilted plant and the watering habit is also improved, but the plant’s condition is not reversed, cut some part of the stem and keep it in a jar full of water. If infected due to Ralstonia Solanacearum, slippery white liquid stuff is released from the stem. 

As and when the plant is identified with such infections, destroy it completely and do not plant any crop in the same spot as Ralstonia Solanacearum lives for years in the same spot. Crop rotation is a good way to improve the quality of the soil. 

Ralstonia Solanacearum is very common in coastal areas. Thus I suggest growing tomatoes in big pots or containers to prevent such infection. 

8. Pests

Pests can create many issues for your tomato plants and wilting is one of the issues. But initially, the tomato plant signifies pest attack with other issues rather than wilting.

Wilting due to pests in tomato plants is less common. But wilting of plants is also an indication of pest infestation in your plants and it requires immediate attention. 

Stalk borer is mainly responsible for wilting of tomato plants. These caterpillars make holes in the plant’s main stem, able to hide and feed the entire plant. As a result, the plant’s water and nutrient transport system gets disturbed and destroyed.

Thankfully, all the infected plants are not destroyed, and they do not die. Some healthy tomato plants, if taken care of properly, still produce fruits and are able to still stand. 

Root-knot nematodes are another type of pest that can lead to wilting of tomato plants. The root systems of the plant are impacted and attacked by these pests. The roots become incapable of delivering water and nutrients to the plant, and root rot also happens, resulting in plants’ wilting. 

Nematodes are hard to get rid of. Thus it is best to plant resistant plants and keep your tomato garden very safe from nematodes.

9. Bad Companion Plants

The neighboring plants play a vital role in the health of your tomato plants. Some plants act as the best companion plant and leave a positive impact; some are vice versa. 

One of the bad companion plants for tomatoes is walnuts.

Juglone is a chemical released by walnut trees that is hazardous for the health of tomato plants, including other nightshade families plants like potatoes and peppers. This chemical reaches the soil, and the roots of tomato plants absorb them. As a result, the plant is destroyed slowly and steadily, causing the plants to wilt.

After the roots absorb juglones, it is delivered to the leaves and stem, and it becomes impossible to save the plant and the infected plants should be completely removed from your garden. 

In such situations, avoid planting tomatoes too close to the walnut trees; plant them far from the walnut tree and maintain at least 75-100 feet spacing between both plants.

I would suggest planting the tomatoes in containers so that the transfer of juglone chemicals becomes impossible via soil to the tomato plants.

What causes tomato plants to wilt and how do you revive them?

Wilting of tomato plants can signify the possibility of many diseases or pest attacks, which can result in the shading of leaves and forming an irregular shape. Generally, wilting happens because of water issues to the plant.

Less watering can leave the plants to wilt and remain dehydrated. When you notice flat leaves and dry soil, water your plant thoroughly to resolve the problem. And the situation would be reversed. But if it happens repeatedly and too frequently, high yields from such plants become impossible.

On the other hand, overwatering can also leave the plants wilted. The soil would be overly moist and leaves drop, but it remains hydrated. In such a situation, stop watering and allow the soil to be dried out. If the top 1-2 inches of soil is dry, only water the plant next.

Please ensure to keep fertilizing your containerized tomato plants, as nutrients get flushed out when water is drained from the containers. 

Thus it must be understood that tomato plants should be watered in a balanced form. Adequate moisture in the soil for container plants is necessary, but dry or soggy soil can spoil the health of your tomato plants.

The tomatoes produced in such soil can become flavorless tomatoes, start showing blossom end rot signs or start splitting. These plants become more prone to diseases.

How can I help my wilting tomato seedlings?

Please follow the below-mentioned points to take care of your wilting young tomato plant.

• Ideally, seedlings require 4 basic things to grow stronger. They are sunlight, water, air, and nutrients. A lack of these basic things might be the reason behind the falling of your seedling. 
• Seedlings need to develop a strong root system. Repotting is the best option to achieve this. If the seedlings do not get much space, it becomes leggy and starts to wilt. So it is important to re-pot them in larger containers instead of smaller containers. This helps them develop a strong root system, and wilting chances also reduce. 
• The damped seedlings curl and wilt or even fall. The plant’s stem absorbs more water and becomes gray, yellow, or sometimes black before its breaks up. And in such a situation, the seedlings can never be brought back. 

Summary

In this article, I have explained all the possible reasons for the wilting of tomato plants. Some problems, like watering issues, can be easily reversed, but some issues, like diseases and a few pest attacks, cannot be reversed. But if proper preventive measures described in the article are taken, you will never need to encounter your tomatoes wilting issues.

Regularly inspect your plant to check if your plant is going through any problems and take all the possible measures to save your precious tomato plants. And you would love to see your healthy tomato plants with flavorful tomatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do tomato plants wilt from too much water?

Tomato plants wilt when they lack water, but on the other hand, they wilt due to overwatering also. Overwatering can result in soggy soil, tomato roots getting soaked into it can start rotting.

Thus the root system of tomato plants is hampered, and water & necessary nutrients are not transported to the plants, which leads to wilting. Therefore, it is very important to water your plants in the right amount, neither too less nor too much.

Should I cut off wilted tomato leaves?

Yes, it is usually a good idea to cut off any wilted tomato plants’ leaves as they may be infected with disease or pests. Wilted leaves can also reduce the nutrition available to the rest of the plant and make them vulnerable to other problems.

Make sure you use clean, sharp scissors or pruners when cutting off wilted leaves, and dispose of them away from the plant. If you notice any disease or pests on the leaves, be sure to treat it with a suitable product before disposing of them.