Several tomato diseases and disorders cause leaf spots and fruit rots. Typically, these diseases do not kill the plants, but they can lead to significant yield and quality losses. Many disease-causing microorganisms can survive in plant debris, on seed, or in the soil. Proper sanitation is one of the best ways to prevent or reduce losses. Gardeners should remove all tomato debris in the fall and avoid planting tomatoes in the same area year after year. This publication discusses some of the major leaf spot and fruit diseases and physiological disorders in Kansas. The first section describes fungal diseases, the second section describes bacterial diseases, and the third section describes physiological disorders.
