Source: Tom Glasgow, NEW BERN SUN JOURNAL, 6/12/20


Pith necrosis is a tomato problem more commonly associated with greenhouse and high tunnel tomatoes, although it can occur in the field or even in a backyard garden. Symptoms include wilting of lower leaves and lesions on the stems. Cracked stem tissue may reveal large numbers of adventitious roots bundled together. According to a Vegetable Production Update posted in August 2018 by Amanda Scherer and Inga Meadows of NC State University, pith necrosis is caused by multiple species of plant pathogenic bacteria. It can affect tomato, pepper and several other vegetable and ornamental crops, and is favored by high humidity, low light, high nitrogen, and excessive irrigation.

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