Mexican husk tomatoes or also commonly known as tomatillos are fruits that belong to the nightshade family. Most plants from this category are known for their medicinal properties present in them. Just like this, tomatillos also contain tons of nutrients that help in keeping their users healthy. The fruit contains vitamins that are capable of improving a person’s immune system while also keeping their blood sugar levels under control. Another great thing about fruits is that they can also be used to make different types of dishes.
With that being said, people should understand that there are also some issues that you can get with this plant. Recently, some users have been reporting that their tomatillos are running into leaf problems. When it comes to this, several things can cause the issue and the steps required to fix them can vary. This is why we will be using this article to provide you with a list of problems that you can get along with and ways that can be used to get rid of them.
Tomatillo Leaf Problems
- Pests Attacking Plant
The most common problem that people often report getting on the leaves of their tomatillo plants is that these get damaged overnight. When it comes to this, the main reason is usually that your fruits might be infected with pests. Cutworms are one of the most common types of insects that can invade the fruit and start spreading all over it.
The worms are tiny to notice which is why there is a high chance that people will only notice them once the leaves have started getting damaged. You should note that these insects infest the plant and feed from its fruit, stems, and even leaves. Considering this, all of these will get damaged, and it can even prevent people from harvesting the fruits on time.
If the insect has spread so much that the insides of your fruits have also been attacked, then your entire harvest will be wasted. This is why you should take steps as soon as possible so that the problem can be stopped quickly. When controlling different types of pests on your tomatillo plants, several types of chemicals can be used.
Cutworms in general can be killed by using cyhalothrin, bifenthrin, cyhalothrin, abamectin, and azadirachtin. Tons of other medicines can be used as well but these are some of the best ones that you can get.
- Black Spots On Leaves
The second common issue that users might notice is small black spots have started forming on the leaves of their tomatillos. In some cases, the problem might be from your fruit being under sunlight for long durations. While it is mostly recommended that you keep your tomatillos under the sun for several hours, this can also cause problems if the temperatures in your area are too high.
Hence, if this is your problem then you can easily prevent it by moving the plant to a spot where it also gets shade at times. Alternatively, you can start keeping the soil around your tomatillos moist so that it can cool itself down in case the plant is getting too much heat. On the other hand, if the sunlight being too bright is not causing the issue, then this might be from the black spot disease.
This can be controlled by using fungicides on your plant and you should do it quickly. The main reason behind it is that the black spots eventually travel to the fruits on your plant which ruins the harvest.
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus
Finally, one more problem that you can get on your tomatillos is Tobacco mosaic virus. This usually causes the plants to become dwarf and stop producing new fruits. Considering this, the disease can be quite dangerous which is why you should take steps to prevent it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the only thing that you can do is quarantine your fruit from other plants.
This prevents it from spreading to other plants and your harvest can be kept protected. The infected plant will get cured on its own and the only thing that you have to do is keep it under check. As long as it stays healthy, it should start producing new fruits after a few weeks at most.