05/22/2026
🍅🍅🍅As we move into vegetable gardening season, our office has already started receiving calls about problems showing up in home gardens, especially on tomatoes and other sensitive vegetables. Many of these issues may look like diseases but are often caused by environmental conditions or herbicide injury.
Tomatoes are highly sensitive to herbicides, and damage is often mistaken for disease problems. Common symptoms of herbicide injury include leaf curling or twisting, yellowing, stunted growth, wilting, and misshapen fruit. Two herbicides frequently linked to tomato injury are glyphosate and 2,4-D. Exposure usually occurs through spray drift, contaminated sprayers, or herbicide residues in mulch, hay, or manure.
Plants exposed to herbicides cannot be cured, though some may partially recover over time. To reduce the risk of injury, gardeners should use dedicated sprayers for herbicides, carefully clean equipment, avoid spraying during hot or windy conditions, and only use manure or mulch from trusted sources known to be herbicide-free.
If multiple plants suddenly show similar symptoms, especially near roadsides or neighboring fields, herbicide exposure may be the cause rather than disease. For help identifying tomato problems, contact your local Mississippi State University Extension Service county office.
