What Causes Cat Faced Tomatoes?

Symptoms

• Symptoms of catfacing include poor quality fruit that's misshapen and lumpy. Corky, brown scarring occurs on the base of the tomato and fissures extend into the flesh. In addition, the fruit cracks and ripens unevenly. Large-fruited tomatoes are more prone to this problem than varieties that produce small fruit.

Causes

• Plant pathologists don't have definite information about the causes of catfacing but they do agree that disturbances to flowers or buds lead to the problem. Some conditions that may contribute to catfacing include night temperatures of 58 degrees Fahrenheit or lower when plants are flowering, high levels of nitrogen, and exposure to hormone-type herbicide sprays.

Control

• The best way to control catfacing is to plant varieties that are resistant to this problem. According to the University of California cooperative extension, resistant varieties include Duke, CountII, Floradade and Walter. In addition, you should avoid using 2,4-D herbicide around your tomatoes and be careful not to transplant plants too early in the season when the weather might still be too cold. Washington State University Extension cautions gardeners against using the Oregon Spring cultivar because it is particularly prone to catfacing. Since high levels of nitrogen might make the problem worse, you should also be careful not to overfertilize.

Care

• Tomatoes prefer full sun and rich, well-drained soil that has a lot of organic matter or compost added to it. The pH should be between 6.2 and 6.8. Use a complete fertilizer that's not high in nitrogen. Cornell University Extension suggests a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10, which will provide 5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and either 5 or 10 percent potassium, depending on which one you use. Avoid spots that will be too cold at night or too hot during the day. Tomatoes need even watering to avoid cracked fruit. Soak the ground to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. Mulching will help keep the temperature of the soil even and retain water.