What Can Happen When You Under-Water Tomatoes?

Wilting

• Without an adequate supply of water, the plant cells in the stem and foliage of the tomato plant cannot maintain the pressure inside the cells -- referred to a turgor pressure -- to hold the plant upright. As a result, foliage wilts. If not treated quickly, the young plants may collapse into a heap of limp stems and leaves, turn yellow and die. Mature plants typically present with wilted or dying foliage.

Blossom End Rot

• Blossom end rot appears as a light watery spot on the blossom end of the tomato, but it quickly enlarges and turns dark brown or black, ruining the tomato. Although technically blossom end rot is the result of a calcium deficiency, in most cases a lack water to transport the calcium from the soil upward to the plant actually causes the calcium deficiency.

Blossom Drop

• Lack of water causes stress to the tomato plants, which try to conserve energy in any way they can. Dropping blossoms before they have been pollinated is often a response to stress induced by a lack of water.

Inferior Fruit

• Tomatoes on the vine may cease growing when they experience excessive dryness. When rain returns or supplemental water is supplied, the tomatoes often attempt to grow. Often the rapid burst of growth results in splitting the skin of the tomato and ruining it before it can mature. Plants exposed to dry conditions for long periods typically grow slowly, or cease growing altogether, resulting in weak, stunted plants and fruit.