White balls in the well of tomato leaves

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
RossRude13 Camarillo, CA Jun 10, 2013

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your support and information.

I have 8 tomato plants which the majority of all the leaves are curling parallel to the main stem of the leaf aka taco shape. Some have dark veins in the center of the leaves as well as 1mm of grey edges. Im leaning towards topsy turvy disease BUT this is not my question...just a little background.

In the well of some of these "tacoed" leaves are a ton and I mean a ton of white little balls that are not attached to the leaves at all. I shake them and they roll right out. Also, when I smash them they are sappy leading me to believe they are a living organism. I tried to take a picture but I dont have a macro lense for my camera, meaning that the pictures didnt turn out ;) While I was rummaging around in the plants I did see a few bugs that looked almost like a chiton that are a bit larger than an aphid. They are a whitish green. Any help in identifying my visitors would be great.

Thank you for your time.

Post #9553813
Quote
HoneybeeNC Charlotte, NC(Zone 7b) Jun 11, 2013

Hmmm... a conundrum to be sure.

I am wondering if they might be the skeletons of bugs that have been eaten by predators. Some predators suck the juices from their prey and leave the exoskeleton.

Pill bugs roll themselves into little balls, but they tend to be grey in color, not white.

Maybe they are some kind of mealy bug?

Aphids come in several colors. If you have lady beetles, their offspring might be responsible for your little white balls - just a guess.

Here's a link to help you identify lady beetle larvae

http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/ladybeetles.html

Post #9554729
Quote
RossRude13 Camarillo, CA Jun 11, 2013

This is what it looks like. If your picture is as large as mine then towards the bottom portion of the leaf you can see little green guys that look like chitons. It's extremely odd since the "balls" are not attached to the leaf at all.

So besides the larvae theory I wonder if the plant could excrete salts through its permeable cell walls?

Also, in the picture you can see that the leafs are curling and greying on the edges. Any input?

Thank you again for your time.

This message was edited Jun 11, 2013 7:51 AM

Thumbnail by RossRude13
Post #9554765
Quote
HoneybeeNC Charlotte, NC(Zone 7b) Jun 11, 2013

I looked up chitons and they are described as marine mollusks.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chiton

I'm stumped as to what you have on your tomato leaves. Hopefully someone else can advise you.

Post #9554802
Quote
RossRude13 Camarillo, CA Jun 11, 2013

Thanks for the reply Honeybee. When I was using the reference to chitons I meant that the bugs on the leaves resemble the physical make up of a chiton not that they ARE a chiton ;)

Post #9554812
Quote
HoneybeeNC Charlotte, NC(Zone 7b) Jun 11, 2013

Ooops! Sorry. Yes they do look as though they have the physical makeup of a chiton.

Post #9554879
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Beginner Gardening Threads

Go to all Beginner Gardening threads
BACK TO TOP