Tomatillo Problems - no seeds - little insect holes

15 years ago

I have a few healthy looking Tomatillo plants with good looking large husks. Now that the fruit is ripening and starting to drop I am discovering that something isn't right.

This is my first year successfully fruiting tomatillos, and really frustrating that they aren't working.

At the top of the fruit under the husk I find a little hole and directly inside is the shell from a little larva. It doesn't look like it has eaten much of the plant, just hung out inside to mature. There is no other sign of damage to the plant or fruit, but my tomatillos don't have seeds, just a bubbly looking hollow interior.

Any help is appreciated.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures found here

Featured Answer

lionheart_gw (USDA Zone 5A, Eastern NY)

12 years ago

Probably fruitworms. They are moth larvae. The moth, usually active at night, lays tiny eggs. The eggs are hard to see unless you catch them at just the right time, in just the right place.

When the eggs hatch the very small larvae find the fruit and burrow in. That's where the larvae stay and grow, along with the fruit. Once big enough, they sometimes travel fruit to fruit leaving a mess behind them.

I have never noticed the eggs and never noticed the larvae on leaves. I'm not sure I want to notice them. But they are hard not to see once they invade the fruit. :-)

I hate these things - they give me the creeps.

I found that spraying the plants with an insecticide for vegetables (such as Safer for vegetable gardens) every week or two has prevented this from happening.

I don't get too fancy - just spray the leaves, especially near the flowers and young fruit. I don't go crazy with getting undersides of leaves - I hit them when I can but don't bother with the ones that are too difficult to get at.

I start at the flowering stage and then spray every week or two (usually every 2 weeks because I'm forgetful).

That does a good job of keeping the fruitworms at bay. I've rarely seen a fruitworm in the last couple of years as a result.

I realize that doesn't help you now because the damage is already done, but it may help in the future.

I just grow about 10 tomato plants and find that the quart/liter bottle (no mixing required) lasts quite a while. If I run out, I just get an additional bottle. I wouldn't go crazy with stocking up and I wouldn't go crazy using a lot of product unless you have lots of plants.

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Comments (8)

jean001a
15 years ago
Coincidence, not cause & effect.
heathersgarden
13 years ago
I'd like to revive this thread, because I am having the exact same issues with half of my harvest. The purple tomatillos I'm growing at my home garden are normal, dense and full of flesh and seeds. The ones growing out at the community garden are each one as described in the original post. The flavor isn't very good either. At the very center is a tiny brown chrysalis where the critter matured.

I haven't been able to find out which critter this is, or how to deter it in the future. But this CANNOT be a coincidence.
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CornFedUp
12 years ago
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I lost every single tomatillo to this little bug, and am determined to find out what did it. The fruit was beautiful until you looked closely. Each fruit had a small, healed hole near the stem. When cut open the fruit was hollow without a single seed. There was usually a small cocoon or tiny dead moth inside.

99.9% of the fruit was effected and it was a big crop. It is definitely not a coincidence as suggested previously. Anyone else have trouble with this? What the heck is it? I guess I'll be dusting next year...
Megan L
12 years ago
if i had to take a stab, i'd say tomato fruitworms.
sue2847
12 years ago
We are having the same problem, tons of flowers, the husks form nicely. Some are falling off the vine and when opened we find a tiny black hole and inside a tiny worm. Our first time growing these and the two plants we have are huge and prolific with blossoms and fruit. I don't want to lose the crop to these worms. We do not spray chemicals, everything is grown in organic soil with compost mixed in the soil. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
Cassie Murray
6 years ago
Unfortunately, I don't see a clear answer for this problem. I had the same thing last year, absolutely no fruit that wasn't affected. I didn't even notice until I was picking them. It was so bad I didn't plant any this year, but I have some volunteer plants coming up. Would really like to know to prevent this from happening again.
lhempel2006
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I am dealing with a similar thing. Tiny all white worms that turn the tomatillo inside brown. Barely any external damage. This is the second year of dealing with this critter. 1/4inch long results in big damage. Treated plants regularly with Spinosad that may have helped but lost about 30% of tomatillos that were picked and looked perfectly fine.