What's eating my 'cherokee purple' tomato?

'Cherokee Purple' tomato faces the same key threats as other heirloom tomatoes: hornworms, aphids, and whiteflies drain plants or scar fruit, while slugs and earwigs damage low-hanging fruit. Its large beefsteak-type fruits are also attractive to birds. Consistent scouting and physical controls keep most pressure manageable.

Large green caterpillars strip foliage overnight; dark frass pellets visible on leaves and soil. Hand-pick and destroy; apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray; encourage parasitic wasps by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides.

Colonies on shoot tips and undersides of leaves; sticky honeydew; curled, yellowing foliage. Knock off with a strong water jet; use insecticidal soap or neem oil; introduce ladybirds/ladybugs as biocontrol.

Clouds of tiny white insects fly up when plants are disturbed; yellowing leaves; honeydew and sooty mould. Use yellow sticky traps; apply insecticidal soap to leaf undersides; reflective mulch deters adults.

Irregular holes chewed in low fruit and lower leaves; silvery slime trails present. Hand-pick at night; use copper tape around containers or raised beds; apply iron phosphate slug pellets.