Plant guide:🍅 Tomato
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⚠ MinorPuckered, scarred blossom-end deformity — catfacing, usually caused by cool temperatures during flowering.
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Growth
Catfacing — Deformed, Scarred Tomato Fruit
Commonly affects: Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato)
Fruit develops puckered, scarred, or malformed blossom ends, sometimes with deep folds or cavities, most common on the first fruits of the season on large-fruited varieties.
Potential Causes
- 1Cool temperatures (below 12°C) during flower development disrupting normal fruit formation
- 2Herbicide drift from nearby lawn treatments
- 3High nitrogen levels combined with cool weather during pollination
- 4Naturally more common in large-fruited heirloom and beefsteak varieties
Solution Steps
- 1Remove affected fruit if severe — they're still usually edible but cosmetically damaged, not a health risk.
- 2Protect young plants from cold snaps during flowering with row covers or cloches.
- 3Avoid excess nitrogen fertiliser during the flowering stage.
- 4Note that later fruit in the season, once temperatures stabilise, is typically unaffected.
Prevention Tip
Catfacing is largely a temperature issue during flower formation — protecting plants from cold snaps at flowering is the most effective prevention.
