My tomatoe plant has some sort of growth on the stem that has spred all the way to the top of its very fragile

Question

the growth is a lighter shade of green and the joints on the plant are swolen the branches did not grow straight they twist every which way i have pics of it you can e-mail me @ [e-mail] to see them im very curious to know what this could be

Answer 1

It sounds like your tomato has Agrobacterium tumeresence.  This is a type of bacterium that causes tumors and irregular growth patterns in tomatoes.  It is nothing to worry about, but is actually a curious thing if you are interested in genetics.

A.t. is often used for splicing for genetic modifications in plants -- i.e. genetic engineering.  It occurs in the wild (naturally), but people rarely get it in their garden tomatoes any more because they spray too much or just have varieties that are resistant to it.  Although it will mean that your plant probably won't produce as well, it will be something interesting for you to watch as the summer continues.