A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Fusarium and Verticillium

Is it possible for tomatoes to be affected by fusarium and verticillium even though I started the plants from packaged seeds labeled "VFN" resistant? I have 14 tomato plants and a good 6 of them have been showing signs of this for a good couple weeks now. My poor tomatoes are sick.

Hi It is very possible that your tomatoes have fusarium and verticillium wilt even if they are listed as being VFN resistant.
One of the major causes is planting the tomatoes in the same spot year after year.
You should rotate they area where they are planted each year to keep this from happening.

To tell for certain if your plants have either one of the diseases, take a vine and make a diagonal cut, (the longer the bias the better) then look for discolorations inside the vine. It usually shows up as a darkened area. This disease is basically the same thing as hardening of the arteries in a human. You can treat it with a fungicide, this will help slow the spread of the disease down, but it will not cure it.

If you have only a small gardening area and crop rotation is not possible try growing them in raised beds,planters, or pots, using fresh potting soil each year.


Hope this helps

Mike

Thanx Mike!
I cut one of the stems and it was discoloured but it was really dry and the bottom stems have wart looking growths. Any ideas?

Oops....I meant to say the stem wasn't discoloured.
Thanx again!!!
Christina

Christina,
I have tomatoes also, and grew the VFN Beefsteak
variety this year from seed...
They were very resist up until a few weeks
ago for me....

but I am pleased with their output just the same..

I have thwarted some of it spreading by....
Using raised beds, landscape fabric and watching
very carefully how I water...
*I still get it, but it's kept at a miniumal!!!!*

Next year try finding something to cover your
dirt.. so it doesn't splash up onto the stems and leaves of the plant...

And wash in bleach any tomato cage or stake too!

Judging by the photo's I am pretty sure you have verticillium wilt.
A lot of the time the discoloration inside the stem will not show beyond a foot up from the ground. The one stem with the lesions looks rather badley infected, and my guess is if yu were to cut into that youwould see the discoloration
I would prune off the badly effected areas, and plant on rotating your crop next year.

If the disease is bad it may spread to the fruit before it ripens. If this happens let the fruit grow as big as you dare on the vine, then take it off the vine and let it ripen on a sunny window sill.

Should I dig up the infected plants in order to save the others?
This is a newly dug garden this year...still find it odd that this happened. What a bummer!!
Christina

The fungus is soil borne. So it really isn't going to help if you dig them up. I would back The plant Doc's recommendation & Raise the bed with top soil or in planter's. I called Mike( the plant Doc) to make sure of this.

Yeah, it's in the soil, almost pretty
much every where it seems...
And under the conditions when the rain is
free to splash the plant, it excellarates...

try the stuff under the plant...

**Some other suggestions are newpaper, but you have to keep that moist..
**or grass clippings, but you have to keep an eye on that, it can cause it to dry out on top and water has a hard time getting in...*and weed seeds too*,
**straw works okay...
keeps moisture in, can attract snails and things that like decaying material... but still good and organic..can be tilled in if not too heavily put down...