Verticillium Wilt
The first symptoms of verticillium wilt are blotchy yellow lesions on the lower leaves, rather than a wilting plant as the name implies.
The verticillium fungus thrives in moist, cool soil. It affects many vegetable and plant varieties including cucumber, radish, and beet to name a few.
How to Identify Verticillium Wilt
Courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs
Courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs
- Yellow, blotchy lesions first develop on lower leaves.
- Tan-colored V-shaped lesions on leaf tips.
- Wilting of the entire plant may occur during the hottest part of the day.
- Split open a stem lengthwise to diagnose. Tissues will be brown, especially near the soil line, but can extend upward 10- to 12-inches.
Causes
- Fungi are present in garden and greenhouse soils where they can persist for many years.
- Caused by the fungi Verticillium albo-atrum and V. dahliae.
- The disease survives between seasons on dead plant debris remaining in the soil.
- Can multiply in common weeds, including cocklebur and ragweed.
- Infection occurs at moderate temperatures (13˚C to 30˚C/55˚F to 86˚F) in saturated soil.
Preventative Measures
- Plant disease resistant varieties (labeled V for Verticillium).
- Plant tomatoes only in well-drained soil.
- Practice crop rotation on a long four-year cycle with nonrelated-hosts (no peppers, potatoes or eggplant).
- Fumigate the soil.
- Don't saturate the soil by over-watering.
Treatments
Natural remedies
- By far the best remedy is to avoid the disease by planting Verticillium-tolerant tomato varieties.
Chemical treatments
- Soil fumigation may be your best option if soils are severely infested.
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Credits for technical content
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs
- The Ohio State University Extension
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