Fusarium a death sentence?

12 years ago

As in prior years, my tomatoes start growing very well, then the yellowing starts on the lower leaves and works its way up and it's a race to the top. This year it started even earlier than usual, and a nursery person whose judgment I trust is pretty sure it's fusarium wilt. He said that once it's started there's nothing you can do other than suffer it or pull the plants. He also said that it's very prevalent in coastal SoCal, and short of solarizing the soil or using containers, there's no way to prevent it.

Is he right? Is there any product that will help? I ran some searches here and found several discussions of fusarium, but none seemed to mention a treatment.

Thanks for any help. Don

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Comments (10)

DCGrdnr
12 years ago
I'm also interested in the answer to this question. One of my 6 tomatoes is showing clear signs of fusarium wilt but the others seem to be fine so far. I bought some Actinovate and will apply it to all 6 and hopefully save some of them but not sure if it is too late for that to help.
structure
12 years ago
I don't think you can save it now, but I do think some of the various biological soil treatments have some effect if applied from transplanting. Actinovate.

It's still early so pulling, planting Fusarium resistant transplants and hitting the area hard with Actinovate is a viable option. There are some very decent varieties with high Fusarium tolerance/resistance.
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jean001a
12 years ago
If it is fusarium, always choose tomatoes with an F following the name. All the possible capital letters that might be present are VFFNT. Look for the F! Has tolerance to Fusarium.
schrebergaertner
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks everyone! I guess I'll run the race this year and see if I can take some preventive measure for next year.
DCGrdnr
12 years ago
Just to update, Actinovate really helped my plant that was stricken with fusarium. A couple leaves are still yellowing and droopy but the plant is much improved and looks like it will pull through. My other 5 plants remain healthy. Fingers crossed but so far so good.
rnewste
12 years ago
DC,

Did you apply Actinovate as a foliar spray, or did you mix it in water to do a soil drench?

I am experiencing yellowing leaves at the base of a few plants, and have begin a foliar spray combo of Actinovate and Exel LG. Probably should have started this spraying earlier (before I saw yellow leaves) but if the spraying delays the yellow upward migration, then I'll be happy.

thanks,

Raybo
jean001a
12 years ago
Yellow leaves at the base could be several things other than fusarium. And probably is/are.

Info about Fusarium wilts, signs, symptoms & how to diagnose:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3122.html

Here is a link that might be useful: about fusaiurm wilts
DCGrdnr
12 years ago
I applied Actinovate both as a root drench and foliar spray. I'm not sure which one helped (or even if it was the Actinovate that helped) but figured applying both ways couldn't hurt.

Like I said, one of my plants had clear signs of fusarium, probably 1/3 of the plant was wilted and yellow and when I cut into the stems they showed clear symptoms of fusarium so I feel pretty confident in my diagnosis. I removed the dead/dying leaves and branches of the sticken plant, applied Actinovate to the roots and leaves and saw a lot of improvement. Hope it stays that way (fingers crossed)
rnewste
12 years ago
DC,

This is what I am seeing on a pair of plants:

Does this look familiar? I'll start the Actinovate soil drench program tonight.

Raybo
DCGrdnr
12 years ago
Raybo,

Your plants look very similar to my diseased plant but I'm not knowledgeable enough to differentiate between fusarium and other diseases without looking at a cut stem. These pics were helpful for me:

http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/K-12/NewsViews/Article%20Images/2003_jul.jpg

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Pests/Diseases/tomaprob.htm

My plant had the typical brownish ring when I cut off an infected stem. I would take a picture of my plant for comparison purposes but fortunately there is very little yellow remaining on the plant. good luck

Fusarium a death sentence?

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