Bacterial Wilt Questions

[PeteD]

I think I am having a walnut wilt issue this year(http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19122), but am curious about bacterial wilt to make sure that is not the problem.

How fast does the plant typically die from bacterial wilt?

Is the milky ooze test from the stem consistent? Or can that symptom be missing?

Some of my plants have shown some wilting (droopy tops, top of stalk and green leaves), which then recover (sometimes) after a day or two and while the plants don't seem to be growing as fast (seem stunted), they don't completely die quickly (still alive for several days/weeks). The plants just are not dying very fast (just now realizing this because I pulled the first few)

Is bacterial wilt more prevalent in the South/hotter climates? Would it be strange for me to have this in Zone 6A? First started before the recent heat spell, so we had very little high 80s or more weather before symptoms.

TIA,
Pete

[RayR]

I've never heard of Bacterial Wilt in tomato plants in the North, Since it's a soil borne pathogen I suppose it's possible if contaminated soil was brought up from the South and the climate conditions were right. I think the milky ooze test is the proof of bacterial wilt on any kind of plant.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by PeteD

I think I am having a walnut wilt issue this year(http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19122), but am curious about bacterial wilt to make sure that is not the problem.

How fast does the plant typically die from bacterial wilt?

Is the milky ooze test from the stem consistent? Or can that symptom be missing?

Some of my plants have shown some wilting (droopy tops, top of stalk and green leaves), which then recover (sometimes) after a day or two and while the plants don't seem to be growing as fast (seem stunted), they don't completely die quickly (still alive for several days/weeks). The plants just are not dying very fast (just now realizing this because I pulled the first few)

Is bacterial wilt more prevalent in the South/hotter climates? Would it be strange for me to have this in Zone 6A? First started before the recent heat spell, so we had very little high 80s or more weather before symptoms.

TIA,
Pete

Plants with Bacterial Wilt can and do go down overnight with the foliage still green. RIP.

THe ooze test usually but not always is diagnostic, and I think one of the variables is how infected the particular stem is that's being tested. Main stem would be best, down low.

if you think your plants have a juglone problem from being near a walnut tree that would be, statistically, a better diagnosis than anything else, including Bacterial Wilt, especially since I would expect that you'd see some change in foliage color with juglone damage.

yes, Bacterial Wilt can be found in your area and mine, but not all that common, and same, actually for several soilborne diseases such as Verticillium as well as Fusarium, which is really rare up here but if it has been brought in on purchased plants and there's a couple of winters where the ground doesn't freeeze deeply, then it can survive. And with traded seeds Fusarium especially, the spores can still be on the seed coat if the seeds haven't been processed correctly.

And yes, Bacterial Wilt is more common in the southern states, as are many soilborne diseases that those of us in the north don't have to deal with on a routine basis.

Hope that helps.

[PeteD]

Thanks for the helpful replies, guys. The main stumbling block is that I do not see much yellowing with the wilt (at least in the beginning)...rather the plants just go limp and then recover somewhat. But they do show some recovery and fight for some time. I have left some of the plants to test more definitively for the white ooze, and I have one that looks like it will finally succumb to whatever it is fighting - this plant has some yellow leaves now, but I had been thinking it was blight causing that yellowing - maybe it is really progression of the juglone wilting.

Maybe the yellowing part of the juglone wilting is not immediate?

I have also transplanted a couple of the plants (one previously healthy and one that started to wilt) into containers with the same soil and left them next to the other plants. If these survive/recover, I think that will confirm juglone problems, since all I have done is prevent their roots from possibly touching walnut roots.

I am really trying to figure out if I should replace the soil in my beds next year when I move them away from the walnut tree stump...

Based on this information, bacterial wilt does seem unlikely, but I will test the stems on the plants as they die.

[beeman]

Originally Posted by PeteD

Maybe the yellowing part of the juglone wilting is not immediate?
I have also transplanted a couple of the plants (one previously healthy and one that started to wilt) into containers with the same soil and left them next to the other plants. If these survive/recover, I think that will confirm juglone problems, since all I have done is prevent their roots from possibly touching walnut roots.

I would be interested in the results of your tests as I suffer from the exact same problem.
My garden is bordered by a neighbours two walnut trees, and I'm forced to plant just out of the drip line. I don't believe the walnuts are all to blame as other crops grow well including potatoes, no wilts there.
I have never seen any yellowing on any of the plants I pull, so I don't think jugalone causes this, nor have I found any white milky substance on testing, so I know it's not bacterial wilt.
Please...keep us informed.