Fusarium Wilt

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by MissS

I'm so sorry Salt. Yep, it looks to be one of the Wilts. You could cut the stem and place it in a clear container of water. If it is Bacterial Wilt, there will be a milky substance coming out of the stem. Not that it matters much which one it is.

Patti, yes, that is one thing I'm going to do today. I have not walked out to the plants yet, but looking at them through the window - they look even worse than yesterday. If I were to cut off the yellow sections and those with wilt - there wouldn't be anything left. I will pull them today and post the results of the bacterial wilt test and cut into the stems to see if it is Fusarium. Of course, also look at the roots for RKN.

Going to the zoo Wednesday has caught up to me. I was hoping it wouldn't happen.

[AlittleSalt]

I didn't see any milk. There is RKN, and this is what it looks like inside.

[ginger2778]

Salt, cut a stem through lengthwise. Fusarium presents as darkened vascular tissues, almost always going up one side at first, then spreads around the entire stem vascular system.(xylem and phloem)

[AlittleSalt]

It is dark inside. The plant snaps like a dried stick. It should show up better sitting on a piece of copy paper. It looks like dirt, but it isn't.

[ginger2778]

It's fusarium. Very sorry.

[Cole_Robbie]

My condolences as well.

Looking at a pic of one of my stems, I am noticing that I have the brown going mostly down one side.

Do you think this is Fusarium also?

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

My condolences as well.

Looking at a pic of one of my stems, I am noticing that I have the brown going mostly down one side.

Do you think this is Fusarium also?

Yes, I am afraid so. Fusarium is such bad news. Soil borne and doesn't leave. You might have to go to container gardening using sterile bagged mix, and a barrier such as a thick gauge plastic bag like fertilizers and potting mixes come in, andthat barrier put under the pot to keep the native soil out. I know B54red grafts to fusarium resistant rootstocks too. Another option is to buy FFF marked seeds.
Yours is an early stage.

That stinks, very sorry .

[AlittleSalt]

Thank you for telling us Marsha.

Cole, my condolences.

[Cole_Robbie]

I'm just going to graft everything from now on. Adversity is an opportunity to improve one's skills. I'm honestly a little excited about it. I am also going to try to stabilize some hybrid root stocks into OP form. I am not aware of anyone having tried to do such a thing.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Thank you for telling us Marsha.

Cole, my condolences.

You are welcome.

[AlittleSalt]

I am actually glad that it is soil borne. I already have RKN in the soil. I'm glad it isn't air borne. I have an idea for container growing, but I need to think it out more. If I use containers, I'll only grow 11 plants. Before RKN got bad, we grew 13 tomato plants in the garden and had plenty of tomatoes.

I also have another set of raised beds I'm going to try growing in this fall. They may have Fusarium and RKN in them too, but I won't know until I plant some tomatoes in them.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I am actually glad that it is soil borne. I already have RKN in the soil. I'm glad it isn't air borne. I have an idea for container growing, but I need to think it out more. If I use containers, I'll only grow 11 plants. Before RKN got bad, we grew 13 tomato plants in the garden and had plenty of tomatoes.

I also have another set of raised beds I'm going to try growing in this fall. They may have Fusarium and RKN in them too, but I won't know until I plant some tomatoes in them.

It is tough to go with containers in the heat of the south. It only takes one or two times of letting them dry out too much to lose your blossoms. I too tried the container route to avoid fusarium wilt but it was so frustrating. It is really tricky trying to maintain a proper amount of soil moisture when they have fruit on them near the ripening stage. As easy as it is for plants to split in the ground I found it even more of a problem in containers. I did have some notable successes but also some failures. The warmer containers will further impede fruit set which is already difficult in the southern climate due to the heat and humidity. Container growing is much more difficult and demanding than learning to graft.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by b54red

It is tough to go with containers in the heat of the south. It only takes one or two times of letting them dry out too much to lose your blossoms. I too tried the container route to avoid fusarium wilt but it was so frustrating. It is really tricky trying to maintain a proper amount of soil moisture when they have fruit on them near the ripening stage. As easy as it is for plants to split in the ground I found it even more of a problem in containers. I did have some notable successes but also some failures. The warmer containers will further impede fruit set which is already difficult in the southern climate due to the heat and humidity. Container growing is much more difficult and demanding than learning to graft.

Bill

Besides letting them get too dry, I was also thinking of when it rains every day for a while here. The only time that doesn't happen is during drought years. That is part of what I need to think more about. Also about the containers getting too hot here.

Learning to graft would mean I would be growing in ground which is how I've always grown. I do enjoy growing in ground. Last year, when I learned about having RKN - it took the wind out of my sails so-to-speak. Finding out there is Fusarium too explains the wilt that has happened for years.

About a month ago, we were driving the back roads near our house. Not one gardener that usually has a garden has a garden this year. I'm thinking in 2015, when we got over 73" of rain made RKN breed a whole lot more. I haven't researched Fusarium Wilt enough to know if that much rain could have made it worse too or not. A lady that my wife works with was telling me that her tomatoes were looking great and then the plants started turning yellow and were shriveling up. She lives a mile and a half from us. It was Thursday when she told me about her tomato plants. She is going to retire at 65 in a little over a year and she wants to garden with her disabled husband. I'm telling all this because I am the one who got her interested in gardening in 2016. They had a wonderful crop last year. I'm the one who started their tomato plants from seed for them.

There is a similar story about peppers and another of my wife's coworkers. We would give her peppers and she and her mother would make sauce and tamales that they shared with us.

That is part of why I will continue gardening. But if I wrote out all the reasons - this post would go on forever.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by b54red

It is tough to go with containers in the heat of the south. It only takes one or two times of letting them dry out too much to lose your blossoms. I too tried the container route to avoid fusarium wilt but it was so frustrating. It is really tricky trying to maintain a proper amount of soil moisture when they have fruit on them near the ripening stage. As easy as it is for plants to split in the ground I found it even more of a problem in containers. I did have some notable successes but also some failures. The warmer containers will further impede fruit set which is already difficult in the southern climate due to the heat and humidity. Container growing is much more difficult and demanding than learning to graft.

Bill

Bill have you ever tried the self watering containers? My Earthboxes have a 3 gallon water reservoir, and the overflow spout is 3 inches off the ground, they have a solid bottom so bad things can't get in, and because of the overflow spout, it's impossible to over water them. The plastic comes in white if you want to keep the pots cool, and other colors too, and it's a non degrading plastic, people are getting over 30 years out of them so far. So you only have the expense once, and they have sales with free shipping several times per year. I never have grafted, and nematodes and fusarium are a non issue.

[Nematode]

There is some semi promising research using myco's to fight fusarium.
Don't think its ready for prime time, but might be better than nothing.