I'm assuming this is wilt - help please.

luke · May 26, 2012

I've got wilt on two of my plants. Never had to deal with this.

I plan to pull both plants up - do I need to treat the soil, and does it need to be done now or later? I will go back with more plants in those spots after pulling them.

Thanks for any responses in advance.

Edit: Just noticed in the third photo the stalk looks slightly different than normal, almost a dust appearance.

Fusion_power · May 26, 2012

Are other plants affected? or just one or two? If multiple plants are wilting then it is likely herbicide. If it is only one or two plants, then it is probably fusarium. There is also a possibility it is really bad nematodes. Pull up the plant and check the roots for nodules

DarJones

**carolyn137** · May 26, 2012

Luke, I noticed that your plants are wilting with the leaves still green and that suggests to me that it could be Bacterial Wilt, a specific systemic disease.

The word wilt is just a general word and there are many diseases that can result in wilting, some with leaves that usually turn yellow at first, like Fusarium, etc., and I'm glad Fusion mentioned root knot nematodes as well.

My vote right now goes to Bacterial Wilt and there's an easy way you can make the diagnosis, so let me Google it and try to find a site that discusses that.

http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/bacterial_wilt.pdf

Well that didn't take very long and there are lots and lots of links via Google to Bacterial Wilt of tomato. Look at the picture at the top b'c it looks just like what you show.

Lower down on the page they show the way to know if it is Bacterial Wilt. Cut a piece of an infected stem and place it in a narrow glass of water and as you can see from the picture, the bacteria that cause the disease will stream out into the water.

Hope that helps.

luke · May 26, 2012

Interesting information. Looks like I need to pull the plants (2 out of about 50) and then go from there. I don't have room to rotate crops, so I might be looking for some form of soil treatment, if it exists.

b54red · May 26, 2012

Luke I have been battling both forms of wilt for 35 years in my garden and there is no treatment that works to get rid of it. A really cold winter will help especially if you till the soil when it is freezing. I have been experimenting with treating the spots where an infected plant has been pulled with a solution of bleach in water and saturating the location before replanting in it. I add 7 or 8 ounces of regular strength bleach(Clorox) to a gallon of water and pour it in the spot. I wait about two days and then add my fertilizer and compost then replant. I don't water the plant for a few days after planting because that seems to increase the incidence of Bacterial Wilt. This method has helped tremendously in the success of plants set out in the heat of summer. Eventually the fusarium will return to the site but this method usually gives me a little more time for the plant to develop before it becomes a problem. It is also a big help to have the spot well mulched to keep the soil temps down a bit. I have had to do this treatment twice in some spots before a plant can take hold and thrive there.

There seem to be many varieties that are especially sensitive to the wilts and I would avoid them when replanting. The best tomato I have found for setting out this time of the year in a fusarium infected spot is Big Beef. I have had the best luck with the following varieties of heirlooms when replanting:

Indian Stripe
Cherokee Purple
Spudakee
Lescana
Dr. Wyches Yellow
Eva Purple Ball
Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red
Berkeley Tie Dye Pink
Black Krim
Lumpy Red
Zogola

luke · May 26, 2012

I will try all of that.

Thank you very much for the information. Especially the recommendation for the Big Beef (I lost a Costoluto and a Berkeley Tie Dye to the Wilt).

b54red · May 27, 2012

Luke I tried for two years to grow Costoluto Genovese with multiple plantings and lost every one of them to fusarium before a single fruit ever got ripe. Others that have been planted many times and seem to always get fusarium fairly early are Coustralee, Earl's Faux, Green Zebra and Momotaro. I haven't found a single variety either hybrid or heirloom that is immune to the stuff but some varieties will frequently resist the disease much better than others and produce a good crop before getting sick. Every year I have a few vines that never get sick but only a very few.

I have managed to keep up production by constant replacing of the sick plants with new seedlings giving me a decent number of plants that are good producers. Some years the fusarium is much worse than other years but it is a constant that I have to deal with. I hope that it is only a minor problem for you.

May 26, 2012	#3
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Luke, I noticed that your plants are wilting with the leaves still green and that suggests to me that it could be Bacterial Wilt, a specific systemic disease. The word wilt is just a general word and there are many diseases that can result in wilting, some with leaves that usually turn yellow at first, like Fusarium, etc., and I'm glad Fusion mentioned root knot nematodes as well. My vote right now goes to Bacterial Wilt and there's an easy way you can make the diagnosis, so let me Google it and try to find a site that discusses that. http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/bacterial_wilt.pdf Well that didn't take very long and there are lots and lots of links via Google to Bacterial Wilt of tomato. Look at the picture at the top b'c it looks just like what you show. Lower down on the page they show the way to know if it is Bacterial Wilt. Cut a piece of an infected stem and place it in a narrow glass of water and as you can see from the picture, the bacteria that cause the disease will stream out into the water. Hope that helps. __________________ Carolyn

May 26, 2012	#2
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,251	Are other plants affected? or just one or two? If multiple plants are wilting then it is likely herbicide. If it is only one or two plants, then it is probably fusarium. There is also a possibility it is really bad nematodes. Pull up the plant and check the roots for nodules DarJones

May 26, 2012	#4
luke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 177	Interesting information. Looks like I need to pull the plants (2 out of about 50) and then go from there. I don't have room to rotate crops, so I might be looking for some form of soil treatment, if it exists.

May 26, 2012	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Luke I have been battling both forms of wilt for 35 years in my garden and there is no treatment that works to get rid of it. A really cold winter will help especially if you till the soil when it is freezing. I have been experimenting with treating the spots where an infected plant has been pulled with a solution of bleach in water and saturating the location before replanting in it. I add 7 or 8 ounces of regular strength bleach(Clorox) to a gallon of water and pour it in the spot. I wait about two days and then add my fertilizer and compost then replant. I don't water the plant for a few days after planting because that seems to increase the incidence of Bacterial Wilt. This method has helped tremendously in the success of plants set out in the heat of summer. Eventually the fusarium will return to the site but this method usually gives me a little more time for the plant to develop before it becomes a problem. It is also a big help to have the spot well mulched to keep the soil temps down a bit. I have had to do this treatment twice in some spots before a plant can take hold and thrive there. There seem to be many varieties that are especially sensitive to the wilts and I would avoid them when replanting. The best tomato I have found for setting out this time of the year in a fusarium infected spot is Big Beef. I have had the best luck with the following varieties of heirlooms when replanting: Indian Stripe Cherokee Purple Spudakee Lescana Dr. Wyches Yellow Eva Purple Ball Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red Berkeley Tie Dye Pink Black Krim Lumpy Red Zogola

May 27, 2012	#7
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Luke I tried for two years to grow Costoluto Genovese with multiple plantings and lost every one of them to fusarium before a single fruit ever got ripe. Others that have been planted many times and seem to always get fusarium fairly early are Coustralee, Earl's Faux, Green Zebra and Momotaro. I haven't found a single variety either hybrid or heirloom that is immune to the stuff but some varieties will frequently resist the disease much better than others and produce a good crop before getting sick. Every year I have a few vines that never get sick but only a very few. I have managed to keep up production by constant replacing of the sick plants with new seedlings giving me a decent number of plants that are good producers. Some years the fusarium is much worse than other years but it is a constant that I have to deal with. I hope that it is only a minor problem for you.