Fusarium? Something else?

[nativeplanter]

Something is hitting the tomatoes in one of my raised beds this year. I was thinking it was fusarium (and was going to post in that long-going thread), but now there are some other things going on that make me think it might be something else, or more than one thing. I'm hoping someone can help me figure this out - this is the first time I've really had a disease problem in the vegetable garden.

All of them have had a little heat stress, and began showing what I thought was physiological leaf roll a couple weeks ago. Then we went away this past weekend and I wonder if they got a touch dry. I usually water only when necessary, and then deeply.

Case #1: German Johnson. When it started to yellow, I thought I saw spider mites, so I treated for that. But I think it's clear that there's more going on. Next thought was fusarium, but now, looking at the photos, I see some spots on the leaves
German Johnson 1.JPGGerman Johnson 2.JPGGerman Johnson 3.jpg

Case #2: Arkensas Traveler. Seems to be just starting on this leaf, but I had pruned a few lower leaves out earlier. This plant had what I thought was physiological leaf roll.
Arkensas Traveller.JPG

Case #3: Stump of the World. Yellowing leaves, some with brown spots, but others just wilted without yellowing. Maybe from a combination of heat and disease?
Stump of the World 1.JPGStump of the World 2.JPGStump of the World 3.JPGStump of the World 4.JPG

Case #4: Black from Tula. This one isn't turning yellow, just wilting. Did not bounce backd after a good water. No idea what's going on with this one.
Black from Tula.JPG

Unaffected (at least visibly) in this bed are Cherokee Purple (which does have spider mites) and Kosovo (of which I had 2 ripe tomatoes that I didn't think tasted very good).

It would be a shame to rip the sick ones out - they all have nice big green fruit on them. And they represent 4 of the 6 plants in that bed. (Everything got in late this year since I was rennovating the beds). Would it make any difference to leave them in until they croak, or would they spread to the other beds? I am assuming this bed gets something non-solanaceous for the next four years.

Hopefully, some of you experts recognize what's going on here. This is the first time I've had real problems. I don't know what is common in SE Virginia, other than the fact that fungi are an issue in general with landscape plants. Of all the years I gardened in Georgia and Massachusetts, I never had a problem before with tomatoes, so this is really new to me.

[nancycee]

I am having the same type of problems-every type of pest/disease has been rearing their ugly heads in my little patch.Spider mites was the problem the past few days.
Early blight/septoria since the beginning.What I believe to be fusarium wilt just caused me to pull my basil plant.
whiteflies started the summer off for me.
My pepper plants are suffering-not even sure what it is.probably a combination of everything.To top it all off,not one tomato has grown due to blossom drop.I have tried pretty much everything and followed all the rules for all my treatments.
I thought the late blight problem 2 or 3 years ago was the worst for me.This year has blown the previous years out of the water.
I am curious if other people in zone 6 have been having problems this year? maybe the weather -while not good for late blight-it seems absolutely perfect for spider mites ! just venting-no help to offer-sorry : ( (sorry for the terrible grammar and punctuation as well-to hot and bothered to fix it-LOL )

[b54red]

It sure looks like you have fusarium wilt. The Black From Tula could be Gray Mold but it is hard to tell from the picture.

[nativeplanter]

Shoot. OK, so the question is "now what?" Should I remove the infected plants? Is four years enough time of a rotation to avoid it next time?

For the Black from Tula - gray mold is the same as Botrytis, right? I don't remember seeing any fuzzy gray lesions, but I'll look more closely when I get home. What I do know is that the wilting occurred mainly while I was away for less than 48 hours. Are wireworms nibbling roots a possible culpret? We do have those, but I didn't think they'd be able to outright kill a well-established tomato plant. I'd suspect moles/voles if this weren't a tall raised bed with a thin gravel layer on the bottom.

[JamesL]

I don't know that it matters if you remove and destroy now, or if you wait and try to get some harvest as if it is fusarium they are going to die at some point anyway.
Either way, you could give "soil solarization" a shot in August or September and possibly use the same bed next year.

http://www.weekendgardener.net/organ...ion-100710.htm
Solarization is a simple nonchemical technique that captures the radiant heat and energy from the sun and causes physical, chemical, and biological changes in the soil. These changes lead to control, or suppression, of soilborne plant pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and pests along with weed seeds and seedlings.

Solarization consists of covering the soil with a clear plastic tarp for 4 to 6 weeks during a hot period of the year when the soil will receive maximum direct sunlight. When properly done, the top 6 inches (15 cm) soil will heat up to as high as 125° F (52 ° C).

Over several weeks, that's hot enough to kill a wide range of soil inhabiting pests such as; wilt and root rot fungi, root knot nematodes and noxious weed seed.

In addition, solarization stimulates the release of nutrients from organic matter present in the soil. It is especially effective for treating garden soils, where the intent is to plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

[nativeplanter]

JamesL, I suppose if they do all keel over by August, then you're right, I might still have time to solarize. I've never done it before, and seeing as it needs the hottest part of the summer to work, I always thought of it as a "would be a nice idea if I had more space" kind of thing. You're right, that bed might be kaput by then anyway.

If it does hang on, I wonder if there is a way for a homeowner gardener to steam sterilize a raised bed later in the season? Hmmm.... too bad I can't think of a way to get a ton of boiling water to dump on it all at once. That would do the trick too, I would think. Of course, the trick would be not to burn my feet off while I'm at it...

[JamesL]

Do some searching on it. It does not have to be done in the hottest part of the summer.
You would still get results if you do it in the fall.
Boiling water - I bet that would work. Would kill all the good guys too though.

[rsg2001]

It looks like a combo of fusarium wilt and early blight along with heat stress.
The leaves that are showing the brown spots in the midst of the yellow patch look like early blight.

The plants where you show entire branches turning yellow look like fusarium, and on those you can only tell conclusively once you pull out the plant, cut the main stem, and see if there are brownish streaks inside. Basically, fusarium impedes the plant's circulatory system (phylum). And it is possible to have more than one disease on the same plant.

Fusarium is systemic and can remain in the soil for several years, so it's there now whether you pull the plant out or leave it sit. Sometimes with fusarium you will find that the whole plant is not affected, just some branches, so it's possible 1) that you can still get a harvest if you don't pull it out, and 2) you may see new sprouting on it after a few weeks. (I have a small ground garden, so I can't do crop rotation effectively; I've had success using products like Root Shield when I put the transplants out, as well as doing a good "cleanup" in the fall, and using a mulch.)

The Black from Tula with the crispy leaves may also have early blight. Black tomato plant symptoms for EB, I was told last year on Tomatoville, can show EB differently. I'm having the same problem right now on Black. And I always get it by the end of the season on Black Cherry. How to tell? Look closely at the leaves (before they get completely crisp), you may see an outline of the EB areas (not yellow but brownish) and then a darker spot - and when I did that on my ailing Black Cherry, I saw that it was true.

The reason I mention heat stress is when the heat wave first started, I was away for a few days, and when I came back, a couple of my plants in Earth Boxes, which had dried out, showed a couple of prematurely yellowing branches without any spots. One of the plants showed new growth that was wilting. They all recovered once regular watering resumed.

Anyway, good luck! It's been a challenging year but it could still work out pretty well.

[nativeplanter]

OK, sounds like I should leave the sick plants in for now. Hopefully I'll get to try some of each of those varieties. Most I have never grown before; I was sort of doing an experiment to see which grow well here and which I like the taste of best.

I checked the Black from Tula - no fuzziness that looks like Botrytis. And no brown outline or darker spot for early blight as you describe, rgs2001. Just wilting and then crispiness. Maybe it is just heat stress. The temperature is supposed to break this weekend, so we'll see what happens.

Regardless, it looks like soil solarization would be a good idea for the fall. I realize that boiling water/steam would kill good guys as well, but wouldn't solarization, too? Also, does anyone know how deep fusarium lives? Does it live below the level where solarization is likely to reach? I generally like to plant my tomatoes as deep as I can. I have this image that any fungus would be able to live a couple feet down, but maybe I'm wrong.

[b54red]

I don't think you will get rid of fusarium by solarization, I tried and it only made the slightest difference. Your best bet is a really cold winter that freezes the ground. I have had fusarium in my soil since I started growing here 35 years ago. The years where it is not as bad are seasons following a very cold winter with only moderate to low rainfall. Warm wet soil seems to really get fusarium going good. Every year after a mild winter like the one we just had my fusarium problems are the worst. My next door neighbor whose garden abuts mine tried chemically fumigating his soil back when that dangerous stuff was available to the public. It helped for one year but it came back worse than ever after that. If I were you I would run out and pick up a couple of Big Beef plants and replace a couple that are really finished like that black plant. You still should have time to make some more fruit before a killing frost if you are lucky.

I have found a few heirlooms that do better than most at producing a crop despite fusarium:

Neves Azorean Red
Indian Stripe
Berkley Tie Dye Pink
Spudakee
Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
Gary O' Sena
Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red
Lumpy Red
Stump of the World
Dr. Wyches Yellow
Eva Purple Ball
Mortgage Lifter
Aunt Ginnie's Purple

If you don't mind growing a few hybrids then Big Beef and Jetsetter will usually make a huge crop despite fusarium. Other hybrids that do alright but not much better than the more resistant heirlooms are Ramapo, Moreton, Goliath, and Brandy Boy.

[nativeplanter]

Originally Posted by b54red

I don't think you will get rid of fusarium by solarization, I tried and it only made the slightest difference. .

Well, that's a bummer! I may try anyway if all the plants in that bed die. It wouldn't hurt, right?

Originally Posted by b54red

Your best bet is a really cold winter that freezes the ground. I have had fusarium in my soil since I started growing here 35 years ago. The years where it is not as bad are seasons following a very cold winter with only moderate to low rainfall. Warm wet soil seems to really get fusarium going good. Every year after a mild winter like the one we just had my fusarium problems are the worst.

Thanks Rebel, that makes a lot of sense. We had a very, very mild winter here last year. We have a fabulous excess of ant nests as a result, too. We also had a period a few weeks ago where I think it rained all week, right before all this heat set in. Sounds like it may have made for a perfect storm. I must say, though, that if you've had fusarium for 35 years, that isn't very encouraging...

I'll have to see if I can find a Big Beef. I'm not opposed to hybrids on a personal level. I just want tomatoes that taste good. I like the idea of having heirlooms in my garden for the variety and that people can save the seeds, but I won't hold anything against a hybrid if it tastes good.

Also - thanks so much for that list. I'll definitely have to look into those next year. Ironically, the Stump of the World is hit pretty hard in the diseased bed. I do have Mortgage Lifter, Eva Purple Ball, and Cherokee Purple elsewhere, so we'll see how they do. The Cherokee Purple in the diseased bed seems to be doing OK except that yesterday I discovered that it has a good case of spider mites. I hope to spray it with pyrethrin tonight depending on whether the rain clouds outside clear. May have to be tomorrow.

You all have been so helpful with this. Diseases make me nervous - I'd hate to lose the rest of my garden, and possibly infect other areas long term, because I was naiive and didn't pull something out that I should have. I feel much better about leaving them in at this point. I was really about to yank them all before I wrote the first post, but then I saw all those big green fruit...

Now if I can just get rid of the fungal disease elsewhere in the yard that is attacking the southern magnolia saplings and perennial plantings. Our yard has flooded completely twice in the past three years, to where the water was above my knees outside the front door (and in the crawl space) from storm surge. Not a good way to keep fungus at bay. (As it is, the water table is high and we get mushrooms growing out of the concrete in the furnace room. Ick.)

(I know - most of you have a terrible drought and are not sympathetic. I do hope it rains soon for you all.)

[kygreg]

nativeplanter,

I have the same or very similar problems shown in your pics. The first set of pics looks exactly like what is going on with my mine.

I contacted our local extension office and talked to a guy I know because I do some heirloom tomato programs for him. He is an agriculture agent and he came out to my garden and could not tell me for sure what it was, but he thought it was a virus of some type.

Anyway, he took a couple stem and leaf samples and is going to send them to the lab; I will post the results when I get them.

[kurt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_steam_sterilization Might answer some questions.http://blog.bbgardens.org/?s=steam+s...ation&x=10&y=6

[b54red]

Big Beef is a fairly tasty tomato and in my opinion better than the other fusarium resistant hybrids I have tried. I usually plant a few every time I am setting out plants. You should find it at most places that sell plants; but if you don't look for a variety that is followed by at least two F s indicating fusarium resistance. There are several strains of it so it is better to have a tomato resistant to more than one. It is no guarantee but it usually makes a very good crop. Even the most fusarium resistant tomatoes have gotten it in my garden this year. Like you said a perfect storm. This year for some reason my Neves Azorean Reds actually held out longer than my Big Beefs which is unusual. They were planted side by side about 3 ft apart in two different beds and both of the NARs outlived every other tomato except one that is a fluke that I am trialing because it did so good last year.

At least you are far enough north that fusarium shouldn't be such a recurring thing like it is down here for me. Your odds of getting a freeze cold enough to kill it back are much better than mine. Sometimes we have one warm winter after the other and that just makes it even worse.

[JamesL]

Here is a good guide on solarization from UC Davis.
It isn't a perfect solution or permanent, but not much is.
All about time and temperature.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html

I am not sure if fusarium can be killed by the cold. Alternaria and Septoria cannot. I believe I read somewhere that Late blight spores could though.

Kurt,
The steam solarization link you posted was interesting. Steaming actually seems more practical on a small scale than on a large one.
Wonder if you could modify one of those cheap shark floor steamers for use on a raised bed?