Applying daconil to treat fusarium

walkertrex · February 20, 2017

Hi all- I've been in incommunicato these last several months as I finished up my masters degree and started new work. I hope everyone's seeds are off to a happy start!! My garden was completely destroyed last year by every imaginable foe so I am hoping for a better season this year. I believe 2 of my raised beds fell victim to fusarium and I wanted to proactively treat them before planting out in May. I've never done this before and was wondering what the timing should be relative to planting out seedlings, how many applications I should strive for, and what the recommend dose is. I planned on purchasing daconil concentrate from Amazon. Open to suggestions for other products as well though. Thanks in advance!!

**carolyn137** · February 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkertrex

Hi all- I've been in incommunicato these last several months as I finished up my masters degree and started new work. I hope everyone's seeds are off to a happy start!! My garden was completely destroyed last year by every imaginable foe so I am hoping for a better season this year. I believe 2 of my raised beds fell victim to fusarium and I wanted to proactively treat them before planting out in May. I've never done this before and was wondering what the timing should be relative to planting out seedlings, how many applications I should strive for, and what the recommend dose is. I planned on purchasing daconil concentrate from Amazon. Open to suggestions for other products as well though. Thanks in advance!!

First, congrats on your MA degree.

And now a few questions

You say your garden was destroyed last year, was that due to weather or critters or diseases. Just trying to find out what you initially filled your raised beds with and if you saw any diseased plants initially.

How did you ID as Fusarium being the problem now? You are in PA so wouldn't have all three serotypes of F , or even one unless you bought plants from a nursery that were raised in the south.

Daconil is a very effective anti fungal for the two major fungal foliage diseases above ground of Early Blight, Alternaria solani and Septoria Leaf Spot, but I'm having problems seeing it doing anything below ground since F is usually considered to be soilborne.

So I guess it's best I wait until you respond,before I say more.

Carolyn

z_willus_d · February 20, 2017

Hi Walker, are you planning a soil drench using the Daconil? I've only known Daconil to be used as a foliar treatment (not systemic TMK), and Fusarium is a soil-born fungi that gets into the plan via small cuts and openings in the root system. I'm don't think a Daconil spray treatment to your seedling leaves will have any impact on their susceptibility to Fusarium.

Once your soil is infected with V/F, it can be very difficult to purge it. You can try crop rotation, but that's not really practical for many of us with limited space, nor is it 100% effective (depending on the race of V/F). Some folks solarize the top layer of soil (especially if it's not too deep. The idea is to heat up the ground and kill the spores. Some perform drenches with sulfur and other fungicides. The latter two methods would seem to destroy the Soil Food Web and good microbes along with the bad, so I question it as a solution. The other option that many of us take is to graft our susceptible scion varieties to V/F resistant root-stock. This is the approach I've taken for the past several years, and it's worked well enough. Grafting has other advantages as well. You can search the forums for a wealth of information on the topic. Good luck.

**carolyn137** · February 20, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by z_willus_d

Hi Walker, are you planning a soil drench using the Daconil? I've only known Daconil to be used as a foliar treatment (not systemic TMK), and Fusarium is a soil-born fungi that gets into the plan via small cuts and openings in the root system. I'm don't think a Daconil spray treatment to your seedling leaves will have any impact on their susceptibility to Fusarium.

Once your soil is infected with V/F, it can be very difficult to purge it. You can try crop rotation, but that's not really practical for many of us with limited space, nor is it 100% effective (depending on the race of V/F). Some folks solarize the top layer of soil (especially if it's not too deep. The idea is to heat up the ground and kill the spores. Some perform drenches with sulfur and other fungicides. The latter two methods would seem to destroy the Soil Food Web and good microbes along with the bad, so I question it as a solution. The other option that many of us take is to graft our susceptible scion varieties to V/F resistant root-stock. This is the approach I've taken for the past several years, and it's worked well enough. Grafting has other advantages as well. You can search the forums for a wealth of information on the topic. Good luck.

I posted just 3 min before you and it seems we agree on almost everything. I asked several questions,if you look at my post and am waiting to hear back before I post more,since being in PA I'm not yet convinced that the problems is F right now.

Carolyn

walkertrex · February 20, 2017

Thank you Carolyn!! Groundhogs, moles, rabbits, squirrels, birds, insects, and fungal diseases all took their toll last year. Oh and there was a case of a Boxer who took the term "bed" to literally mean she should clean out raised bed and sleep in it. But the furbabies can do no wrong, so we won't count that ;-) I did not buy any plants from the nursery but did use free compost from our local municipality and suspect the garden picked up some fungal diseases from there. The yellowing was initially constrained to one area of the plant then spread to the whole plant and finally the whole raised bed and then the next bed, about 3 feet over. There wasn't any spotting, so I figured it was more likely fusarium than septoria but I am not very familiar with identifying or treating either disease, so could be way off base. What do you think?

Thank you z_willus. I had planned a drenching but definitely don't want to kill off the beneficial microbes or organisms.

z_willus_d · February 20, 2017

There's a whole art to diagnosing the various diseases, and I've proven myself less than artful in this discipline in the past. In the end, what I found most helpful was to get a soil assay performed (less art, more science I guess) by the local university Ag dept. They were able to identify my specific soil borne fungal predators, and based on that information I was better able to plan my actions to redress the scenario.

I will say I have tried soil drenches in an attempt to "purify" my soil just prior to planting, and I would say the results were inconclusive. You can read all about these and other misadventures here, but you will need several hours to get through it all:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=23241

Note, I had various experts assisting me through the diagnosis and proscription process. In the end, though, I think the grafting solution had the most impact on my results. This is yet another art form that blends well with some understanding of the science. Indeed, just yesterday, I grafted my first set of many tomatoes for the year. I get at best 50% success in my grafting, and generally far worse. You can do much better than I, as I'm not a steady hand or crafty with mechanics.

Carolyn will certainly have better, more specific advice on diagnosing your symptoms in a web-vacuum.

BigVanVader · February 21, 2017

We actually have a thread going now with several first time grafters (including me) grafting for the same reasons mentioned. I have been 100% on my first 12 grafts thanks to guidance from other members so if you want to learn about it you can check this out http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...=2017+grafting

walkertrex · February 22, 2017

Oh wow, I will definitely have to look into grafting. I have never attempted that so will be eager to follow those threads. Thanks so much!

b54red · February 23, 2017

If you have fusarium and I hate to say it but what you described sounded similar but it could have been so many other things also. You live far from where fusarium is a recurring problem like down here in LA (lower Alabama). If you did have some fusarium a soil drench is not the solution. Your best bet to get rid of it is a good cold winter. Down here we just don't have winters where the ground actually freezes more than an inch or so deep and only rarely does that even happen. I have fought fusarium wilt since I started gardening and the only solution that really works well is to plant varieties that are tolerant or graft to root stock that are highly resistant.

There are so many foliage diseases and even pests that could have caused your plants to fail. You could have also either over watered, over fertilized, or had some kind of weed killer get into your garden through grass clippings or manure. If it is some type of foliage disease then you will need Daconil to spray your plants every week and also some other fungicides like a copper spray. It would also help if you kept the plants pruned so air and sunlight can get to them better. A good mulch will help prevent soil splash back and also keep the soil at a more even moisture level.

If you start showing the same problems again this year try posting some pics in this forum and see if anyone can help with diagnosis of your problems.

Good luck.

Bill

walkertrex · February 23, 2017

Thank you, Bill for all of that information and advice. We had an unseasonably mild winter here, so will definitely focus on the using the types of measures you've described. Appreciate the help!!

brownrexx · February 23, 2017

I am also in PA and although I do not have raised beds, I have never seen fusarium in my plants.

I garden organically so I do not use chemical sprays. The main disease problems that I have encountered are Early blight, Late Blight and Septoria but it occurs so late in the season that it is not a problem since frost is not far away and I have had plenty of great tomatoes by that time.

For Early blight prevention I use tomato cages to keep my plants upright and I keep the lower branches trimmed off about 18" up from the soil. I mulch heavily with straw to prevent splashing of spores from the soil. I trim off any Early blight on leaves that I see and I have never lost plants to EB.

Late Blight is a plant killer so I treat preventatively with Actinovate and I feel that it helps although it is not 100% protection. In my area LB depends on the weather. If we have cool, moist weather in August LB will arrive but if it stays dry like last year then there is no LB.

I also like to grow some hybrids with disease resistance in addition to my heirlooms. Big Beef is very resistant and a good producer.

February 20, 2017	#1
walkertrex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 34	Applying daconil to treat fusarium Hi all- I've been in incommunicato these last several months as I finished up my masters degree and started new work. I hope everyone's seeds are off to a happy start!! My garden was completely destroyed last year by every imaginable foe so I am hoping for a better season this year. I believe 2 of my raised beds fell victim to fusarium and I wanted to proactively treat them before planting out in May. I've never done this before and was wondering what the timing should be relative to planting out seedlings, how many applications I should strive for, and what the recommend dose is. I planned on purchasing daconil concentrate from Amazon. Open to suggestions for other products as well though. Thanks in advance!!

February 20, 2017	#3
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	Hi Walker, are you planning a soil drench using the Daconil? I've only known Daconil to be used as a foliar treatment (not systemic TMK), and Fusarium is a soil-born fungi that gets into the plan via small cuts and openings in the root system. I'm don't think a Daconil spray treatment to your seedling leaves will have any impact on their susceptibility to Fusarium. Once your soil is infected with V/F, it can be very difficult to purge it. You can try crop rotation, but that's not really practical for many of us with limited space, nor is it 100% effective (depending on the race of V/F). Some folks solarize the top layer of soil (especially if it's not too deep. The idea is to heat up the ground and kill the spores. Some perform drenches with sulfur and other fungicides. The latter two methods would seem to destroy the Soil Food Web and good microbes along with the bad, so I question it as a solution. The other option that many of us take is to graft our susceptible scion varieties to V/F resistant root-stock. This is the approach I've taken for the past several years, and it's worked well enough. Grafting has other advantages as well. You can search the forums for a wealth of information on the topic. Good luck.

February 21, 2017	#7
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	We actually have a thread going now with several first time grafters (including me) grafting for the same reasons mentioned. I have been 100% on my first 12 grafts thanks to guidance from other members so if you want to learn about it you can check this out http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...=2017+grafting

February 22, 2017	#8
walkertrex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 34	Oh wow, I will definitely have to look into grafting. I have never attempted that so will be eager to follow those threads. Thanks so much!

February 23, 2017	#9
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	If you have fusarium and I hate to say it but what you described sounded similar but it could have been so many other things also. You live far from where fusarium is a recurring problem like down here in LA (lower Alabama). If you did have some fusarium a soil drench is not the solution. Your best bet to get rid of it is a good cold winter. Down here we just don't have winters where the ground actually freezes more than an inch or so deep and only rarely does that even happen. I have fought fusarium wilt since I started gardening and the only solution that really works well is to plant varieties that are tolerant or graft to root stock that are highly resistant. There are so many foliage diseases and even pests that could have caused your plants to fail. You could have also either over watered, over fertilized, or had some kind of weed killer get into your garden through grass clippings or manure. If it is some type of foliage disease then you will need Daconil to spray your plants every week and also some other fungicides like a copper spray. It would also help if you kept the plants pruned so air and sunlight can get to them better. A good mulch will help prevent soil splash back and also keep the soil at a more even moisture level. If you start showing the same problems again this year try posting some pics in this forum and see if anyone can help with diagnosis of your problems. Good luck. Bill

February 23, 2017	#11
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I am also in PA and although I do not have raised beds, I have never seen fusarium in my plants. I garden organically so I do not use chemical sprays. The main disease problems that I have encountered are Early blight, Late Blight and Septoria but it occurs so late in the season that it is not a problem since frost is not far away and I have had plenty of great tomatoes by that time. For Early blight prevention I use tomato cages to keep my plants upright and I keep the lower branches trimmed off about 18" up from the soil. I mulch heavily with straw to prevent splashing of spores from the soil. I trim off any Early blight on leaves that I see and I have never lost plants to EB. Late Blight is a plant killer so I treat preventatively with Actinovate and I feel that it helps although it is not 100% protection. In my area LB depends on the weather. If we have cool, moist weather in August LB will arrive but if it stays dry like last year then there is no LB. I also like to grow some hybrids with disease resistance in addition to my heirlooms. Big Beef is very resistant and a good producer.