Verticillium Wilt On Tomatoes

Verticillium wilt is a widespread soil bourne fungus that can be present in most soils of the northeast and is very common in attacking tomatoes. It thrives in cool moist soil but usually doesn’t reveal its ugly self until the weather turns warm and dry.

Verticillium starts in the soil and attacks the roots and the water conducting vessels of the plant and plugs them up. What this means is the lower portion of the plant gets infected and the fungus blocks the water and nutrients from reaching the leaves and tomatoes of the plant. The first symptoms will be on the leaves as the outer edges start turning yellow moving inward from the tip. They then turn completely brown and die off. When it attacks a tomato sometimes only the top leaves of the plant will stay green and the fruit is stunted. Other times the entire plant will die.

There is no cure for Verticillium wilt but you can do a few things to prevent getting it on your tomatoes. First grow resistant varieties. Look for the “V” on the plant tag as this means that particular variety of tomato is Verticillium resistant. Second, make sure your plants are in well drained soil. Verticillium wilt thrives in wet poorly drained soil. Third, use low nitrogen fertilizer as high nitrogen levels leave the plants susceptible to the disease. A great low nitrogen food is Espoma Tomato Tone. Fourth, make sure you rotate your crops every few years and don’t plant the tomatoes in the same area of your garden year after year. Verticillium Wilt is usually only in the top 6 inches of the soil. You can remove the top six inches and put down fresh topsoil or perform Soil Solarization. This is the process of covering the soil with a clear plastic and letting the sun heat it up for 4-6 weeks. The intense heat created by this “greenhouse” effect is usually high enough to kill the disease. Probably the best way to prevent getting this deadly disease on your beloved tomatoes is to grow your entire crop in containers. This allows you to completely control the environment. If you decide to do this make sure you use a well balanced organic potting soil. Do not use the soil from your garden beds as this can contain the fungus. Also, make sure you use fresh new soil every year in your containers. Using the same soil from the previous year in your containers can bring about other soil diseases as well as insects. It is best to use fresh every year. Get busy!