Plant guide:🍅 Tomato
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⚠ CriticalOne-sided yellowing and wilting with brown vascular streaking — Fusarium wilt attacking the plant from the soil up.
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Fungal
Fusarium Wilt on Tomato Plants
Commonly affects: Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato)
Lower leaves yellow on one side of the plant first, then wilt during the heat of the day and partially recover overnight, before the whole plant declines. Cutting the stem reveals brown discolouration in the vascular tissue.
Potential Causes
- 1Fusarium oxysporum fungus living in the soil and entering through the roots
- 2Warm soil temperatures (above 27°C) favouring the fungus
- 3Planting tomatoes in the same soil location repeatedly without rotation
- 4Infected transplants introducing the pathogen to previously clean soil
Solution Steps
- 1Remove and destroy affected plants immediately, including the root system, to limit spread.
- 2Do not replant tomatoes (or related nightshades) in the same soil for at least 4 years.
- 3Sterilise tools used on infected plants before using them elsewhere.
- 4Choose Fusarium-resistant varieties (look for an 'F' or 'FF' on seed packets) for future plantings.
Prevention Tip
Since Fusarium wilt has no cure once established, resistant varieties and strict crop rotation are the only reliable long-term defence.
