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Fusarium crown rot (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici) symptoms include yellowing or stunting; plants can become diseased at any growth stage. Wilt may occur during the hottest time of the day but recover at night; plants eventually die. Crown symptoms include a dark brown girdling lesion that extends to the taproot; dark brown vascular discoloration is common in the lower portion of the stem. Fungal infection typically occurs through wounds.

Fusarium root and crown rot.

(Photo: William Nesmith, University of Kentucky)

Management:

• Rotate to non-host crops for at least three years if disease is severe
• Select resistant cultivars (effective only if disease pressure is low)
• Plant pathogen-free seed and transplants
• Promptly remove and destroy diseased plant material
• Destroy crop residues after harvest
• Deep plow to bury residual inoculum
• Avoid movement of infested soil to clean fields

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