Fusarium Help

[GVGardens]

Have you considered grafting to resistant root stock? That’s my backup plan if our fusarium situation keeps getting worse. Mycostop didn’t do much for us last season, this year I want to try applying it more aggressively at weekly intervals.

I have considered grafting. That's my plan for next year if I don't see improvement this year. With work, it's a miracle that I even get seeds started so grafting is a project that I only want to take on if I have to!

Good to hear feedback on Mycostop. I've been trying to figure out if/how I should work it in. When did you start using it last season? Did you use a drench? Spray?

[Cranraspberry]

@GVGardens I did a drench (I believe foliar application is for other fungal diseases, not fusarium), and was doing every 2-3 weeks at the beginning of the season and then increasing to weekly applications as the disease set in. That method didn’t work, so this year I want to stick with weekly from the start. Getting the dilution is a bit tricky since you need so little of it which is why I didn’t want to mess with it every week. This year I might try just eyeballing it instead of measuring fractions of a gram every time.

[Wildcat82]

@Wildcat82 Though, anecdotally from reviews, it seems like the red centiflors have the most resistance to fusarium. Not sure all crosses got good resistance. And I don’t think all L.Hirsutum cultivars have resistance. In the study you linked, they used 10 L. hirsutum accessions and 5 were found to be highly resistant to race 3. That said, it’s definitely worth trying!

Not a lot of people grow L. Hirsutum crosses so there is very little information on garden forums out there. Some crosses will likely be highly resistant to blight/fusarium and others may not be. Even hybrid varieties with listed resistance to race 3 are not necessary immune to race 3. But wild tomatoes tend to have the highest levels of disease resistance otherwise they wouldn't be able to survive in the wild. Trial a few varieties and report back what you see. I think a lot of people, like me, would be very interested in what you find.

I haven't done a ton of research on fusarium or blight since these diseases don't seem to be a problem down here. But heat and drought tolerance as well as mite control is critically important for San Antonio growers so most of my focus is there. That's why I'm trialing as many varieties as I can this year and reporting their progress on my grow blog. But I'm confident I can find a couple varieties will show characteristics that are ideal for central Texas.

A few Varieties I'm Trialing:
Punta Banda - I found a couple couple academic studies that say this wild variety is extremely heat and drought tolerant, just like Coyote, but with much bigger (1-2 oz) fruit.
Prescott - an old Arizona desert wild/heirloom tomato said to withstand heat and drought. Again,it seems to have the same characteristics as Coyote but with 1-2 oz fruit.
L.Hirsutum crosses - Broad/Russet mites plague my garden but many varieties of L. Hirsutum are reportedly highly resistant to mites. The only way to find out for sure is trial some plants here.

The standard advice for tomato growers across the country just don't apply to central Texas. We need to blaze our own trail here.

[MissS]

@karstopography I used Calcium Hypochlorite to cleanse the beds. The chlorine dissipates very quickly and would be gone within 48 hours. I will flood the beds in spring before I add my mycorrhiza and other amendments. I don't know that the disease will be entirely irradicated but it should have drastically reduced the infection. It wasn't that expensive and was well worth a try.

[GVGardens]

But I'm confident I can find a couple varieties will show characteristics that are ideal for central Texas.

A few Varieties I'm Trialing:
Punta Banda - I found a couple couple academic studies that say this wild variety is extremely heat and drought tolerant, just like Coyote, but with much bigger (1-2 oz) fruit.
Prescott - an old Arizona desert wild/heirloom tomato said to withstand heat and drought. Again,it seems to have the same characteristics as Coyote but with 1-2 oz fruit.
L.Hirsutum crosses - Broad/Russet mites plague my garden but many varieties of L. Hirsutum are reportedly highly resistant to mites. The only way to find out for sure is trial some plants here.

The standard advice for tomato growers across the country just don't apply to central Texas. We need to blaze our own trail here.

I agree with you. I'm trying Punta Banda for the first time this year, too. Let me know how it and Prescott do for you. Seeds are cheap in the scheme of things so I'm willing to experiment.

PureCrop1 was recommended for fusarium (I'm a little skeptical) but the label says it's also good for mites. The ingredient label says it's mostly soybean oil and corn oil but its advertising talks about nanotechnology and colloidal chemistry. Sounds like micelles? OMRI certified. Has anyone used this? Even though it's oil-based, like @pepperhead212 's recommendations, they say you can still spray it when the temps are in the low 100s (I'd probably do it in the evening).

[MrBig46]

I use nitrogenous lime as a prevention against Fusarium. About a fortnight before planting, I dig in the nitrogenous lime to a depth of approx. 15-20 cm, water thoroughly and cover with black foil.
Vladimír

[karstopography]

Nitrogenous Lime a.k.a. Calcium cyanamide, as far as I know, isn’t available in the US.

[MrBig46]

I was advised to use nitrogen lime against Fusarium wilt.
Vladimír