Protected stock: aspects of the biology and control of fusarium wilt, a new disease problem

In summer 2003, a vascular wilt disease seriously affected production of stocks (Matthiola incana) on several nurseries in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and West Sussex, causing crop losses valued well in excess of £200,000. The disease was identified as fusarium wilt, a disease that has been confirmed in the UK only once previously. Both seed-raised and bought-in plug plants were affected; the source of the disease was unknown. This research project was commissioned to investigate the biology and control of this potentially devastating problem.

Findings:

The project demonstrated that Fusarium oxysporum can survive in soil at sufficient levels to cause wilt in stocks for at least 16 months but that soil disinfestation by steaming (either sheet steaming or a steam plough) can significantly reduce it to manageable levels provided the soil temperature reaches 80ºC for 30 minutes.

• Chloropicrin (applied via drip-line irrigation) and basamid were the most effective soil disinfestation treatments tested, resulting in a significant reduction in the survival of fusarium in woody stocks stem pieces, down to 30 cm depth.
• Results from three fungicide efficacy experiments (2004-2006) demonstrated that treatment of stocks fusarium wilt using fungicides alone is unlikely to be fully effective.

The overall aim of the project was to devise a reliable and cost-effective strategy for managing fusarium wilt of stock through an increased understanding of the biology of the disease.

Downloads from projects PC 249 &PC 249a: Evaluation of drip-applied chloropicrin for control of soil-borne Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia species, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and weed species

• PC 249 Final report 2006
• PC 249a Final report (Phase II) 2006