Soil-borne diseases

Soil-borne diseases are a group of diseases caused by pathogens that live in the soil and attack the root system, root collar, or vascular bundles of tomato plants. The most important of these include fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt, seedling blight, and diseases caused by organisms of the genera Pythium and Phytophthora. Favorable conditions depend on the pathogen: excessively wet, cool, and poorly aerated soil promotes many types of rot and decay, while fusarium wilt thrives better in warmer soil. Treatment is usually difficult, so the most important factors are accurate diagnosis, healthy seedlings and growing medium, hygiene, crop rotation, and resistant varieties, if available.