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Verticillium wilt

Verticillium fungi live in the soil for many years and block water flow inside the plant. Older leaves yellow in V-shaped patches and wilt, often on warm afternoons first. Strawberries, tomatoes and potatoes are common hosts.

Fungal diseases
A strawberry plant with wilting, browning outer leaves
A strawberry plant with wilting, browning outer leaves

What it looks like

A slow, afternoon wilt.

  • Yellow wedges from the leaf edge inward.
    V-shaped yellowing Yellow wedges from the leaf edge inward.
  • Plants wilt in the heat and recover at night, at first.
    Afternoon wilt Plants wilt in the heat and recover at night, at first.
  • Cut stems show brown discolouration.
    Brown staining Cut stems show brown discolouration.
  • Outer leaves die while the centre stays alive.
    Collapsing strawberries Outer leaves die while the centre stays alive.

How to confirm it

Cut into the stem.

  1. Brown streaks

    Discoloured tissue inside the stem.

  2. Older leaves first

    Symptoms begin low.

  3. Soil history

    Previously grown with potatoes, tomatoes or strawberries.

What to do

Remove and rotate.

  1. Remove plants

    Dig out and bin affected plants.

  2. Replant elsewhere

    Plant new strawberries in fresh ground or containers.

  3. Grow resistant varieties

    Choose varieties marked 'V'.

  4. Water and feed

    Mildly affected plants may crop if kept unstressed.

Prevent it next time

  • Do not follow potatoes or tomatoes with strawberries.
  • Buy certified plants.
  • Keep weeds down; many carry the fungus.

What not to do

Do not compost infected plants.

In the growing guides

Where the guides mention it, with plant-specific advice.

Sources

  1. Verticillium wilt, Royal Horticultural Society
  2. Verticillium wilt of vegetables, University of Maryland Extension