Prothioconazole is the only commercially available fungicide with proven efficacy. Azoxystrobin, prothioconazole and thiophanate-methyl led to the highest values for reduction of Fusarium wilt and did not cause phytotoxicity in watermelons.
The most effective fungicides for Fusarium head blight are Miravis Ace®, Prosaro®, Prosaro Pro®, and Sphaerex®. These fungicides on average will provide 45-60% suppression (sometimes higher) and have an efficacy score of “good”.
Remedy. If you do get an outbreak you should treat it as a wake up call that the lawn conditions are not the healthiest. Fusarium treatment should include inspection for thatch, scarifying as required (when conditions are right - usually March onwards) and hollow tine, slit or spike to improve drainage.
There is no effective fungicide or other cure for Fusarium wilt. The pathogen nearly always kills infected hosts. Prevention and exclusion are the only effective management strategies. Avoid this problem by replanting at that site using species from different genera than plants previously infected there by Fusarium.
The resistance of Fusarium species to most antifungal agents results in high mortality rates in immunocompromised patients. Natamycin is active against Fusarium species and, with voriconazole, is the mainstay of treatment for Fusarium keratitis.
Use an effective fungicide. These include: metconazole (Caramba®), prothioconazole + tebuconazole (Prosaro®), prothioconazole (Proline®), and adepidyn (Miravis Ace®). Apply an effective fungicide at the correct time. The most effective application window is from flowering (anthesis; Feekes 10.5.
Completely remove infected plants. Burn or bury plants in an area that will not be used for solanaceous crops. Rotate away from susceptible crops for 3-5+ years will reduce disease pressure, but careful weed management must be done during this period. Avoid excessive nitrogen as it will encourage disease.
In general, control of Fusarium wilt disease can be accomplished by improving soil conditions, planting disease-resistant varieties, removing infected plant tissues, using clean seeds, and using soil and fungicides.
Plants in the Solanaceae family that were evaluated include Nicotiana glauca, Solanum aculeastrum, Solanum mauritianum and Solanum seaforthianum. Leaf extracts from these plants demonstrated potent in vitro activities (minimum inhibitory concentrations <1.0 mg/mL) against nine Fusarium species (Table 2).
Cultural controls
Avoid wounding young transplants during planting. Remove plant debris when done with harvest. Promptly bag and remove infected plants, including roots to prevent spread. Remove and replace any stakes that touched infected plants.
For example, triadimefon, triadimenol, tebuconazole, and hexaconazole are effective systemic fungicides for white root disease control (Jayaratne et al., 2001). However, if cost involved is a consideration, only tebuconazole and hexaconazole are recommended for use.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for fusarium wilt. The only option is preventing fusarium in your plants. Once your plants are infected, they must be removed and destroyed.
Fusarium can survive in soil for 5-10 years, surviving as saprophytes (lives on dead/decaying organic matter) in plant debris in soil indefinitely and producing dormant and tough resting spores.
If fusarium wilt hits your garden, don't plant the same or related plant types in that area for at least four years. Depending on your climate, it may be possible to control fusarium wilt by "solarizing" your soil. This involves covering it with plastic so it reaches very high temperatures over a long period.
The significant reduction of fusarium wilt disease in tomato plants treated with neem extract could be due to the presence of gedunin i.e. tetranortriterpenoid which posses antifungal properties (Sadre et al., 1983) or due to presence of Azadirachtin (tetranortriterpenoid).
The spray window begins when most of the wheat heads on the main stems are fully emerged from the boot and continues through the time when yellow anthers form on the heads until 50% of the heads on main stems are in flower.
If used, apply fumigants when soil temperatures are between 77–86°F (25–30°C) and soil moisture is at 50–75% field capacity. Field sanitation. Remove infected crop residues and regularly disinfect tools and machinery to reduce inoculum spread.
These wilt diseases are all soil-borne and can persist for many years in the soil even if no host plants are grown. They can also be brought into a garden on infected transplants or soil. Fusarium wilt does not spread above the ground from plant to plant.
For Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae, the pathogen which causes Fusarium wilt of lettuce, the required temperature for control is generally taken to be > 140°F for 20 minutes.
Prothioconazole is the only commercially available fungicide with proven efficacy. Azoxystrobin, prothioconazole and thiophanate-methyl led to the highest values for reduction of Fusarium wilt and did not cause phytotoxicity in watermelons.
Synthetic fungicides are widely used to control wilt diseases. Thiophanate-methyl was found to be effective against Fusarium wilt disease when applied as a soil drench and a seed dresser3.
Saxitoxins are also known as paralytic shellfish poisons (PSPs). Most human saxitoxin toxicoses have been associated with the ingestion of marine shellfish, which accumulate saxitoxins produced by marine dinoflagellates.