Disease Note.

Foot Rot of Tomato Caused by Fusarium solani in California. J. D. Cucuzza, Petoseed Co., Inc., Woodland, CA 95695. J. C. Watterson, and E. A. Bernhardt. Petoseed Co., Inc., Woodland, CA 95695, and Plant Science Consulting & Research, Vacaville, CA 95687. Plant Dis. 76:101. Accepted for publication 27 September 1991. Copyright 1992 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-76-0101B.

Since 1984, a disorder of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) has been seen in a number of fields in Yolo County, California. In some fields, disease incidence has been estimated visually as high as 5%. Typical leaf symptoms include interveinal chlorosis and bleaching of the lamina. Taproots have reddish brown cortical lesions and vascular discoloration above and below the lesions. Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacco was isolated consistently from diseased plants; other pathogenic fungi were not isolated. Koch's postulates were completed twice under greenhouse conditions (23-27 C). Roots of l-wk-old seedlings were cut and dipped in an agar slurry of F. solani. Leaf symptoms identical to those in the field were observed 2-3 wk after inoculation; some inoculated plants died. Symptoms on roots ranged from small necrotic lesions to necrosis of the entire taproot. F. solani was consistently reisolated from the three cultivars tested (Bonnie Best, VFN8, and MH1). This disease is similar to that described by Vawdrey and Peterson (1) in central Queensland. This is the first report of F. solani causing foot rot of tomatoes in California. Reference: (1) L. L. Vawdrey and R. A. Peterson. Australas. Plant Pathol. 17:23, 1988.