Integrated Pest Management
Verticillium Wilt
Verticillium dahliae
Sunflower plants infected with verticillium wilt (Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org)
Vascular streaking caused by verticillium (John Hartman, University of Kentucky, Bugwood.org)
Verticillium wilt on a Japanese maple (Penn State Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology Archives, Bugwood.org)
Hosts, Symptoms & Signs
- many deciduous trees, shrubs and annual and perennial ornamentals
- herbaceous plants wilt during the hottest part of the day and recover in the evening; this pattern can continue for weeks
- some herbaceous plants may die; others will struggle
- plants are often yellow (nutrient deficiency as the struggling plant cannot take up enough water and nutrients) and may stay small depending on time of infection
- dark streaking in the sapwood
- leaf dieback
Disease Cycle
- soilborne pathogen; fruiting structure can survive in the soil for 10 or more years waiting for a suitable host to be planted
- small trees can die within a few months of infection; large trees often have only one limb at a time die back
IPM Recommendations
- There are no chemical control options.
- After a plant is diagnosed with verticillium wilt, the best management option is to replace it with a resistant variety (if available) or resistant plant species.
- Click here to view a complete list of verticillium-resistant plants compiled by the University of California.