Tomato Plants Dying from Bottom Up: Fusarium/Verticillium Wilt

Diagnosis

Brown leaves starting at bottom, progressing upward in wet summer = classic Fusarium or Verticillium wilt — soil‑borne vascular fungi.

Once symptoms show, plants will die. Focus on prevention:

New site: Move tomatoes where they (and peppers, eggplant, potatoes, strawberries) haven't grown for 5+ years.
Containers: Use large pots with sterile potting mix.
Solarize old bed: Black plastic 6–8 weeks in heat.
Resistant varieties: Look for V, F resistance codes.

Growing Vegetables: Tomato Topping: When and Why to Prune Indeterminate Varieties; Privet Hedge Decline: Lichens Are a Symptom, Not the Cause; Reddish-Purple Powder on Multiple Plants: Sooty Mold from Insects; Three Plants Dying in Line: Investigating a Linear Death Pattern; Newly Planted Annuals Dying: Fertilizer Burn vs. Root Rot; Grevillea Dieback: Root Rot Management in Affected Beds; Why Tomato Plants Grow Tall but Produce No Fruit; Tomato Tops Vanishing in Western NY: ID Before Spraying; Diagnosing Tomato Wilt in Row Plantings; Two Tomatoes in One Pot? Too Crowded for Good Yields

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