Don't follow a Verticillium host with raspberries, strawberries or stone fruit
As recorded: Do not establish Verticillium-susceptible perennials (raspberries, strawberries, stone fruit) in ground that recently hosted Verticillium dahliae, either Solanaceae or a logged planting of a Verticillium host (strawberry, raspberry or other bramble, or stone fruit).
Promising A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, you lose real yield. The planner warns you.
How it works
Verticillium dahliae persists in soil as microsclerotia and infects a wide host range spanning nightshades and rose family. There is no in-ground cure once a susceptible perennial is planted, so it can wilt and die from inoculum an earlier host left behind. Because the reservoir family may differ from the victim's, the same-family rotation intervals miss it.
What to do about it
Site the perennial on ground with no recent nightshades, or choose one that is not Verticillium-susceptible. Extension advises growing a non-host (corn or a small grain) for at least two years first, without claiming that clears the soil. Once the perennial is planted there is no in-ground cure.
How much it matters: Extension guidance is to avoid planting brambles after tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, or strawberries, and to grow a non-host (corn or a small grain) for at least 2 years first. The exact safe interval is uncertain. Microsclerotia can persist for up to ~10 years, and the number of years required to eliminate the pathogen is described by extension as unknown.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 3 sources in the research-based literature.
The 3 sources
Verticillium wilt is caused by two common soilborne fungi (Verticillium dahliae and Verticillium albo-atrum) that have a wide host range
Verticillium attacks a wide range of plants, including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and strawberries. It overwinters in the soil and on plant debris. Do not plant [raspberries following these crops].
Verticillium Wilt of Tomato and Eggplant
Plants it applies to · 7
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Milpa Gardens. “Don't follow a Verticillium host with raspberries, strawberries or stone fruit.” Evidence grade: Promising. https://milpa.garden/rules/do-not-establish-verticillium-susceptible-perennials-raspberries/
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