Disease · Almond, pistachio, olive, cotton
Verticillium wilt: know where it is so it does not spread
Verticillium dahliae
No treatment cures it, but you can slow it down. We fly the farm and tell you which trees and areas are affected, so you do not carry it to the rest with irrigation or with the implement.
We have not flown this problem ourselves yet. We work it out with you, on your field.
The problem
A soil fungus that dries out whole branches
Verticillium wilt is caused by a fungus that lives in the soil, enters through the root and blocks the vessels that carry water up. You see a branch or one side of the tree wilt and dry out, sometimes the whole tree.
There is no reliable treatment that cures it; an olive tree may recover on its own, but you cannot count on it. It spreads with the soil, the water and the tools that move from a sick area to another, and symptoms get worse with over-irrigation. That is why it matters to know where it is before cultivating or adjusting irrigation.
How it works
A map to manage the farm
1
We fly when it shows
When the affected shoots or trees dry out and stand out against the healthy ones. In olive, the timing varies with the year and how it shows.
2
We send you the map
Each tree or area with symptoms, with its position.
3
You manage by zones
You do not cultivate or over-irrigate in the patches, you remove what has to go, and you do not replant a susceptible crop there.
Flying every year, you see whether the patches grow or stay where they were.
Where it shows up
In trees and in vegetables
- Almond
- Pistachio
- Olive
- Cotton
- Artichoke
- Pepper
- Strawberry
In olive it is a serious disease for growers. In annual crops, such as cotton, artichoke or pepper, the map helps you avoid planting a susceptible crop again in the affected areas.
What farmers ask us
Verticillium wilt: your field questions
If it cannot be cured, what do I need the map for?
So it does not get worse. With the map, you cultivate and irrigate differently in the patches and do not carry sick soil to the rest of the farm.
Can it be mistaken for lack of water?
It can, which is why the map is confirmed in the field. Verticillium wilt often dries single branches within the same tree; water stress tends to show across whole areas, like a badly irrigated block. If in doubt, a laboratory test confirms it.
Does the drone spray?
No. We do not spray: the drone makes the map. Treatment is up to you, with your own ground equipment.
Know someone this would help?
Send them this page. If they have verticillium wilt in their fields, you save them some searching.