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RE: basil virus??

I did not see the original (e-mail crazy for a few days) post on this, but let 
me share what I know...

This "virus" is Basil Fusarium Wilt, a disease caused by a fungus (fusarium 
oxysporum f. sp. Basilicum). Think of it as sort of...athlete's foot of the 
circulatory system (!). This particular fusarium attacks basil ONLY...there 
are other fusarium strains, but they do not cause basil wilt disease.

The bottom line to prevention is to not grow basil on infected soil...in fact, 
to be safe, practice crop rotation with your basil, much as you would with 
your tomatoes. Also don't plant basil in the same spot where mint has been 
(same family- Lamiaceae).

To be extra safe...especially if you have Genovese basil, plant it in 
containers. Clean all tools and equipment when moving from plant to plant 
(questionable ones, anyway).

Plant only fusarium tested seed. Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine is one of 
the very few companies that is currently doing testing for this fusarium wilt, 
so they can bring us 100% guaranteed virus free seed asap (no, I have no 
affiliation with them!)

Bettye

----------
From: 	Catharine Vinson
Sent: 	Wednesday, June 04, 1997 7:35 PM
To: 	veggie-list@eskimo.com
Subject: 	Re: basil virus??

Havi wrote:

>I got this e-mail response in answer to a post I commented on on the
>rec.gardens newsgroup.  Can anyone substantiate this or know more detail
>regarding the  article mentioned.  I want to check my facts before I put
>this notice up on my Web site.
>
>>  The Boston Globe ran an article a couple of weeks ago saying that this
>>years basil is tainted with some sort of virus which causes the symptoms
>>you describe.  They also say that the soil it is planted in will be
>>contaminated and should be discarded since the virus can be transmitted
>>to other plants.  This is a problem for any basil plants or seeds
>>originating in Brazil.
>>
>Comments?

It's a true report. I grow 30+ basil varieties commercially, so have checked
it out with a variety of sources. Richter's web site has a good write up on
the problem (Fusarium) and recommends ONLY using seed that has been tested
and certified free of the virus. I agree with their recommendation 100%. 

Catharine, Atlanta/zone 7b
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