Verticillium fungi are often pathogenic and can cause serious damage to plants and animals, resulting in significant financial loss for farmers. They are difficult to get rid of and can manifest as woolly mold colonies. Some species are used in natural pest control, while others cause Verticillium wilt in plants. Infected plants should be removed immediately, and fumigation of the soil is an option but can be costly and damage beneficial fungi.
Verticillium is a large fungal genus with representatives found worldwide. These fungi are often pathogenic, causing health problems for the plants and animals they infect and can be a serious problem for the agricultural industry. A verticillium infestation can ruin a crop or cause serious damage, resulting in significant financial loss for a farmer. Once present in an environment, the fungus can also be extremely difficult to get rid of, making an infection even more costly.
These fungi manifest as woolly mold colonies that can be yellowish to green in color. Most species grow in the substrate, coating the organism they infest with a thin layer of mold that is difficult to remove because it is entangled in the organism’s vascular system. As a result, the fungus often kills its hosts by cutting off the supply of fluids and nutrients. Verticillium infection can kill the insects in less than a week, while infected trees and plants can struggle for several weeks before succumbing.
Some Verticillium species that prey on insects are used in natural pest control. Farmers can spray the fungus on a crop so that when insects land on the crop, they ingest the sticky fungal spores. The fungi begin to grow inside the insects’ bodies, eventually breaking through the body and causing death. Infected insects can spread the fungus in the days leading up to their death, and the fungus also produces spores after the insect dies which can spread over a large area. Nematodes can also be managed with Verticillium applications.
In plants, one of the more problematic Verticillium species is V. dahliae, which lives in the soil in a dormant state. When the fungus detects plants that could be a useful source of nutrients, the spores attach themselves to the plants and begin to grow, causing a condition known as Verticillium wilt. Wilt classically begins at plant edges and works its way up, slowly killing the plant.
If Verticillium begins to appear, infected plants should be removed immediately and burned. In the case of trees, it is sometimes sufficient to prune infected branches and fertilize the tree to prevent the fungus from spreading. Because the spores can live up to 15 years in the soil, gardeners need to be vigilant in dealing with early signs of Verticillium wilt in their plants and may want to consider planting things resistant to the fungus. If there is a high concentration of spores, fumigation of the soil to kill the fungus is also an option, although this can be a costly endeavor and can damage the beneficial fungi that are naturally present in the soil.
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