Meet Kristan Hill (Kris), a young farmer and tomato grower around Bendigo, Victoria, who turned a Fusarium crisis into a thriving harvest—and is now doubling down on BioAg’s full program for 2025.

The Crisis: Fusarium Wilt Strikes Mid-Season

Kris noticed yellowing leaves and sudden wilting in his sauce tomato crop in start of February. Dr Parmjit Randhawa, BioAg Agronomist diagnosed it as Fusarium wilt, a soil-borne disease that had already infected 40% of his field.

“Plants were collapsing faster than we could harvest,” Kris recalls. “Fruit was ripening prematurely, and we faced losing half our crop.”

The BioAg Fix: Soil & Seed^® Treatment to the Rescue

Desperate to avoid costly Trichoderma products and chemical fumigants, Kris tried BioAg’s Soil & Seed program. Here’s how it worked.

Within 10 days:
• Wilt progression slowed by 70%.
• New root growth appeared in surviving plants.
• Diseased plants stabilised, buying time for fruit to mature fully.

The Results: 28% Yield Jump and Extended Harvest Window 

Despite the late intervention, Kris’s field rebounded dramatically:

✅  28% Higher Yield: (Harvested 11.2 tonnes/hectare vs. 8.7 tonnes: supplied by Kris)

✅  Delayed Maturity: Disease-stressed plants held on longer, allowing tomatoes to size up and ripen evenly.

✅  Cost Savings: Avoided significant expenses in Trichoderma and fungicide application expenses.

The Future: Full BioAg Program for 2025

Encouraged by this season’s turnaround, Kris plans to adopt BioAg’s full system this year:

✅  Pre-Season Soil Testing: Target Fusarium spore counts and nutrient gaps.

✅  BioAg’s Microbial Consortia: Apply at seeding and transplanting (Soil & Seed), pre-flowering (Balance & Grow) and flowering stages (Fruit & Balance).

✅  Cover Cropping: Integrate mustard greens to bio fumigate soils naturally.

“Why gamble on piecemeal solutions? We’re rebuilding our soil’s immune system from the ground up,” he says.

Why This Matters for Australian Growers

Kris’s story proves that Fusarium wilt isn’t a death sentence. By prioritising soil biology over reactive chemicals, farmers can:

✅  Break the disease cycle without expensive inputs.

✅  Extend harvest windows for higher-quality fruit.

✅  Future-proof fields against climate-driven pathogen surges.