Monitoring subtle changes in tomato plants’ water usage can help detect Fusarium wilt in its early stages, says a study conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. The researchers say that tracking water-relation measurements like transpiration rates, or the rate of a plant’s loss of water, can help identify the disease even before symptoms appear. The team believes this “breakthrough” offers a sensitive, quantitative approach to assessing key factors in mitigating crop loss and strengthening agricultural resilience, including disease severity, pathogen virulence, and plant susceptibility.