Stem rot: insect or fungus?

Hi everyone, I am having a weird problem with mainly my tonatoes and basil. As you can see in the pic that I hope uploads, it appears to me to be a type of insect. I am currently on the island of Molokai, HI and we have never seen this before.The roots seem to still be white but it appears as if something gnawed around the base of the stem. Plants will fall over and begin to wilt and eventually die after a few days. Please help!

Looks like something has been actively chewing on it.

Cut the tops and bottoms off some plastic bottles, and stick the bottle around the plant. Try to get the bottle like 1/4 - 1/2 inch into the ground. Get some bamboo skewers and stick one on each side and get some grafting tape to tape the plant to seal the wound.

Might not be able to save it, but that is what I would try.

damping off imo.

SnapsProvolone said:

damping off imo.

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I might agree but they look a little old for that, no?

TheYokel said:

I might agree but they look a little old for that, no?

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Not at all, I've seen folks damp off mature plants.

Give actinovate a whirl

I've had rolli polis chew through the stems of melon plants.