Fungal and oomycete soilborne pathogens cause crown rot, root rot, vascular wilt, damping-off, and fruit rot on many crops. Here, I study multiple angles of soilborne pathogens on hemp and tomato in an effort to enhance management strategies for growers and to better understand host characteristics leading to infection. Fusarium spp. and Pythium spp. can cause damping-off, leading to poor stand establishment in direct seeded hemp and reduced germination in the greenhouse. Fungicide seed treatments were evaluated in an inoculated greenhouse experiment and on direct-seeded fiber hemp in field experiments to determine whether they prevent damping-off, increase stand count, and impact yield. Seed treated with copper hydroxide products Ultim-ST and Americop, as well as phosphite-based Prudent 44 / Nutrol had greater stand counts three- and six weeks post-planting, but no significant differences were observed at harvest. The seed treatments did not significantly increase the percentage of healthy seedlings when inoculated with Pythium myriotylum or Pythium ultimum. I additionally evaluated whether biostimulants can enhance hemp growth under reduced nitrogen (N) fertigation. First, a gradient of N fertility rates was first evaluated. Hemp displayed N deficiency symptoms when fertigated with 53 ppm N and maximum growth was observed at 263 ppm N. Hemp treated with Double Nickel LC or RootShield Plus WP had no significant differences in height, biomass, or leaf SPAD values compared to nontreated hemp when fertigated with either 53 or 263 ppm N. In a separate set of experiments, the impact of disrupting expression of cutin related genes CUTIN SYNTHASE 1 (CUS1) and CUTICLE DESTRUCTING FACTOR 1 (CDEF1) in tomato was studied on the host’s susceptibility to Phytophthora fruit rot. Significantly larger lesion sizes were recorded on cus1 and cus1xcdef1 mutant fruit inoculated with Phytophthora capsici than inoculated ‘M82’ WT and cdef1 mutant fruit. Microscopy provided evidence of faster cuticle penetration by P. capsici in cus1 fruit. The results of these studies are intended to inform disease management and direct future studies in understanding pathogen colonization in relation to cuticle formation.