Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Again with the powdery mildew

The title really says it all.

This isnt my first time having Powdery Mildew back in 2009 and really 2010 it attacked me. So this just means that every year that i have attempted to grow something in the Cucurbitaceae plant family, that it has died from powdery mildew. This goes for all of my cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), and melons (including watermelons).

So how do i kill it and how do i prevent it?

My understanding is that once you have it you can not get rid of it.

I have read in some places that its due to hot temperatures and the leaves getting wet. this doenst really make sense to me cause its always going to be hot. its the summer! and its going to ran. So if this is the case every farmer is doomed.

Things that we have tried to do: Baking Soda, Neem and cutting away the infected leaves.


 
This is what GardenGuides.com has to say about managing powdery mildew.
Management
  • In most cases, good cultural practices will adequately control powdery mildew:
  • Select powdery mildew resistant varieties. This is particularly true of roses. For lawns, shade tolerant grasses such as creeping red fescue can be planted.
  • Plant in full sunlight in a well-drained area.  
  • Do not crowd plants. Air flow and ventilation will discourage mildew growth.
  • Powdery mildew thrives where high rates of nitrogen have been used. High nitrogen promotes tender leaf formation, causing dense stands that are more susceptible to infections. Adequately fertilize but avoid stimulating succulent growth. Organic fertilizers or slow-release formulations of lawn fertilizers are good choices.
  • Prune infected plants to get rid of infected parts and increase airflow. If the infestations are severe, remove and destroy the plants that are infected.
  • Disinfect your pruning tool in a bleach solution of one part household bleach to four parts water after each cut.
  • Watering plants in the morning gives the plants the rest of the day to dry off, discouraging establishment of diseases, including powdery mildew.

What do you know or think about this?  any information will be much appreciated.




2 comments:

  1. Over on http://www.helpfulgardener.com i was told this.
    "Powdered wettable sulfur works great on powdery mildew. I've used it two years on cucumber vines. Within a few days all signs of the mildew are gone. Those two years I simply dusted the plants. This year I'm trying to use less sulfur so am adding it to water and using it as a spray. That only calls for 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. I only started treating my squash vines yesterday, so no results yet. I'll give it three or four days, and if the mildew doesn't clear up, I'll dust again. This product is available at some garden stores but until this year have had a hard time finding it.

    wettable sulphur is widely available on line:

    http://www.google.com/search?q=wettable+sulf&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=wettable+sulfur&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=uo1&pwst=1&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivnsfd&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=32QnTt2bDZC4tgeSzuC7Cg&ved=0CDsQrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=655262693fbb3d7c&biw=1273&bih=1320

    If my link doesn't work, the search was for 'wettable sulfur' and gave lots of hits"

    So this is my next thing to try and I will let you know how it goes.

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  2. This plant was pronounced dead yesterday. :(

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