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nanaimo,B.C,Canada

Was wondering how many pumpkin growers out there are using neem oil as a foliar,and when's the best time to apply it. Is it for insects as well as a fungicide?

Dave

8/17/2003 4:42:24 PM

San Diego

Dave, I tried neem oil last year and this year. I sprayed it once last year and burned my leaves because I did it in the morning and then it got hot. I have been told to spray in the evening. So this year I tried neem oil again when my plant were about 6 feet long (main vine) in the evening, and I burned my leaves again. I got fed up with the stuff and never will use it again. Hope it works better for you than my experience. Jim

8/17/2003 6:51:04 PM

porterville,california usa

Dave, i tried it a few weeks ago and burned the crap out of my leaves. almost killed my plants. i used it at night and misted the next day. the outcome was by far worse than the damage that a heard of bugs could cause. i`ll never use it again. just my pesos worth.

8/18/2003 1:07:17 AM

Covington, WA

I used it Saturday for the third time this season to get after the aphids and the spot or two of powdery mildew that has started to appear. (I missed last week.) I have had no trouble with leaf burn and I've applied it in the afternoon. Are you guys applying at the rate the label calls for? Granted the Northwest is a bit cooler than most of California, but we've been in the 80's the past couple days and its been a warm summer so far with plenty of sunny days and almost no rain. Oops I shouldn't be saying that here unless I have land to sell.

8/18/2003 2:08:36 AM

Ga.

Dave,I use sunspray hort oil mixed with baking soda..Has done an ok job so far..Good luck with your pm problem..
J

Sodium bicarnonate has the advantage that it is non-toxic, effective, readily available and very inexpensive. It has the disadvantage that it must be applied weekly to control powdery mildew, and a surfactant or liquid detergent myst be added to the spreay solution so that the sodium bicarbonate is spread evenly, preventing crystallization on rosebushes and other treated plants. Research at Cornell determined that a combination of baking soda and Sunspray horticultural oil applied to rose leaves infected with powdery mildew or black spot will significantly reduce the incidence of disease.


Timing and rates of baking soda application are important because leaf burning can occur if the level of sodium bicarbonate is too high. No phytotoxicity occurs on roses with rates as low as one percent sodium bicarbonate (one tablespoon baking soda plus 2.5 tablespoons Sunspray horticulture oil in one gallon of water). The chemicals were eradicative (i.e. disease incidence decreased upon application), whereas most fungicides on the market are protective in activity (they prevent further spread of the disease, do not erase, or eradicate what damage has already been done).

8/18/2003 7:44:09 AM

Ga.

Also..no burn here when applied in late afternoon...

8/18/2003 7:44:59 AM

Montoursville, PA

Are we using the right label? There are at least two types in most oil lines. I have used various oils pre-emergence and summer growing oils for years without burning.

There is a significant difference in types available.

8/18/2003 11:57:24 AM

St. Louis, MO

This year, I used Neem as my primary source of fungicide/insecticide. Every week or so. I never had any problems with burn, but I also never had much luck with the cucumber bugs or flea beetles.

It always seemed to work better as a fungicide over insecticide.

8/18/2003 2:52:02 PM

Ga.

Let me say this about my post above,,I mix exacetley like it says,,no extras period..I have had NO burn yet..John G did use and I think he burnt a couple leaves..After I started using this,,cuke beetles disappeared..They showed back up this week.Will use again this afternoon if rain will stop..A tad of powerdy still around.Has really done its job for powerdy mildew..Maybe the imminioux I'm using helped with cucumber beetles..Good Luck..
J

8/18/2003 3:36:32 PM

porterville,california usa

well, ya`all had better get out your heavy parkas and cold weather gear. `cause hell must be getting ready to freeze over!......I made a mistake.....i must be slipping because that makes two in the last 20 years. it wasn`t neem oil i used. i went to my local butt-head nurseryman and told him i wanted neem oil to kill spider mites (he`s the same guy who told me to use PYRETHRINS to kill them). he gave me a bottle of ortho volck oil spray and said that`s it. it`s exactly the same thing. has the same ingredients. so like a dumb-ass i took it home, followed the application instructions to a tee, and turned on my misters the next day so i wouldn`t burn the leaves. i wasn`t home that afternoon, but i bet you could have seen steam comming off the leaves they got burned so bad. so,... i must apologize for claiming neem oil did me wrong. i wasn`t the neem that did me wrong, it was an idiot with an ass kickin` coming tomorrow. i wonder what a quart of round-up in the overhead sprinklers fertigation system would do? PS he has an advice column in our local newspaper on gardening. i think i`ll take out some space next to it and put in pics of my burned up plants. they say bad things come in groups of three. he`ll thank me later for getting them over all at once. Heeeeee Haaaaaw!!! !!!

8/19/2003 1:56:18 AM

Montoursville, PA

Hey if you like to play you can in fact make your own oil sprays with materials already in your house. The formulas are in the organic books and literature. I'm lazy and pay the price for that lazyness.

8/19/2003 8:55:00 AM

ny

I sell and use pure neem for everything including the pumpkins and its never burned a thing!

8/23/2003 3:24:38 PM

Rhode Island

pgr from ri and have used neem for the first time this year with the amount of rainfall this year powdery mildew has been incredible neem has at least halted the spread at a minimum although must say i am only using 1 to 1.5 tbls. per gallon of water not the two indicated on the label

8/25/2003 8:04:54 PM