From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Rochester, MN

I've seen posts tonight on folks terminating the watermelon due to this. I seem to get this a bit on my stems at time..I have one that was horrible...I kept painting it with Daconil and it has grown from 98.5 lbs on Aug 1st to 137 lbs on Aug 15th...so not sure I would terminate these watermelons...
Now I also have a problem where if I have a great looking stem and it was huge and it was my biggest watermelon at 134 lbs on Aug 1st..however, it internally died on the stem...turned red from inside out and then the watermelon turned white and yellow and stopped growing and is bad.

Anyone else see this before? I had it happen to my best one last year also.
Thanks

8/19/2010 10:10:11 PM

sevierville, Tn

Dave, yes i have had both. When the stem goes bad ("turned red from inside out") It seems to mean the melon is bad inside. My 209 last year did this. Seems the melon will rot in 1 to 2 weeks from the start of the color change.
I had the red ooze & treated them with Daconil, They will grow...then slow...then stop. the melon was ok internally.

8/19/2010 10:35:55 PM

Rochester, MN

Thanks SMP for the update...any ideas why this happens on the melon? On the 2 I had this happen on...I didn't see ANYTHING wrong with the watermelon.

8/19/2010 11:11:51 PM

sevierville, Tn

I thought it was because the melon rotted from the bottom as it was on sand & a very wet year last year. There was a bad place on the vine, so i guess something could have traveled to the melon from that. I couldn't tell which way the hole came from. inside to out, or outside to in, so i figued it was the latter.

8/20/2010 1:47:52 PM

Corryton, TN

I've had a couple go down this year as you described. After finding the link below I'm sure it's what I was fighting. It didn't take out the whole plant like I thought it would. I too tkink mine started from the bottom of the melon. My melons went down fast.

http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/takextpub/FactSheets/pp0027.pdf

8/21/2010 7:34:54 AM

Corryton, TN

One was your 180. It went down at 161 EST.

8/21/2010 7:38:46 AM

Salem, NY

Dave, mine are still growing well. They were pollinated late, but are still chugging along. The 195 Hunt is also growing well.

8/30/2010 8:17:32 PM