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Sugar Hill , Georgia

Back for more help again guys , so the past week has been a extreme hot spell and I have kept my plants watered and they wilt during the day but perk back up at sundown , but seemingly as this has continued slowly each plant has been exhibiting weird traits , the leaves themselves seem to be pushing themseleves into the ground and curling thus it seems as If the hole vine is tipping or falling over but the leaves remain pretty healthy , they seem like they are avoiding the sun hitting them directly , any thoughts ? I can send pictures if that would help

7/4/2012 11:44:23 AM

Ut

Any brown patches or yellowing on any leaves, or just crurling? Do the leaves near the stump look any worse than the rest of the leaves?

7/4/2012 12:43:13 PM

sevierville, Tn

melons should not wilt if healthy & in good growing conditions with water. If they are there is a problem! Is it all of your plants ?? or just some?? Are the stumps healthy?

7/4/2012 4:21:22 PM

Muddy Waters

I had that problem a long time ago.There were dozens of grubs in my soil from the fresh horse manure I was getting.There were like 20 grubs under each plant near the stump.I started treating any fresh manure after that season.Now I only use manure thats aged over 3 years.

7/4/2012 9:30:51 PM

Muddy Waters

Send a photo Clementz.mark@ yahoo.com

7/4/2012 9:32:34 PM

Sugar Hill , Georgia

It varies between plants but generally there is some yellowing in the leaves nearer the stump , the strange curling and falling varies much more , stumps appear to be in good health all but one are exhibiting this trait , I fear there may be a small amount of browsing but it looks like fertilizer burn more than anything and is on maybe one or two leaves total , I have been applying fungicide every week or 2 the last month and a half

7/4/2012 9:33:39 PM

Ut

When they diagnose diseases they sometimes consider if it is only the leaf wilting, or also the stem. If the leaves are tipping over then are the stems effected?

It sounds a little like my fusarium wilt. It starts at the stump with yellowing leaves which later get brown patches. The rest of the plant will have leaves curled upwards a little but still look green and otherwise healthy. This is because the wilt prevents water flow in the stem. Fusarium effects the leaves not the stems. When the leaf totally dies the stem will still be standing. I saw signs early last season and out grew it and grew a 130 melon, but by the time I picked it the leaves had died right past the melon. It’s looks like a ring of dead leaves in the center that moves out steadily.

If you give up on a plant be sure to have a box all ready labeled and ready with forms filled out to send it to your extension service for a diagnosis. Get the specific instructions on how to send it. They usually want some root with. This will help you strategize for next year.

7/5/2012 12:17:58 AM

Sugar Hill , Georgia

It does look a lot like fusarium to me , I now have one vine which has left only a few leaves and the melon itself , mark I will take pictures and send them tonight

7/5/2012 1:09:01 PM

Sugar Hill , Georgia

What can be done for fusarium now ? Is it too late? Also what are preventative measures for next year?

7/6/2012 11:55:22 PM

Ut

I heard recently that a product called "actinivate"? may help with fusarium. "companion" also claims to help some. These might help if you use them from the beginning to help with prevention. I would like to know if it works.

Officially however, I believe there is no cure other than crop rotation, solarizing or fumigation. Fumigation requires a license. Solarization you can do but it kills a season and has marginal results. To solarize till in organics, lay drown drip line or water very deep, cover with a thin clear plastic (about 2-4mil), bury the edges so it’s air tight, and bake in the sun for a month or two in the heat of the summer. This is supposed to kill everything including weed seeds. It gets very hot. I tried this on a 100 x 20 foot plot. I did not use UV protected plastic which turned out very bad for me. One day I felt the plastic was VERY hot, and the next time I came out the whole sheet had splintered into thousands of pieces. It was a huge mess. I had used the thicker 6mil from the hardware store but later read that thinner heats up better.

Good luck! You and I can make t-shirts that say “war on fusarium” or something. I wish we could make a shirt that said “I survived fusarium” but I’m doubtful we’ll be able to say that:(

7/9/2012 3:03:48 PM

Ut

Be sure to send in samples to confirm the diagnosis

7/9/2012 3:04:15 PM