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Eastern Shore of VA

i recently developed a spot on my 180 UOW Pridgen in the last couple of weeks.
I battled GSB last year in my old patch,(a different melon)and despite my best efforts,lost the plant and melon @ 47 days.
Plant was strong, stump as big as my wrist.
Melon weighed 119 on the bathroom scales.
Saved the seeds,but I don't know if I'll grow it again.

Back to the spots.

I knew what they looked like, but was still not sure.
Maybe it was just denial.
Brother Dave emailed me with the bad news I was afraid of.
I have one other plant going a good distance away and have been monitoring it frequently with no signs so far.
My friend has a nice little melon going on a 229 Holloway I gave him with no problems.
My question is ;

How prevalent is the disease amongst us growers ?
How much of it is seed borne and how much is soil borne ?
Are we passing it around to each other without even realizing that ?

I was adamant about disease control this year.
New house,new garden, even bought new tools,new hoses,....etc.
Fungicide sprays every week, alternating types every couple of weeks.
If I were to grow a world record this year on the 180 Pridgen;

What would I do with the seeds ?

Sorry for ranting, but as I am still fairly new at this, it does become a bit discouraging to plot and plan all year only to watch it go down the tubes.
I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a pint of something to treat it.

7/9/2017 12:28:13 PM

Home of happy lil plants

i have good news and bad news


good news gummy can be treated near fully
bad news it takes several of those little pints

7/10/2017 1:10:46 AM

SW Ohio

This is just my opinion. So take it for what its worth.

I think the majority of CC seeds we use to grow giants are infected with GSB. I think that conditions have to be favorable for it to present itself. I think most all of us have it in our soil. Again, conditions have to be favorable for it to present itself.

It is treatable. It is not cheap to treat it. I have had it a couple of times and have opted to pull the plant rather than treat it.

i personally have not saved seeds from any melons that show symptoms of GSB, or any disease for that matter. If I dont want to grow those seeds, why would anyone else?

This is a hobby for me. My goal is to grow a big melon. The seeds are just icing on the cake. Since I dont sell my seeds, I dont feel like I have to concern myself with a disease free promise. I can give a grower or club that requests my seeds my word that the plant and melon were disease free for me and thats about it.

7/10/2017 7:16:55 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

I know,I know.
I'm just pissed off and ranting.
Don't mind me.
You have any recommendations for control Spence ?
It kicked my butt last year.

7/10/2017 8:18:29 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

I feel the same Sue.
I just want to grow a big melon.
Pulling a plant is hard because I don't have the room to grow multiple plants.
My other plant is growing in a 25 gallon tub.
That was just for pollination purposes.
And I was just curious how big I could grow one in a container.

7/10/2017 8:55:09 AM

stoughton WI

I'm not really much of a melon grower, but what you may want to do is soak your seeds in bleach solution for 5 or 10 minutes before germination them and see if that helps. What I've learned from growing A.G.'s is there is a number of diseases that can be carried on outside of seed.

7/10/2017 9:06:26 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

How do you mix the solution?

7/10/2017 9:44:57 AM

stoughton WI

1 part bleach 10 parts water should work

7/10/2017 11:15:58 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Sweet.
Guess I'll try that next year.

7/10/2017 12:27:18 PM

Home of happy lil plants

Ridomil gold, inspire super, clearys,luna sensations,quadristop, tebuconazole plus agrifos and finally manzate/daconil in every single spray for good measure. The sad part is I feel every single one of those is required to knock it down, and its like plant aids it will never fully go away just progress quiteeee slowly

7/10/2017 2:29:44 PM

Home of happy lil plants

AND soak your seeds in what rick said plus a mix of a systemic fungicide

7/10/2017 2:30:41 PM

SW Ohio

Ben,
If you could email me your address, I might have something for you to try. Barbeetoo(at)yahoo.com

7/10/2017 8:09:13 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Sue,email sent.

7/10/2017 9:56:01 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

7/10/2017 10:56:49 PM

simpson,KS

104 farenheit
feels like 115
20 mile an hour breeze
hasn't rained in a month and a half
thats how it's treated in Kansas LOL

7/11/2017 7:09:24 AM

South Arkansas

Follow the 2017 Clemson Watermelon Spray Guide that is on the internet. ............ For a 10% bleach seed rinse, mix one part of bleach with nine parts water. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a seed rinse.

7/11/2017 2:48:18 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks Mr.Bright.
How does the peroxide solution mix ?
Similar to the bleach ?
Would I have to Solarize rmy soil for next year or just wait a year to grow there again ?

7/12/2017 11:06:44 AM

The North Coast

I concur with Susan's and Mr. Bright's views. They both hit it right on the head. If I may add, seed borne GSB is a small risk. Best advice is to get at least one of the fungicides recommended by Dr. Keinath at Clemson. All the seeds I used this year were disinfected using peroxyacetic acid which is a kin to peroxide. Treatment is done when seeds are harvested and the shells are still soft. Some of the fungicides recommended are part of crop protection program and are difficult to aquire. The ones you can get a hold of are expensive. Buckle down and get one. Maybe find a group growers willing to split the cost...talking about splitting the cost. Anyone looking to get or have some Ranman? If so email me please. Thanks.

7/13/2017 7:56:16 AM

The North Coast

I concur with Susan's and Mr. Bright's views. They both hit it right on the head. If I may add, seed borne GSB is a small risk. Best advice is to get at least one of the fungicides recommended by Dr. Keinath at Clemson. All the seeds I used this year were disinfected using peroxyacetic acid which is a kin to peroxide. Treatment is done when seeds are harvested and the shells are still soft. Some of the fungicides recommended are part of crop protection program and are difficult to aquire. The ones you can get a hold of are expensive. Buckle down and get one. Maybe find a group growers willing to split the cost...talking about splitting the cost. Anyone looking to get or have some Ranman? If so email me please. Thanks.

7/13/2017 7:56:16 AM

South Arkansas

Rotate and plant in an area once every five years if possible. The main reason for that is to prevent a buildup of the pathogen that causes fusarium wilt. The primary solution for fusarium wilt is grafting onto gourd stock. Most melon diseases can be prevented or controlled by foliar spraying if you start early with preventative sprays. Bravo and Dithane are two of the more economical fungicides. Both are broad spectrum and do not have disease resistance issues. Buy agricultural grade fungicides. Lots of the ones sold in the gardening section in the small containers are highly diluted. As the heat and humidity builds in the summer be sure to use the maximum recommended application rate. The systemic fungicides are the pricey ones. Use up-to-date advice of which of the systemics to use because they can become of no value in an area if disease resistance has built up there. Quadris is one example. If you start early with Bravo and potassium phosphite and continue with it through out the season, you can probably avoid the pricey fungicides. Spray every week and it helps to spray before each rain.

7/13/2017 2:12:12 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

I've got some mono potassium phosphate.
That's not the same thing is it ?

7/13/2017 6:01:45 PM

South Arkansas

A couple of the trade names for potassium phosphite are TKO and Agrifos. It is sold under some names as a fungicide and is sold as a fertilizer on other names. Potassium phosphate has some similar effects but it is a different chemical.

7/13/2017 10:47:49 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

I have agri fos.
Just sprayed and drenched the crap out of the plant last night.

7/14/2017 6:31:42 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Looking back on my notes from last year,I'm finding a similar pattern.
Both times it has occurred around the same time as downy mildew.
Could they be related in a way ?

7/16/2017 12:25:30 PM

South Arkansas

They are related in that both appear under the same weather conditions. Both diseases are most active in hot and humid conditions like during extended rainy periods in the summer.

7/20/2017 3:01:34 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Had plenty of those here in eastern Virginia !

7/20/2017 6:02:38 PM