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Middle TN

Im working on a wish list of things I want to get before next season. Top of the list is PM prevention. Ive read a thousand threads and I can honestly say Im more confused than ever. I dont know what a myclobutanil product is but apparently I need one. Ive heard Eagle 20 mentioned a lot and plan to get some but do I need something else to go with it?

I used Daconil and still got PM. Im hoping to find something better by next season. Id appreciate any advice.
Tammy

8/4/2010 1:03:14 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

rotate your fungicides

8/4/2010 1:31:51 PM

Fresno, CA

Tammy, instead of giving you my own faulty advice or information I am going to repeat here a very useful response that Matt DeBacco gave me on Powdery Mildew control. He said it was ok if I posted it...
> I have spent three years studying powdery mildew for my school research so I am familiar with the disease. Neem oil is not that great for powdery mildew and it can beat up the leaves especially during high heat conditions. Compost Tea will not touch powdery mildew. Seaweed has some minimal anti-PM proprieties but I doubt you would see any suppression in the field.
>
> Milk on the other hand will work if you use 40% milk in 60% water and reapply it every 6 days. Powdered milk to whole milk will work, but whole milk offers the highest level of effectiveness. It is important to cover both the tops of the leaves no matter what product you are using.
>
> Misting the leaves is great for revealing heat stress, but if you do not run the misters until water runs off the leaves you are creating an environment that is very favorable for powdery mildew. So be sure you are getting water run off because you will actually wash off some of the PM spores.

8/4/2010 2:02:20 PM

Fresno, CA

Part 2 of Matt DeBacco's response..
>
> Now the big issue, the organic growing...
>
> I have grown on of the largest (if not THE largest) giant pumpkins 100% organically which includes fertilizers, soil amendments, insect control, and disease control and my pumpkin was 581lbs. I believe that organically you are going to top out at 600lb mainly because much larger then that is going to induce high stress which leads to more disease pressure.
>
> For me Coppers are more dangerous than some of there non-organic competition. For one Cu contains no carbon, so why is it organic? Second copper persists in the environment so that takes out the sustainability aspect. I do have a copper product, but I use it only as a last resort and if I have a bacterial problem. I have used it once in the last 3 growing seasons.
>

8/4/2010 2:02:57 PM

Fresno, CA

Part 3 of Matt DeBacco's response...
> Daconil/Bravo is probably the most common fungicide used on vegetables currently grown. Itworks great and is a required tank mix for some of the other systemic chemicals. It has low post harvest intervals (PHI) and reentry times (REI) only 12hr vs 24hr with coppers. So I would recommend spraying with Daconil especially if you feel safe spraying coppers. Take typical precautions, long pants and sleeves, spray in the evening and do not allow anyone in the pumpkin patch while you are spraying. I have no problem spraying near a house. The Daconil label I believe says just wait until the product dries on the leaves before reentering. As long as your dogs are not eating a large amount of your pumpkin leaves there should be little threat to them. (Odds are if they were eating your pumpkin leaves you would be a bigger threat to them;-)
>
> Now, if you have read this far... Based on the pictures you sen me you do not have powdery mildew! What you have looks more like salt deposits, but I would not be surprised if powdery mildew arrives tomorrow, and the key is to be preventative. So the long rant above is still important..
>
> This side has a good early and late picture of what PM looks like:
> http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~vegnet/news/currentvn11-06.htm

8/4/2010 2:03:22 PM

Pataskala,OH

You need a systemic too.

8/4/2010 2:08:45 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

See the "Fungicide Chart" thread in this message board by Huffs... It lists most big name fungicides, their ingredient, and what they prevent. Eagle looks like a great broad spectrum systemic.

8/4/2010 2:59:44 PM

Lexington, Ky

If water will knock off PM spores then I'm going to say that the milk/water combo probably does just that, nothing more. I am one of the last hold outs on the milk theory!

8/4/2010 3:34:22 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

You do not NEED a systemic, a systemic is nice to add to your rotation, I grew for several years without a systemic fungicide with little problems.
If there was one fungicide that I could recommend, it would be Eagle 20. That said, I now use several different contact and systemics in a rotation.

8/4/2010 5:20:20 PM

Joliet, IL

http://www.stylet-oil.com/What-is-Stylet-Oil-s-mode-of-activity-against-powdery-mildew--i-109-16.html

8/4/2010 5:47:33 PM

Joliet, IL

that above site is a good read on stylet oil. it was too late in the year last year to know the true effects by the time i sprayed it. i have a case of powdery mildew that popped up over night on many of my gourd leaves as it has been very humid rainy and cloudy here for several days in a row. i am going to mix a systemic-(eagle 20) and the stylet oil at 3 tablespoons per gallon and will hit the gourd leaves good tonight and see a close up look at the effectiveness of that combo is besides all the other products mentioned above. it will be a test patch. the stylet is supposed to kill on contact and is used in the grape industry due to being an organic solution for both spider mites and pm. i will try it and report observations on the gourds and also pumpkins as i will throw this combo in the rotation. the stylet oil is compatible with eagle, but the only down side is it says a pump sprayer is needed and not to be used with a mister or fogger. i am not sure why but probably the density and non combining with water factor. that would make it harder to cover all areas of a full plant. i will look into more info about using it with a stihl fogger and if anyone has used stylet oil in a fogger with food results, please chime in.

8/4/2010 5:55:16 PM

Joliet, IL

and the mix rate above will be 2/3s tsp per gallon eagle and 3 tablespoon per gallon jms stylet oil

8/4/2010 5:56:43 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

Tom, but down here in the warmer climates, wouldn't we probably need a sytemic more so than you in NY? We have had a heat index of 110 the past few days and for many weeks this summer been +100. PM favors those dry and hot conditions. We will be at 92 tomorrow and that is cool.

8/4/2010 7:50:09 PM

Joliet, IL

i have just ordered up some quintec to throw in the rotation from another completely different angle of effectiveness than other fungicides. it specifically targets pm and moves within the leaf so if sprayed on the top of a leaf it works on both sides from what i have read with its special ability of leaf tissue translocation. i sprayed tongight with the stylet oil and eagle mix on gourd leaves of varying symptoms and will so how well of an eradicator it is. the shiney coating of the parafinn oil and the pressure from the pump spray seemed to flush the white fuzz off with a good coating and the leaves looks a lot healthy with the shine...but i will see how it actually worked in a couple of days of sunshine to see if it temporarily helped stop it in its tracks. i am glad i noticed the gourds today to use as guinea pigs on all new products first.

8/4/2010 8:57:40 PM

Colorado Springs, CO

Tammy,.....Advice for your wish list to prep for next season ? Hmmm, how about considering 'Plant Wash' by Soil Mender Products....if you want to cleanse your plant tissue surfaces on a routine basis throughout the season so as to prevent issues casued by pathogens and soft-bodied insects. Effective on your pumpkins and anything else that grows in your gardens.

8/5/2010 11:35:28 PM

Fresno, CA

I don't see serenade discussed much. Is that because of damage to beneficial soil microbes or because not effective enough on PM?

8/6/2010 8:51:18 PM

Fresno, CA

I see here and in other placed that PM favors hot and dry conditions. Shouldn't that be hot and humid that it prefers?

8/6/2010 8:54:40 PM