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Deer Park, WI

Every year, since I have been growing, I have had some sort of pest sever my plants flush with the ground. I get seedlings to the 4-6 leaf stage, and some creature severs the stem right off at the ground level. The stem tissue is usually kind of mushy on both ends. There are no signs of an invader, just a dead plant. I have ruled out a wind event, as this seems to occur over the course of a week or so, a couple of plants per day. Could this be a worm? Insect? Elephant? Any ideas?

6/25/2003 8:49:00 AM

Pulaski Tn blkcloud@igiles.net

cut worm?? wrap alum. foil aroung the stem..it wont kill the worm but it will dull his teeth..

6/25/2003 9:09:59 AM

Cologne / Germany

Same patch every year? Maybe some sort of fusaria that is known to remain in the soil. There are some fusaria related articles and pictures here on BP that appear to be similar to your problem.

6/25/2003 9:14:13 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

cutworm was my guess also, get a plastic coke bottle cut off both ends and put it around the plant and press it into the soil, when the plants get large enough just cut it and remove it.

6/25/2003 9:22:50 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

fusaria crown/root/....take a look at these shots...also open vine and see if there is any excessive white inside. see last years diary...hope it's a cutworm!
Chuck

6/25/2003 9:56:32 AM

South Hill, Virginia

Definitely an elephant.

6/25/2003 9:57:28 AM

Commack, NY

elephant!! oh man that is classic!! LMAO

6/25/2003 12:16:38 PM

Knopp, Germany

It can happen Scott, just check out this link..
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=4996

6/25/2003 1:03:58 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I'd say cut worms first. Fungal pathogen second. Trap the area with sticky pheremone traps. If no bugs, bring the plant parts to the state agriculture experiment station. Ask the pathologist to make a slide.

Steve

6/25/2003 5:37:34 PM

Deer Park, WI

Thanks guys..i had suspected cutworm as well. Did some research and ruled out fusarium (thank the lord), and the elephants. From what i gathered, an elephant would have just eaten or stomped the whole works. So now i could use some help on Cutworm control. Dirty bastards live in the soil and only come out at night (explains why i never spotted the buggers). Steve...where can i find the pheromone traps? Sounds like a good method to me. Pop bottle around the base is great idea too, however when I have over 60 plants; this becomes a bit of a chore.

6/26/2003 1:02:42 PM

Roanoke Il

grub-x with merit in it joe just takes a cup or so when planting then add it as the plant gets bigger.You can find it at the local walmart. hope this helps mark

6/29/2003 9:07:40 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Pheromone traps are primarily for monitoring a pest population & then making the informed decision to spray based on the findings. I do know that the anti-pesticide crowd is advocating their use as a control strategy. I disagree. Type of pheromone & site placement are critical to success. Check this link for different sites reviewing trap useage.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=pheromone+trap+%22cutworm%22&spell=1

Many crops get tested for effectiveness based only on economic significance.

See clip from OSU fact sheet__________________________

Mechanical Control
Several types of barriers may be used to protect a crop. Row covers, which allow for the penetration of sunlight and the movement of air and moisture (but not insects), can be used to protect a crop from migrating insects. If crop rotation is not used, however, this type of cover can trap insects emerging from the soil in with the crop, creating a false sense of security. Collars made of paper plates, aluminum pans and tin cans can also be placed around the bases of individual plants to protect the upper plant parts from crawling insects such as cutworms that live in the soil, or to protect the stem base from egg-laying by the cabbage maggot fly.

Several types of traps are also available for pest control or monitoring. Traps that attract an insect by color (usually yellow or white) may be cards covered with a sticky substance or colored bowls filled with soapy water. Other traps use a scent or "pheromone" to attract the pest to a sticky surface or an enclosure. Traps such as these should not be relied on to control insects in an open area, but should be used more as an indicator of the pest's presence.

Mechanical control also includes simply removal of a pest by hand.
_____End clip____________________________________________

6/29/2003 10:35:41 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I would look for pheromone containing sticky tape & attach it to strategically place collars sorroung the youngest plants. But since Pumpkins vine, this won't work for long.

For Chemical control:

Diazinon granular & Merit both at the same time & watered in. Diazinin kills what;s here now. (Merit can't do that) And the Merit for controllin the next generation for at least 90-120 days which will include next years brood. (Diazinon can't do that).

Steve

6/29/2003 10:36:14 AM

Brillion Wisconsin

Joe, I have been pricing both Merit and Diazinion here in Wi. If you have trouble finding it up by you, email me. I found granular Diazinion at a local nursery for 6 bucks. It was in a container that looked like 1/2 gallon in size. Good luck in killing those cut worms. Dean o......now known as "Green Rye" on Big Pumpkins.com instead of ace1. the only thing I've been an ace on lately has been growing weeds.

6/29/2003 11:42:40 AM