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Garden State Pumpkins

Hey I have noticed that on of my plants which has been doing good has a wilting of the leaves on the last six feet of the plant. It hasn't been real hot here for a week as a matter of fact have been having some bad thunderstorms. I haven't fed the plants lately but do see brown streaking on the leaves. I did apply sevin after each rain is this too much..I have to because of cuke bugs in the garden..also while I do have some female buds on the vine they have not flowered and it's been a week or more. A sister plant got them at the same time and have flowered already..Any suggestions Thanks

7/3/2001 10:58:01 AM

Long Island,New York

Check the vine itself for a sign of rot...there's likely a white grub in the vine just before the wilting starts. If its a rot spot, its likely the squash vine borer. Cut the spot lengthwise and kill the borer by removing it. bury the vine and your best bet is to set a pumpkin before the rot/vine borer spot or on a side vine before it....let us know what you find....G

7/3/2001 11:15:06 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Boy I hope it's not that...I have buried the vine past where the wilting leaves are. I will dig it up and find what I can...I suppose it will be between the last good leaf and the first wiling one...the rot spot ... I should look for a discoloration there or just soft mushy vine?? thanks for your help will look at that tonight when I get home...

7/3/2001 11:40:43 AM

Long Island,New York

You have the location right....look for anything unusual...it can be on the underside of the vine too...might see a totally mushy spot or just a spot with sawdust like stuff comming out of the bore hole........G

7/3/2001 12:49:15 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Thanks for the info..been going all over the site trying to read anything that might give me hope..Tried to put a picture on the growers diaries of the problem leaves but that was a learning curve too...think it went through though. chuck (alexsdad)

7/3/2001 1:56:17 PM

Western Pa.

Alexsdad,

Sounds to me like the start of bacterial wilt, caused by the cucumber beetle. (Only a small percentage of the beetles actually carry this.) If my hunch is correct, the wilt will start to spread throughout the plant. If it is bacterial wilt, this plant is done, and should be removed and burned.
kilr

7/4/2001 9:56:04 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Hey kilr I did get in the garden this morning and dug into the area between the last good leaf and the wilting one. I found absolutely no damage to the vine in fact the root system here was remarkably strong..The wilt actually looks a little better and the vine is progressing and is very strong passed the wilted area. The cool weather brought in after the storms might be the reason for this. I will take a picture and try and show you what I'm talking about...Do you still think the best thing to do is Pull it.

7/6/2001 11:25:05 AM

Western Pa.

The cucumber beetle usually eats on the leaves,especially the new growth. I've never seen one eating on a vine. It only takes 1 beetle with this to destroy a plant. The plant actually becomes infected when the feces of the infected bug is spread to an open cut on the plant. Cuke beetles don't really eat a whole lot, but the wilt that they CAN carry is devastating. Wait a while before you pull it and see if it starts showing up elsewhere. Last year I had it on 1 vine and immediately removed that vine, but it eventually it spread throughout the plant and stopped my pumpkin at 400.5#. I'm not saying for sure that this is what you have, just what I suspect. A lot of good pumpkins (and plants) have fallen victim to "the wilt". After last year, I have stepped up my insecticide spraying to include a "systemic". If the wilt is improving, it could be that it was damaged by someone (or a tiller, or wind uprooting it),or just a result of heat stress, though I think the whole plant would have wilted in this case. Even weeding too agressively can uproot a vine and make it wilt. Hang in there, man!

kilr

7/6/2001 7:39:38 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

I think Kilr has it right my new growth just past the wilt area is shredded but the vine beyond that looks good and is about to give me my first female blossom. it's about twenty feet long now. I will treat it with sevin and give it a good dose of miracle grow to see if I can get it back to good leaves. Thank everyone for your help!

7/9/2001 10:02:18 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Had to go out of town for a couple of days and just got back in the sevin application helped! the new growth is healthy so now I have the wilt section then a chewed section and now healthy leaves again...But my female flowers never open...they stay closed or fall off.

7/13/2001 11:48:06 AM