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Wantagh, NY

Well, always wanted to grow big pumpkins and this year got the chance. Seed from Johnny's, good spot, lots of manure and plenty of water... and we were rewarded with big healthy vines, leaves, and, wow, some fruit set. And then disaster.

Within 3 days this week almost 20 square feet wilted just like that. From reading the posts here and elsewhere, I feared that we'd been struck by the "dreaded vine borer". Sure enough, something is in there. When I slit some vines last night, I expected to see whitish larvae. But instead, there's a brown "goop" inside the vines, with what looks like some eggs.

I sprayed last night with a rotonone/pyrethrine blend.

Can anyone advise me what my next steps should be?

7/24/2001 12:53:13 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

hey SnM you probably already read my post down the page. I followed all the directions everyone gave me but yours sounds more serious. first time grower myself but I feel your pain, if anyone can help ya these people can hang in there someone will come up with something.

7/24/2001 2:08:50 PM

Commack, NY

definatly sounds like squash vine borer damage. not sure about the eggs though. what probably happened was the borer ate enough, and then went into the ground. you probably missed it already. the vine turns to mush pretty much. on long island i think our biggest threat is the SVB, i would go over the whole plant and look for signs of entry in the vines and leaf stems, also look on the underside of the leaves, they like to hide there also. you'll see a point of entry marked by some sawdust looking stuff. you can either slit the vine, or inject nematodes. i've done both. once you find one, you probably have more. good luck
'
scott

7/24/2001 3:06:10 PM

Herndon, VA

If it is indeed a borer, the spray won't do you much good because it doesn't get inside the plant. --Bruiser

7/24/2001 3:29:23 PM

Wantagh, NY

Thanks for your advice. It was dark when I got home, so I'll have to check tomorrow morning before I leave for work. Assuming the worst, any thoughts about pruning out the diseased section and ticking the healthy end into the ground? Does this actually have a chance of working?

7/24/2001 9:34:30 PM

Wantagh, NY

dad always wanted to grow pumpkins. this year we tried for the first time. we tried to make it work. we even bought horse manure to fertilize( that must be how the borergot to us.) as you can tell from the message above, we will try to salvage some ove the plant tommorow. we have one pumpkin on the desiesed plant. it's far down the vine and away from the sick root. the pumpkinhas been the same size for a while (about 10-12") and mantained a yellow color. i dont think dad noticed, but the vine is getting sort of bloched yellow in the area near the pumkin. is it infected too? reply quickly!! thanks--Meryl

7/24/2001 9:43:27 PM

Commack, NY

what do you mean by "blotched"? you will definatly see a point of entry in the vine. a hole if you will. look close, on all sides of the vine. btw, the borers didnt come from the horse manure. if you ever see a moth like looking creature with a redish body that's a borer moth. she lays eggs one at a time in various locations on the plant. when the eggs hatch the borers bore into the vines.

scott

7/25/2001 12:33:07 PM

Wantagh, NY

Well, we found the little beasties! Thanks to whomever it was that posted pics of the borers... that's what they were. Found them about 3 inches from where the main vine of my best plant emerges from the ground. They'd eaten and rotted through about half of the thickness.

Did the best that I could. I scraped out all of the rotted vine and plucked out the borers. Then, since the vine was open, I sprayed the rotonone/pyrethrine inside the vine both upstream and down in case I missed any. Then I covered up the whole area, burying it under a pile of rotted horse manure.

And now... we wait and see!

7/25/2001 9:31:48 PM

Connecticut

If you only got three there is most likely more. I would order a rush delivery of nematoes and inject them into the vine.

7/26/2001 8:23:40 AM

Wantagh, NY

Thanks again for good advice. I contacted "Gardens Alive!" and my nematodes will be arriving tomorrow.

7/26/2001 11:21:00 AM

Commack, NY

just be careful with that syringe. i used it last year, it got clogged and i ended up with nematodes in my mouth and eyes! i'm okay though!! LOL!!

scott

7/26/2001 2:05:40 PM

Wantagh, NY

Here's a thought: Since I already sprayed with rotonone/pyrethrine what's that gonna do to the nematodes?

Anyone have "nematode knowledge"?

7/26/2001 3:16:35 PM

Commack, NY

nematodes are injected into the vine. if you sprayed, nothing got into the actual vine. they should be fine

scott

7/26/2001 6:56:01 PM

Long Island,New York

Steve-n-Meryl...they're right-vine borers...nematodes are supposed to work but if you find yourself w/o nemetodes you can inject a regular strength insecticide into the vine area where they are and that will work as well.Ive used methoxychlor here in Massapequa that way with good results.Methoxychlor can be found as an ingredient in Bonide's fruit tree spray(Ive only used methoxychlore alone, but I imagine,since its no longer available straight, the fruit spray would work. The reason they don't get killed by most pesticides is because they don't get in contact with the pesticide. Some have also had success using Grubbex granules as a systemic backup to a regular spray regiment. The thought of letting a borer munch away on my main vine until its ingested enough poison doesn't sit well w/me, but as a backup it might be worth a try.
The borer probably came from my yard ! hee-hee. They feast on your nieghbor's zucchini and yellow squash and are always around.Good luck with the plant...next year we'll get you some GOOD seed-none of that "shelf seed"....there's a BIG difference.You can certainly grow them big here as Scott's had one nearly 700lbs and I had close to 600 before blowing it up....any local questions feel free to email me .....Glenn

7/26/2001 8:17:54 PM

Buffalo, NY

I didn't know Methoxychlor is no longer available in NYC area. I just bought some liquid Methoxychlor less than a month ago, made by Bonide. I'm in Buffalo. Never tried the injecting method.

Can anybody give me info on the best way to use W-T? got enough to last me 10 yrs. I know it disperses or dissolves & forms a residue but can it also be used systemically or just surface? And how do I measure out 0.37 ml, or is there a better way?

Thanks.
Mark

7/26/2001 8:49:28 PM