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Re: DAMN NO GOOD MUSH!

In a message dated 97-09-08 12:28:53 EDT, tooger@roanoke.infi.net writes:

<< Subj:	 DAMN NO GOOD MUSH!
 Date:	97-09-08 12:28:53 EDT
 From:	tooger@roanoke.infi.net (T D AKER)
 To:	pumpkins@athenet.net
 
 How's things in pumpkinland everyone?
 Well, things have been rough here in VA.
 As some of you might remember, back in July
 I wrote a note telling everyone how my vines were wilting from the base of
 the vine, one leaf at a time to the front.Well, to my suprise none of my
 vines actually died ater the initial wilt.The vines were weeping from the
 base a white goo.I stopped watering for a bit, and treated them with some
 fungicide and they seemed to recover, tho' some of them still wilted at the
 drop of a hat.Anyway,I struggled on into August and even started some
 pumpkins on the sick vines.To my suprise, one of my sicker vines managed to
 produce a 350 pound pumpkin.It was growing great until this past Saturday
 when I noticed the wilt had returend with a vengeance! This time, the leaves
 were not only wilting from the back,but are wilting on the end of the vine,
 and the side vines as well.I looked closer and found that the vines had
 turned to mush in three different places.I had the vines buried and that
 seemed to be where the rot was it's worst.It's NOT vine borers!
 I have no idea what this crap is.Some of you have given me a few ideas, but
 it really dosen't act that much like any of them.The best one so far was
 from I think George Brooks who said it was something called "Khune's
 Disease" or something like that.I sent a test to our local County Agent in
 July when it hit, but they bungled my test,and
 I gave up on them.I'm going to send another one in and hope this time they
 can help me.I can only hope my dying vine can hang on another week or two
 till my pumpkin cures some. It's still yellow and I can't see it surviving
 til October.I have also been very interested in the the letters on this list
 talking about a "Strange Wilting Disease".I'm inclined to believe this is
 the same disease that has struck my patch this year.
 I really had a fast grower on that vine, and looking at my plant now, I'm
 amazed it grew to the size it has.I still have a few other 100 and 200
 pounders, and maybe one other vine that had a late start that may do
 something for me, but I'm really in a mess if I can't find out what this
 junk is before next year.I had one vine do this last year, and it must be in
 the soil, tho' I'm not even sure of that.What really ticks me off is that I
 think I was on my way to a real prizewinner,and now I'll be lucky if my 350
 pounder can limp along till Halloween.Any help you guys can give me on this
 "mystery disease", or of some way to save my pumpkin til Halloween would be
 appreciated very much.
 Thanks
 Tim Aker
  >>
Tim,
   Your mystery disease could be Phytopthora root rot. It is usually at it's
worst in wet soil. Symptoms in the Atlantic Giant will be a wilting of the
leaves followed by a collapse of the leaves and vines, turning into mush. It
can attack one side vine at a time or the whole plant. The following is NOT a
recommendation, for the application rate is higher than provided for on the
label. Lets just say, I heard of someone who had good luck controlling
phytopthora that had started to infect a plant. 3oz Alliette and 3oz mancozeb
in a hose end sprayer, spray entire contents on 1,000 square feet spraying
the entire plant and letting it run into the soil. Again , this is not a
recommendation, just a story I heard. If you know you have phytopthora in the
area, you could use a lower rate as a preventative. Do not plant in the wet
ends of your field and do not bury the vines. I must warn you Alliette is not
exactly cheap and you might need a permit to buy it, depending on the state.
Be prepared to shell out a couple hundred bucks. Have a sample analyzed by a
plant pathologist and don't be fooled by secondary bacterial infections that
occur after the plant goes down.
                              pumkinguy@aol.com
                                                       pumkinguy@aol.com
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