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  • What’s attacking my squash plants?

    Created by Deborah Hart on January 13, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    Please help!

    I have planted a large patch of Red Kuri squash plants that are having problems with what I think is stem/ crown rot disease. It looks set to destroy about half my crop this season. My plants appeared to be healthy a week ago, then I noticed some plants with leaf wilt, and then they just die a day later. On inspection I cannot find any evidence of insects or vine borer, hence I think it might be fungal.

    What product would you recommend to protect the remaining healthy squash plants? I have sprayed bicarb soda around the base of the plant but think I may need to call in the big guns on this one!

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  • January 14, 2018 at 3:43 pm #259351

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Hi Deborah –

    Various fungal diseases and blights attack squash foliage. From your description, I have come up with a couple possible plant problems and listed symptoms and treatments for each.

    Fusarium Crown and Foot Rot

    Symptoms:
    • Wilting of leaves
    • Plant dies within a few days
    • Dead tissue of the crown and upper taproot
    • Infected plants break off below the soil line

    Treatment:
    • Purchase pathogen free seed
    • Rotate crops on a 3 to 4-year rotation
    • Don’t plant melons following a barley crop
    • If the disease persists, it is best to remove infected plant debris and solarize the soil before planting again

    Bacterial Wilt

    Symptoms:
    • Severe wilting, especially during the heat of the day
    • Symptoms appear at all stages of plant development
    • Leaves may yellow
    • Dead tissue may appear around leaf margins
    • Plants die within two weeks

    Treatment:
    • There is no control for bacterial wilt once plants become infected
    • Plant resistant varieties when available
    • Use an organic insecticide to control cucumber beetles, which are known to spread the disease.

    Various fungus and blights attack squash plants. In most cases, a dilute solution of copper spray will help control the problem. However, we do not offer a product that will work on the two conditions mentioned above.

    Hope it helps!

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