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Vegetable Gardening

Dry white leaves on cucumbers

11 years ago

Hi folks,

I started cucumbers from seed for the first time this year and almost as soon as the leaves had formed, they started becoming white and dry. The plants have survived and been transplanted successfully but the old growth seems to constantly be wilting while the new growth is seemingly happy. Any ideas?

Photo attached.

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Comments (7)

planatus
11 years ago
My first guess is that the plants have been too cool and moist and will respond to more warmth, which hopefully is coming soon.
baseball9
11 years ago
It is some kind of damping-off fungus that probably came from your basement. These funguses will usually die off in the heat and sunlight. In the meantime, trim off the affected leaves. I will usually not trim leaves that are just beginning to get infected if I think I might be pruning back too much -- the plant needs some leaves to photosynthesize. The new growth usually doesn't get infected too much. This is not powdery mildew, which kills cucumbers within a week or so of being visible. Most of your plants should survive without much of a setback. Cucumbers are really finicky though, especially about being cold at all.
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I don't know for sure but it sounds like you may have cucumber beetle around. The adult feeds on the leaves but the larva feeds on the roots. It would be worth a search to see if that's what it is and what to do about it. You can find photos and info on the web If not the beetle it must be some melon feeder. Some burrow into the stem. Try cutting open one that is dieing where it is twisted and see if there's a larva there. The cracking in the leaves is the result of what's going on below.
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Sounds like powdery mildew. It spreads by rain or if you splash the leaves when you water your plants. Generally it starts at the bottom of the plant and gets higher and higher as the powdery mildew spreads up the plant. When it happened to me, it took about a month before it took over the entire crop. I tried pulling off the lower leaves but it didn't work, so I'm not sure if there's a solution other than tearing down the plant and starting over (hopefully in a new location). I wouldn't plant cucumbers in the same location next year.
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I planted my cucumber plants in a 30 inch pot (there are two plants) in mid May, about a week after I got them. They had perfect, green leaves for a while after I planted them. But, lately, I've noticed the leaves have holes in them:and the edges are drying up:but, it's still producing cucumbers. In fact, it's the second time it's produced. I had know idea cucumbers can reproduce. These are the cucumbers: I water the plant when it needs it, and try not too get the leaves wet. Does anybody know why the leaves are partially drying up?
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pegleg48
11 years ago
I think the same thing is happening to mine (all white-spotted and dry). I didn't harden them off (stupid) and it could be warmer out this week. Hope they don't die in less than 20c! I'll also try trimming off the bad ones...
Mine don't have flowers yet.
Good luck
Peg
Stellabee
11 years ago
We grow a lot cucumber and zucchini here in Georgia in abundance. If there's one thing (or two) I've learned about cucumber and squash it is that they hate the cold! Well, the cold and squash beetle:-)
sandrazbunn9
5 years ago
My cucumbers leaves are turning white, i noticed small bugs Brown in color crawling on them, learhooper? What can I do i wanted of course nice green color. Others tomatoes and peppers ok, will thes pest attack them? Shall i isolate my potted cucumber? So sad to see her under attack. What should I do? HELP
Paul (MD 7a)
5 years ago
Post a picture if you are able it will help us to ID your pest and give advice.
Amy (NE Ohio)
5 years ago
I had 1 of 8 cucumber plants do something similar. They all had the same watering, hardening off, etc., so I don't know what the cause was. I planted it and just let it do its thing, and as of about a week ago, all new growth is fine. It surprisingly was the first plant to produce a cucumber!

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