Dying zucchini
Katie Jbaugh
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Getting ready to battle cucumber beetles
Comments (9)ditnc LOL! I know. I keep trying to improve the compound but any of them that work are fine! I did not see a single cuke beetle in my garden last year after having used the clove oil and tayuya root powder as lures and Sevin as the insecticide the year before. Do you know that I didn't even USE all those disclosing tablets I bought for this project last year! I just didn't have any beetles to try them out on. I want to SEE the dead beetles, though it's great to not have them covering everything in a given year. So I'm hoping this Caserta squash will bring them in this year and I can actually photograph dead cuke beetles with red abdomens. The dye is called a "light-activated insecticide", meaning that the insect must first ingest it and then be exposed to sunlight through the insect's transparent gut. The light excites oxygen molecules inside the insect, which is believed to cause a chemical reaction that kills the insect. It also works to kill Mediterranean fruit flies using the same "lure-dye" lethal cocktail, of course with a different lure. This was discovered in 1928, though until recently, nobody was interested when there were so many insecticides consumers could buy for pennies that would kill every insect around....See MoreDying zucchini
Comments (5)I vote squash vine borers, too. Look along the first foot of the main vine for a small hole with what looks like wet sawdust nearby (borer poop). If you see that, it's a squash vine borer that's the culprit. It's probably too late to save your plant, but it's worth a shot to try since you'll also get some practice for next time. Slit the stem up from the hole longways until you find the borer & pull it out. Close the slit up as best as you can, then cover it with soil. Keep an eye on the rest of your squash & if you find another one & dig it out early enough, you might can save the plant....See MorePlant Disease?
Comments (1)Looks like powdery mildew has taken control of your cucurbits ;-( At this stage with yield being affected and some appearing to be near death it may be too late to do much. There are fungicides you can use to try to control the fungus, but they aren't 100% effective and if plant damage is too severe it will still die. Anyway, a rounded tablespoon of baking soda with 1 gallon of water sprayed on the plants to the point of run off is a non toxic and tested fungicide. If you prefer the chemical route Daconil is available for edible plants as well (but check the label, not all are suitable for edibles). Regardless of what choice you make please take the time to google on 'powdery mildew' and read up on ways to prevent it. Prevention isn't 100% either, but every little thing we can do helps. Good luck....See MoreAn organic solution to cucumber beetles
Comments (9)It is the red dye #28 which is the beetle-killer, not because of the color but because of its photoreactive characteristics. When consumed by cuke beetles, they are dead in five to ten minutes after they go into the sunlight. The beetles must be induced to ingest it, usually by offering something that they are irresistibly attracted to and mixing the dye with it. This link describes the principles. I am using Caserta squash as the lure since it ranks very high in attractiveness to cucumber beetles. Red dye #28 has been determined to be safe for human consumption for many decades. The dye is called a "light-activated insecticide", meaning that the insect must first ingest it and then be exposed to sunlight through the insect's transparent gut. The light excites oxygen molecules inside the insect, which is believed to cause a chemical reaction that kills the insect. It also works to kill Mediterranean fruit flies using the same "lure-dye" lethal cocktail, of course with a different lure. This was discovered in 1928, though until recently, nobody was interested when there were so many insecticides consumers could buy for pennies that would kill every insect around. My next project will be to see if it works on Mexican bean beetles, though I don't know if they have a transparent gut. [If not, mixing Sevin with the lure concoction will also dispatch the pests without contaminating your garden area if you keep it off the soil. This was the first insecticide I used against cuke beetles, along with tayuya root powder as the lure. Later I used clove oil as the lure, which attracts only female cucumber beetles. But so many people feared the Sevin would end up spilled onto their soil, I kept trying to find something that wasn't so scary to organic people, even though the Sevin never went into the garden.] The only host the MBB seems to prefer above all others is wax beans, so I'm thinking that maybe some kind of "wax bean soup" could be whipped up with the dye as part of the soup if it's a beetle with a transparent gut. I need to find an entymologist to ask! Several issues must be kept in mind. First, to identify a lure that is attractive ONLY to the pest, not beneficial insects. And second, no other plants in your garden must be more attractive to the insect than the plant you're using for a lure. And then the lure and dye mixture or insecticide must be ingested by the pest in the form it's offered....See MoreTurbo Cat (7a)
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agosoonergrandmom
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agosoonergrandmom
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoAmyinOwasso/zone 6b
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years agoKatie Jbaugh
7 years agoOkiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years ago
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AmyinOwasso/zone 6b