Could this be damping off or root knot nematode? What to do?
maribronze88
last year
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maribronze88
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Root-Knot Nematodes ~ Clandosan?
Comments (8)driftwood gardener, My client decided against the Clandosan treatment due to high cost, and lives on the coast where shrimp and crab shells are plentiful and free. I taught him how to compost with them. Nematodes under control now. In my opinion, the article on nematode control (at the bottom) you included with your post, provides the cheapest and by far the best cure for root-knot (parasitic) nematodes - by increasing the chitin-eating microbes in soil. The exoskeleton of parasitic nematodes contains chitin. Microbes kill nematodes by eating their 'shells'. My recommendation is to visit seafood suppliers in your area and speak with the Manager to ascertain possibility of obtaining shrimp and crab heads/shells that are very high in chitin content (uncooked is preferred, but cooked shells will work also, so also check with restaurant Managers too). Pulverize/chop dry shells as finely as possible, then add to active/moist new compost (batch method). If you don't compost, add the shells directly into the bed soil where you plant veggies that are subject to the most parasitic nematode damage and keep the soil moist and covered 2" with shredded hay/leaves or grass clipping mulch. You cannot add too much shell material. The shells will decompose due to increase reproduction of chitin-loving microbes if sufficient moisture exists. Other methods/products produce varying results at varying costs. Some plants produce substances that nematodes don't like much (I think 'repel' is too strong a word) and results are very localized and do almost nothing to actually reduce nematode populations. If a new garden location is not a big production/hassle for you, that's by far the fastest, most effective method for plant production that is being damaged by nematode infestation - but that method ignores the nematodes in the infested soil. Nematodes are worms. They move toward food. Crop rotation and cover crops are a very good idea too. If you establish a new garden area, incorporate (as amendment) LOTS of quality organic material FIRST. Double-dig method is much better than tilling, unless the ground is hard and needs a tiller to break up the surface level. Do not compost the roots of nematode-infested plants unless you use the aerobic hot compost method; place chopped roots in the center; and ensure that your pile attains over 131F for 6 days minimum - and don't use the resulting compost until the center of a 2nd turn is below 105F (mesophilic microbes kill nematodes, not thermophilic) And if you already compost with chitin, add some of that fresh compost to each new pile too. Please let me know what you decide to do about your nematode problem, and how successful you are after fall garden production. My hat's off to you, kimmsr - you were right on target. Soilguy...See MoreRoot Knot Nematode (RKN), Heat Treatment, and Root Pruning
Comments (13)Oh, now that things are getting back to me; after clean-shaving all the roots and treating with bleach, I also scrubbed the root-stub with a tooth brush under running tap water... As I mentioned many times before, PREVENTION is the best cure! Do examine ALL rooted figs you get from who-ever. If RKN ever get into ones garden soil, it is extremely difficult to eradicate them, no matter how many RKN- trapping-marigolds are planted, RKN-eating-good- nematodes (expensive) are applied, or chemicals used. There is one chemical that nukes the soil (it practically kills everything!). I forgot the exact name. But it SO toxic, that it is now illegal and not available any more....See MoreMORE Root Knot Nematodes
Comments (16)Jo, Like Larry, I've never seen any quantifiable independent research that shows neem oil applied to soil has any effect on nematodes, although I have seen such claims made by those who benefit from selling neem. I would never apply neem to soil because it likely would kill some of the good microbes in the soil which then would leave your soil less healthy. Remember that healthy soil is full of all kinds of biologically active creatures, which I tend to lump together in a group and call "microbes". What are these microbes and how many are there? The microorganisms include all sorts of microscopic plants and animals, including nematodes (there are beneficial ones, you know), fungi, actinomycetes, bacteria, yeast, germs, protozoa and algae. Healthy soil that has a good compost/humus content is believed to have as many as 50 billion microbes in 1 tablespoon of soil, according to organic gardening expert and author J. Howard Garrett, aka 'The Dirt Doctor'. Since all the microbes in soil play an important role in soil health, you don't want to put anything in the soil that would hurt those microbes. I'll use spider mites as an example of the unintended consequences of using a 'cide' to kill the bad pests and inadvertently killing beneficial insects too. While spider mites are a pest in certain circumstances, there are beneficial predatory mites that help keep the spider mites under control. When you spray a miticide on plants infested with spider mites, you kill not only some of the spider mites (most pesticides do not kill 100% of the pests) but also the predatory mites that help keep the number of spider mites down. When the mite population rebounds (and it always does), the pesky herbivore spider mites bounce back first because they feed on plants and plants are readily available so they have an endless food source. Then, in a much more slow manner, the predatory mite population, which are carnivores, rebounds. The problem is that beneficial insects rebound very slowly because the 'mamas' don't reproduce until there's already a good food source for their babies to eat. So, while the mama predatory mites are waiting for the food source to increase to the level they need, the spider mite population is growing very rapidly and getting out of control. Once the predatory mite population begins to surge and feed upon the spider mites, the spider mites have a huge head start and your plants are severely damaged. I think if you used neem in soil, you'd likely kill off a good portion of the microbes in the soil, leaving your soil less healthy, less fertile and more vulnerable to soil-borne pests, including root knot nematodes and various soil-borne diseases. So, even if the idea of trying neem is attractive, it could hurt more than it might help. I used the spider mite example to illustrate how using a 'cide' for pest control can backfire because it is the story of my life. My dad was a terrific gardener, but he fought spider mites my entire childhood, and he lost that battle in late July or so of every year, and so did his best gardening buddy, Mr. Camp. I watched the two of them try everything to kill those spider mites, but the spider mites always outlived and outlasted their efforts. So, I grew up thinking that no matter what you did, you would lose your tomato plants to spider mites in July. Eventually I grew up and had a home of my own and my own garden. During our second year in our house, we decided we wouldn't 'poison' our tomato plants with the miticide commonly sold to home gardeners back then. A miticide didn't help the first year in our new home when we did use it, so it seemed pointless to spend money buying it and then spend time spraying it on the plants the second year. What happened? Our spider mites didn't get out of control and our tomato plants didn't die. Once I convinced my dad to give up miticides, he never lost his tomato plants to spider mites again. Still, it probably was another dozen years or so before I finally understood why not using a miticide saved our plants from the mites, and that's because I didn't know back then that there was such a thing as predatory mites. So, I hope that tale illustrates the dangers of even attempting to use a soil treatment to kill the root knot nematodes. Even if it would kill the nematodes (which I highly doubt), it would kill all the other microbial life in the soil. As an organic gardener that is absolutely the last thing you need. Even worse, what I think most likely is the neem oil would kill the good microbes, but not the root knot nematodes. When I am trying to figure out what to use in my garden or landscape, I fall back on that old adage used by physicians.... "first, do no harm". You might have a chance of killing some of the root knot nematodes by applying beneficial nematodes to the soil. The most important factor affecting the efficacy of beneficial nematodes would be to apply them at precisely the exact temperature they need, and also to use the right beneficial nematodes. Dawn...See MoreRoot-Knot Nematodes in Z8b FL? Also own-root Austin roses fertilizing?
Comments (2)You don't have to test for nematodes. You have them. We all have them. They will eventually kill your roses if they aren't grafted, and even roses grafted onto the best rootstocks will die eventually. This is a technique for planting that will hold them off for awhile, but not forever. It really is best to plant Fortuniana grafted roses in FL, though, and even they don't live forever. Your own-root roses have about 5 years before they will die. I hate to be harsh, but that's my experience and that of many northerners who move down here and plant their favorite northern roses on their own roots. Dig a hole 3x the diameter of the pot you're transplanting from, or about 20 inches for bare roots. Dig it 3 inches deeper than you want the plant to sit. Fill the bottom three inches with straight organic peat, put your rose in and add peat until you get it to the right height, then fill the entire rest of the hole with organic peat. (Organic peat is not the same as peat moss). Nematodes hate organic matter, so this will keep them away from the roots, but not forever. It will stave them off for a few years, though, until the organic peat breaks down. I don't know any more about growing roses, just this. I'm sure someone will come along and help you who knows more. I do know some OGRs (Old Garden Roses) will grow on their own roots here....See Morevgkg Z-7 Va
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