need help - cucumber pics

My cucumbers and green beans have come down with a problem...can't tell if it's soil/ nutrient related or pest related...crispy pale leaves


Here's a shot of my cucumber trellis...leaves are turning pale an dry with only new growth is green. 


underside with tiny bug


new leaves flush green then start the symptom...yellowing on the edges
 

 individual leaf up close


 same problem with green bean leaves

I would have to say manganese and or iron deficiency. Maybe nitrogen. Could be your pH is off. send out a mix sample to Umass.

http://customers.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/beans.htm

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/cucurbit-problem-solver/leaf-disorders/iron-deficiency/

http://soiltest.umass.edu/

http://soiltest.umass.edu/sites/soiltest.umass.edu/files/forms/soilless-greenhouse-media/Soilless%20Greenhouse%20Media%20Sample%20Submission%20Form-editable.pdf

Oh wow Landarch, those look sad.  I hope you can solve the problem!  It will be a good learning experience for us all.

It is sad...didn't have this problem last year and all I did was add home-made compost to the squares before planting.  The compost should be good stuff as it's made with kitchen and garden scraps, coffee grounds, shredded leaves, manures, lawn clippings, etc.  I put down an organic fertilizer a few days ago to see if that would help (Chickity Doo Doo 5-3-2).  Need to do a soil test on the Mels Mix before the fall garden goes in.

"Ditto" to Tricia's comment.

just came back from a local garden center...spider mites.  It's a problem in our entire area...worst they've seen in over 20 years.

landarch wrote:just came back from a local garden center...spider mites.  It's a problem in our entire area...worst they've seen in over 20 years.

Woah!  

The only spider mite situation I have been exposed to was told to me by someone who gave me some leftover wire garden mesh (like for supporting around tomatoes, circling a compost pie, etc.)  They got the wire from someone in No. California who was growing a "specialty crop."  Long story short, the "crop" got stressed and was taken over by spider mites.  That in turn, reduced the value of the crop.  Does that make sense??  I guess they are really bad?  Will have to research.  Okay, now that I have written the words 'spider mite,' I am sure I jinxed myself and will now suddenly find SM in my garden.

sanderson wrote:...Okay, now that I have written the words 'spider mite,' I am sure I jinxed myself and will now suddenly find SM in my garden.

I took pictures this AM of some my cukes that I thought looked like landarche's.  But I don't think I'll post them-I don't want to jinx myself either!  

(on second thought, my problem doesn't resemble hers at all!   )

landarch, I am glad that you posted this.  I had one yellowish leaf on my cucumbers, near the ground.  After seeing your pictures, I looked more closely and I believe that I have the same problem.  

Like boffer said, I don't want to jinx my little babies, but looks like it is spreading, so I better do something now.  

What did the garden center recommend for spider mites?

Madge

they recommended Neem Oil...and you can shake the leaf over a sheet of white paper and see the tiny, tiny mites crawling around if you actually have them.

Neem Oil once ingested makes the mites stop feeding...and I think they just starve to death...and if the eggs are sprayed I think it smothers them.  They recommended spraying every 5 days or so.  One spray bottle was around $13...so it may get expensive just to save a few of my vines...both sides of every leaf should be sprayed.

landarch, I was wondering if you were able to save your plants.  I tried the home remedy solutions, baking soda solution, and then DE.  They seamed ok for awhile, even got about 25 large cucumbers.  But now it looks like this same plant is dying, and the 2nd plant is starting to look the same.  If the neem helped you, I will try it.  I have so many baby cucumbers on this vine, I want to save them if there is a way. 
Madge

The plant on the left is first and worst affected.  But now the healthy one on the right is also showing the same symptoms.


I pruned away a lot of the dead leaves, but there is still some pretty cukes.


I don't think the small one in the back is going to make it, as it is yellowish looking.

unit649 wrote:

this looks a lot like downy mildew to me.............

unit649 wrote:

The chlorosis seen in this photo may be due to iron defeciency......... or not. Did this same type of yellowing pattern persis over the past several weeks?

campern,
Thank you for answering.  I don't see any mildew. I have powdery mildew on my cantaloupe. Is that the same as downy mildew?

The first pic above, was the first sign of the problem.  It has just gradually escalated up the vine.  And now to the second plant, that is beside it.
Madge

Here is a pic from Aug 1st, showing only the first yellowing leaves, in the bottom right corner and the deep green of the other leaves.

Powdery mildew and downy mildew are two distinct diseases.

Thanks again campern, reading up on it now.
Madge

Landarch,

Looks like a mix of powdery mildew and a mosaic virus. I've brought back my beans, cukes, and pumpkins with some spread to my beets. Over the last two weeks I've had wonderful revival with new growth on the plants.

I gave daily treatments of 2 oz of 3% hydrogen peroxide (from the drug store) in one gallon of water using a hand sprayer for a week. Now I do treatments about every third day and after rain to keep things under control.

There are several good threads discussing hydrogen peroxide (just search on peroxide). In one or two of them I put in some scientific literature on using H2O2. I'm leery of using the 35% hydrogen peroxide Food Grade. This is nasty stuff I only would use under a fume hood in a chem lab, along with heavy gloves and goggles. By the time you get it diluted, it's down to the same thing as starting with the simpler and safer 3% grade. Food grade is for sterilizing food packaging. You don't want a sterile garden, microbes are essential to proper plant growth.

Maria, thank you. I will try the peroxide mix tomorrow, I have used it before on other plants.  I will do a search for the mosaic virus.

I went out and cut one of the leaves to get good pictures.  While taking the pics, I found a tiny green worm thing.  Plus I think a flea beetle.  And one that I do not know.  All on one leaf.
I did not see anything that looked like the downy mildew.  There is a bit of the DE white powder still on the leaf.
Madge
front of leaf


back of leaf


unknown critter


flea beetle on right


green worm

Apparently the mosaic virus, which looks like what you have, is carried from plant to plant by aphids.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=chrf-ydwnld&va=mosaic+virus+cucumbers

I did find one positive reference to treating mosaic virus with hydrogen peroxide, along with my own experience.  I won't call it a cure, but the Dirt Doctor seemed very positive.

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Hydrogen-Peroxide-Newsletter_vq2387.htm

I tore out my most affected plants, but others have recovered.  The general rule is to tear out all of the plants.  So late is the season, I'd say reach for the brown bottle and pray.

Unit,  The green hairy caterpillar is interesting.  Is it one of the poisonous or irritating types?

Madge, have you tried contacting your local Extension Service for their help? We can keep guessing what the troubles are, but they can actually ID what the troubles are and give you advice on treating it appropriately.

http://ces.ca.uky.edu/ces/

Yes, I was able to save my plants from the spider mites...I applied Neem Oil right before going on vacation in early August and when I came back a week later the vines looked 100% better.  We did receive tons of rain and very cool temps (70's which is extremely cool for KS in august) while I was gone.  Now my vines are dying from the wilt virus...and the variety County Fair that is wilt resistant, develops tiny cucumbers that just dry up and form nothing.  The base of my vines have been stripped of the green outer layer and are all scarred brown...I think the rolly-pollies have been eating the base.  Anyway, I think I can harvest at least some more cukes before October frost.  I'll try to post a follow-up pic this evening.

If the baby cukes are drying up and falling off, this sounds like you may be having pollination troubles. Are you seeing bees?

Just came from the County Extension Office.  The problem with my cucumbers is bacterial Anthracnose.  They recommended sulfur.  I know there has been discussion on here about sulfur.  So what do you all think.