What is up with my cucumber plants?

Megan 7/30/2010, 7:31 pm

This only recently started happening to my cucumbers. Some leaves have just up and wilted, and quickly dry out and die. Most leaves seem perfectly healthy and the plants are still producing fruit, and sending out new tendrils and flowers. The same thing is also happening to another local gardener. We have striped cucumber beetles but have been spraying for them with Neem Oil. Not sure it is the beetles, though... they have been around for quite a while and this is something new?

It does not seem to be happening to my squash plants or watermelon, though they are all on top of each other. Any ideas what might be going on???

What is up with my cucumber plants? Photo%203-736672

What is up with my cucumber plants? Photo%203-736672

What is up with my cucumber plants? Photo%201-739466

What is up with my cucumber plants? Photo%202-740908

**camprn** 7/30/2010, 7:45 pm

A little research suggests that wilt is a symptom of a few diseases carried by the cucumber beetle.

Megan 7/30/2010, 8:07 pm

Well, I tried the trick on the website you linked to, but the cut ends of my stems do not make a sticky rope connection.... ???

Nicola 8/25/2010, 11:56 pm

Well, it's been a month, did you ever figure it out, and (I hope) cure it? We lost all of our cukes after the first half-dozen.
I did the ol' "Check with the extension agent", only I can look it up online. I found this information: Diseases caused by Bacteria:

Bacterial wilt, Erwinia tracheiphila.
Plants with this disease wilt quickly and may dry up so fast that the leaves remain green. When the stem is cut across, a sticky, white ooze may be seen. Bacterial wilt is not seedborne. The bacteria are carried from plant to plant by the feeding of the two-spotted and striped cucumber beetles.

Controlling the cucumber beetles will slow the spread of the bacterial wilt. Backyard gardeners may wish to cover their plants with spun-bonded polyester or floating row covers to keep out beetles. Planting extra seeds so that diseased plants may be removed at once will leave sufficient plants for a crop. Also, succession planting is helpful. Certain commercial varieties of cucumbers are somewhat resistant to bacterial wilt. Here is the link to that: http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2815&q=377654 It includes all kinds of terrible stuff that can happen to cukes and their family. affraid

For more info on the Wilt, check:http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/cucbwilt.htm
And about those icky, evil (innocent-looking)

beetles:http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/cukbtltcrop.htm

Megan 8/26/2010, 6:31 am

I got a lot more than a half-dozen, but in the end I had to tear out the vines. Sad, but lesson learned. I am going to start spraying a lot earlier and much more aggressively next year.

The only thing I really regret is that I didn't get to put up any cucumber pickles. I was holding some in the fridge in hopes of getting just a few more... and by the time I realized that wasn't going to happen, the ones in the fridge had given up the ghost. Sad

**camprn** 8/26/2010, 6:39 am

Megan wrote:I got a lot more than a half-dozen, but in the end I had to tear out the vines. Sad, but lesson learned. I am going to start spraying a lot earlier and much more aggressively next year.

The only thing I really regret is that I didn't get to put up any cucumber pickles. I was holding some in the fridge in hopes of getting just a few more... and by the time I realized that wasn't going to happen, the ones in the fridge had given up the ghost.

I had a similar problem with the cukes holding in the fridge, though I lost only about a pint worth of pickles. The good news is that my vines are perking up and producing again.

miinva 8/26/2010, 11:14 am

Do you guys use the green veggie bags? I find that they really extend the storage time for fruit and vegetables. The ones I got at Whole Foods do a better job than the ones from CVS, but even those help.

Megan 8/26/2010, 5:24 pm

miinva wrote:Do you guys use the green veggie bags? I find that they really extend the storage time for fruit and vegetables. The ones I got at Whole Foods do a better job than the ones from CVS, but even those help.

I didn't, and I should have. (Another lesson learned!) The Poonas do keep for a surprisingly long time, I just pushed it too far.

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