Where are you located?

Read up at the following link and consider looking inside the stem to determine if borers are the problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Squash Vine Borer

There are several kinds of disease, virus and wilts that are bad on mellons in addition to insects. I had some pretty vines going is a half whiskey barrel but all out rain flooded them out. They looked fine at noon one day, by 4:00 P.M. they looked awful. They rallied briefly before most of the vines died. One vine has hung on now has some vines blooming, but I have been so depressed over the incessant rain here that I have not even checked the blooms to see if any of them are female.

You might google watermellon diseases and pests to see if you find anything that looks like the problems you are having.
Bill P.

gonefishing I'm so sorry to hear what happened to your plants. It's indeed depressing to loose them like that. I'm experiencing it the first year.

Abby, this is my fist year with vegetables, but before the stormy weather came, I lost some batches of cucurbits to SVB and they did look like in the picture you showed. I really hope you donÂt have that bug. But if you do, IÂd protect the other cucurbits, somehow, and fast.

Best luck!
Carol

Hee hee... thanks again crabjoe! I tried posting the pic how you said but it wouldn't let it through.

Abby

I've never had the squash vine borer, but I've accidentally stepped on a vine and broke it. The subsequent vine death looked something like that. You should check to make sure it's not physical damage.

gamebird,
I don't think I stepped on the vine; the plants are just too darn thick to get into! =)

p.s.
crabjoe, if you see this feel free to post the picture. I still can't figure out why it won't let me post pics directly...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:89286}}

Here ya go Abby. :)

<img src="http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/phantom_white/melonpatch.jpg">;

{{gwi:89286}}

I am not aware that melons and watermelons are normally attacked by SVB. They like a hollow stemmed plant.
There is bacterial wilt on cantaloupes usually caused by cucumber beetles carrying the disease. About 1% of the beetles are usually infected.
Then there are fusarium wilts and I suppose some other maladies usually resulting from unfriendly soil fungi.

Do they perk back up in the evening? It looks like it's only the new growth that's wilting, it's not unusal for new growth on cucurbits to wilt in the heat of the day because they have not yet put down the roots to take up the moisture.
Terry

Wayne, my two melon plants got SVB, I saw the grubs in the stem.

I don't think they're new growth... and no, they don't perk up in the evening. I noticed that something has nipped off the new growth at the tips of some of the wilted vines; but there are also wilted vines that haven't been nipped or damaged at all. I can't figure out what's going on. I do know there's some sort of pest afoot though. Whatever it is has already gotten two of my tomatoes as well. The critter doesn't seem to be bothering the actual melons though... I hope it stays that way.

Abby

Found out what is after my plants; deer. Whilst poking around in the garden I spotted deer tracks next to everything that had been eaten.

Abby

I was in the garden last night trying to catch the deer that's eating my toms, and I checked on the melons while I was out there. Turns out, the vines do perk up after dark. They were just as lush and perky as the rest of the vines.
That means one less thing I have to worry about. =)

Abby

I have some squash and zucchini plants that have wilted and died. The first night or two, they do perk up, but by day 3 they're pretty much toast. I've looked and haven't found any evidence of SVBs, but I do have cucumber beetles around. It seems like only one plant is affected at a time. I have to just pull the things up. I have no idea what it is, but I am hoping it doesn't happen to my melons which are only a few feet away.