Powdery Mildew? Spider Mites? Mealy aphids?? All of the above?

9 years ago

Ok so I've been having trouble figuring out what this is, that is attacking my gourd plants.

I do know there are aphids present in my garden and yes I have tried ladybugs already. Much to my chagrin they barely seem to kill off enough of these guys, like wise, the ants and birds love picking them off. I wont go into the long story I've had trying to battle ants.

I have also seen Mealy Aphids. I've seen them before on my orange tree last year and I saw them on my pumpkin plants.
I also have had a bad Spider Mite issue especially when I had tomatoes growing.

At times it also looks like Thrips have been attacking the plants (I have those lovely tiny white flies lately too).

It partly looked like Powdery Mildew so I was trying to treat for that.
(Using some baking soda in water and applying it) as well as just, putting on dry baking soda on the leaf tops.

I have used an all natural insecticidal soap. Home made (an all natural dish soap -nothing chemical), I added a tiny bit of Neem Oil (when I added too much and did my tomatoes yes I accidentally gave them a nice sun tan >>).

They are, in containers (resting in a larger container). Their leaves have not gotten wet since, the last rain (which was, about 3 weeks ago?) I do my best to remove dead flowers, leaves and stems. There is organic matter that is on top of the soil. They get watered daily, they also have one of those self watering glass bulbs.
I have tried to prune off some of the more dead looking leaves as well as the smaller newer growths if they begin to spot.
I have also seen, I have no idea what the bug is, but it looks like a tiny fly like larva. It's not a caterpillar, has no feet of any kind and one long tubular mouth piece.

So, I could use some help IDing the problem(s) as well as best course of action.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

kimmq
9 years ago
You need to look at the growing conditions and work on correcting the problems there to get rid of these problems.

Powdery Mildew appears as a whitish dust that easily wipes off and can be controlled with a spray made of either a 50/50 mix of fat free milk and water or a mix of 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda in 1 quart of water (3 tablespoons per gallon) . Maybe this article on Powdery Mildew might be of some help. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7493.html

Insecticidal soap is a chemical, soap is a chemical. Most all dish soaps are detergents, not soap although the Food and Drug Administration has decided that a detergent and soap are the same thing.

The simplest method of getting Aphids off a plant is with a sharp water spray to knock the wee buggers off. Perhaps this article about Aphids might be of some interest. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html

Control of Mealy Aphids, aka Mealy bugs, is similar to control of Aphids.

Plants growing in a good healthy soil are les susceptible to many plant diseases and insect pests. Integrated Pest Management is less about finding something to spray that will kill the problem than it is about finding out why there is a problem and correcting that.

kimmq is kimmsr
Sarah Wolf thanked kimmq
Jean
9 years ago
If all the plants resemble that in the final image, they are severely stressed due, in part,t o a cramped root zone and too little water. (The dr areas ata the leaf edge and streaking toward the center of the leaf are both due to insufficient water.)

Depending upon where the plants are growing (country? state?), they may simply be at the end of their life.
Sarah Wolf thanked Jean
Related Professionals
Joplin Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Canton Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Platteville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Mission Viejo Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Idaho Falls Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Tallahassee Landscape Contractors · Binghamton Landscape Contractors · Merced Landscape Contractors · Coos Bay Landscape Contractors · Everett Landscape Contractors · Jackson Landscape Contractors · Carbondale Architects & Building Designers · Manhattan Architects & Building Designers · Albany Architects & Building Designers · Casper Architects & Building Designers
Sarah Wolf
Original Author
9 years ago
Well, I stepped up use on the baking soda, though I think the amount smothered most of the leaves with problems. Far as I can see the problem leaves are all gone.

I live in USA, CA.
And I am down to one plant now (the other, which had long ago suffered nearly being snapped clean off and was then splinted, unfortunately finally snapped off at the break. This removed the major part of the plant when attempting to move it to a sunnier location). I did try and splint it again back together, even had it in the house a few days. It didn't make it sadly.
The other is, holding on with a few small leaves still clinging to it. Which are green and look very healthy.
It is being babied, getting covered nightly with one of those plant 'fleece jacket' coverings. And uncovered to get a few hours of sun daily.

I would say I planted these from seed around May of this year.
User
9 years ago
Most gourds are annuals ... they are at the end of their life span. You might get a bit of growth from the base if you cut off all the old vines but it's time to kill them off.
Sarah Wolf thanked User