Squash Disease

[SFloridaGardener]

Does anyone know what this is on the leaves of my zucchini plant? It's been raining pretty heavily all week..I don't know if that makes a difference..I had planned on spraying the whole garden with an insecticide soap this weekend.

[skiingjeff]

I don't believe insecticidial sprays are your answer. This doesn't look like bug related damage. With the comment about a lot of rain recently and the picture, I would think more of a Downey Mildew issue which is common on Squash plants. A fungicide is what is needed for mildew issues.

Most folks use a 10% milk solution sprayed on their plants to combat mildew. Of course, prevention works better than treatment in most cases.

Depending on the variety of squash you have and whether it is a mildew resistant variety, the fruit may still be fine and edible. If not, the fruit may be mottled and affected as well if the mildew is not controlled.

I get mildew on my squash every year even with spraying a milk solution preventatively but I also plant a mildew resistant variety so the fruits still produce and are edible.

If you search the forum for the milk solution you will find many posts related to it use for mildew issues. Good luck!

[applestar]

Skiingjeff gave you good advice.

Just adding to it that "spraying the whole garden wi insecticide soap" is NOT recommended.

Insecticide soap only works when insects are covered with them. You need to know which insects are present. You need to know if they are the kind insecticide soaps are effective on. You need to ONLY spray the insecticide soap DIRECTLY ON the pest insects to be effective.

You will also kill any beneficial insects that are currently protecting or working your garden.

Some plants, especially tender seedlings, blossoms, and new shoots will be burned by the insecticide soap depending on concentration and environmental condition.

Also and this is totally subjective but ...IMHO... Insecticide soap smells awful and the taste can be lingering on crops that are eaten fresh even after the some days after spraying.

[Majortom71]

I came here to discuss the issue with my zuchinni plants.
They are also withering away but I am not sure if it's the same issue as SFloridaGardener.
I am also in South Florida and I keep my plants in the patio. I do water regularly so I am not sure if that is the issue. The rain does not really affect things since they are inside the patio it has minimal effects.

[SFloridaGardener]

Thanks for the advice. Just curious does it need to be cow milk for it to work? I only drink almond milk and would prefer to use that but if I had to I guess I'd be okay with cow milk...also the reason I was going to use the insecticide soap was because there are caterpillars eating my peas and peppers...hasn't spread to the rest of the garden yet so I will definitely take your advice and limit it to the affected area. Thanks for all the help!

Sorry majortom, I'm very new at gardening and this is my first time growing zucchini so I have no idea what's going on with your plant. But I do have to say I have yellow squash planted near my zucchini under the same conditions and it is doing MUCH better than then zucchini. Maybe zucchini doesn't do so well in our area...good luck though!

[applestar]

If you have milk allergy and that's why you drink almond milk, then you may need to be careful. I have milk sensitivity -- drinking/eating milk and milk products makes me sleepy, but it's usually not serious. But right now pollen count is high and my immune system's hyperactive response to allergens is on hair-trigger.

I usually love the way the whole area smells like milk after using milk spray (I usually add yogurt whey, this time used cheese whey), but I found myself getting sleepy, so I urge caution.

If you know the problem is caterpillars, you'll have better results with Bt. (Did I just say that?) some people prefer Spinosad. Both will require some care to ONLY spray/treat the target organism/pest -- actually their FOOD -- and care in cleaning/washing the equipment.

Is slugs also a possibility? They need a different treatment.

[imafan26]

Majortom's squash looks like something is eating it. Maybe slugs or snails. They are very fond of seedlings.

[GardeningCook]

Does anyone know what this is on the leaves of my zucchini plant? It's been raining pretty heavily all week..I don't know if that makes a difference..I had planned on spraying the whole garden with an insecticide soap this weekend.

That definitely is not "Powdery Mildew" or insect damage. You have some type of "blight" going on there. Do a websearch on Zucchini blights & see if you can find a pic to match yours.

[GardeningCook]

I came here to discuss the issue with my zuchinni plants.
They are also withering away but I am not sure if it's the same issue as SFloridaGardener.
I am also in South Florida and I keep my plants in the patio. I do water regularly so I am not sure if that is the issue. The rain does not really affect things since they are inside the patio it has minimal effects.

Here are some pictures of my plants. If anyone has advice I'd appreciate it.

https://postimg.org/image/4nusmyyx3/
https://postimg.org/image/ykwhr5wh7/
https://postimg.org/image/8c7hljw5f/

You have insect damage going on there. Unfortunately, squash attract a fair number of serious pests. Do a websearch on squash pest photos & see if you can match something up. Also unfortunately, squash pests can be difficult to control outside of floating row covers up until bloom time & necessary pollination.

[skiingjeff]

Most common caterpillar for cucurbits. You can hunt and squash them or use BT. BT is considered a organic method for controlling caterpillars. I use Thuracide BT on my cucurbits if I get a bad infestation and hunt and kill isn't enough

I gather the patio is an open air patio and not screened in. Good luck!

[GardeningCook]

A second vote for Bt. Comes in both dust & spray form & is a natural bacterium that is toxic to caterpillar pests when consumeds.

[SFloridaGardener]

Thanks for the advice before everyone...turned out to be a powdery mildew issuse..resolved with pruning and organic antifungal spray. However NOW I have another problem with my poor little zucchini plant. The leaves are being skeletonized. I've sprayed organic insecticide and looked for bugs and can't find what's causing this...any ideas?



Also, my yellow squash leaves seem a little more yellow than green...is this normal?

Thanks again everyone for their input!