"Girdled" cabbage stems

[Vanisle_BC]

Is this damage caused by an insect, and what's the best line of defence?

Established plant:

And what was a healthy seedling:

[applestar]

Oooh... I think that is damping off.... cabbage family is susceptible to wet feet — need well drained soil.

[Vanisle_BC]

Oooh... I think that is damping off.... cabbage family is susceptible to wet feet — need well drained soil.

Hi Applestar. First off, a correction of my own mistake - these are cauliflower, not cabbage. I don't think damping off fits the case? The smaller plant had been in a high raised bed for a few days where it wouldn't have wet feet. If damping off was its problem it should have happened beforehand in its starter cell (where I admit a tendency to overwater.) Two companion seedlings are unaffected so far. I hope they don't suffer the same problem.

The larger plant has been growing in the same raised bed for a month after transplanting. It appeared sturdy & healthy two days before this happened.

I haven't been aware that damping off can happen with mature (well, teenage) plants?

[applestar]

I’m a bit frustrated because I still can’t find the reference where it was clearly explained — I lost the link when I had a technical glitch

This one reminded me that Rhizoctonia is the name of fungus that causes the older plant issues — but the reference I found before was a .edu site with more details and specific biology.


https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible ... flower.htm

Additional Cauliflower Diseases Damping off is caused by the soil fungi Pythium and Rhizoctonia. Both seed and seedlings are attacked and rot within a few days. Older plants afflicted with Rhizoctonia end up with wire-stem, a condition where the lower stem becomes constricted and dark brown at the soil surface. Use treated seed, pasteurized soil and sanitized equipment to thwart damping off disease. Don’t overcrowd seedlings or overwater. Sow in well-draining medium.

…or maybe not — here’s a reference about Pythium infecting older plants —

https://plantpath.psu.edu/pythium/module-1/disease

If the plant survives, Pythium may colonize the stem and cause stem rot. The stem will turn brown with extensive damage to the vascular system leading to the lack of water transportation to the leaves and the death of the plant. Sometimes plants infected with Pythium are only stunted as compared to a healthy plant and do not die.

(my emphasis)

Adding biodiversity in soil microbes is said to help thwart soil-borne fungal issues. I’m currently experimenting with Ehime AI-2 — home brewed combo of yogurt, yeast, natto or miso and raw or brown sugar.

[Vanisle_BC]

Thanks for that info, Applestar. It sounds as though the problem is in my soil and there's no quick fix (if any.) I hope its effects are spotty and not widespread. I'll be keeping a close but maybe irrelevant eye on my other cole plants.

The Ehime AI-2 you speak of - it's a disinfectant? I 'looked it up' but before I'd be able to understand the article I would have to study a whole big branch of science. I'm too long in the tooth and short on patience. Haven't got the time, maybe in more senses than one .

In what way are you experimenting? It's not clear to me whether this Ehime is a promoter of microbial activity or simply a detector of it.

[applestar]

The commercial version AI-1 is promoted as disinfectant (antifungal and antibiotic ...they are looking into antiviral...) and microbial balancer — kind of like we take probiotics and pre-biotics for digestive system health. They seem to use them for industrial cleaners and farm disinfectants, deodorants, etc. much as EM Prime, etc. had been (spraying down chicks, laying hens, hogs, and milk cows, etc. instead of using antibiotics for example) — I think this is a related industry. They seem to be used as environmentally friendly Alternative to detergent and other chemicals.

AI-2 is the recipe and instruction the manufacturer has made publically available, and home and market gardeners in Japan and other countries have been trying them out and reporting effectiveness and benefits. Much of the reports are still anecdotal, but there seems to be a strong support for using dilutions of 1:200 as foliar spray and 1:100 as soil/root drench to promote plant health and improve resistance/prevent disease.

For me this is well within previous forays into trying actively aerated compost tea, diluted milk/whey spray, etc. I think I’m just going to make batches of whatever appeals to me that week and try them out. We’re getting into hot and muggy fungal season here so anything that helps will be welcome.