the dreaded stem rot

[salix]

...9...

[bower]

Thanks, RayR. Yeah, since the usual suspects EB and GM normally progress from leaf to stem, the treatment is the same for me - remove affected leaves immediately. I don't need to look too closely most of the time. Same goes for any presumed damage by little pests... just pick off what's affected.
I don't use sprays of any kind, but afaict the people who do spray have a routine that probably takes as much time and effort as I put into the 'sanitation' approach.
It can be onerous though in a bad year - but I don't really see an alternative in my small enclosed space. I learned my lesson in a cold wet year, there's nothing grosser than a roomful of giant rotting plants.
We had a bad year for the 'leaf mold' and/or mildews in 2012, and my season was pretty well over by September 1st. This year we went from crazy cold spring to crazy hot summer in a blink, and except for Malachite Box and Oaxacan Jewel PL and to a lesser extent Indian Stripe PL, there's little or no fruit set above eye level, blossoms all dropped in the heat. So it looks like a short season for me this year.... I'm okay with that. Just want those big fruit to ripen before the plants go down. And I don't want to lose any fruit!

[bower]

The space is so narrow, it's hard to get a good picture, so here's a better shot of the green fruit I'm waiting for....

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by RayR

Septoria doesn't infect fruit. I know it's possible for Early Bight to infect fruit but I've never seen that either. It's always a good idea to keep an eye on spots like that to see if they develop into anything to be concerned about.

I agree that having a decent camera is very helpful when scouting the garden. It's funny how your eyes can miss things. Last week I was using my 40X jewelers loupe to look for spider mites when I saw an ugly looking leaf. Upon inspecting the underside of the leaf I saw three adult aphids. I took a close-up picture with the optical zoom and when I put the pic up on the computer monitor I was surprised to also see 8 aphid nymphs also that I didn't notice with my eyes.

What's also cool about this photo is you can see they are mostly all feeding on a vein.

[bower]

Well, the grey fruit spots are looking fungal, I think. Still grey, no yellow halo, and more extensive than the day before - I even found more spots on the same fruit, including the one shown and a bunch of little silver zippers on the butt end. They are also more sunken than it appeared, or rather, they are in well defined crevices, except the zippers.

.

[bower]

Also seeing brown or grey rot on the stem end of some fruit.
I've seen this with botrytis in a cold wet year... this is why I prefer plants that have more medium sized fruit than a few large ones - so easy to lose a big chunk of your crop.
Well that's it, I'm done with taking pictures of gross stuff for the year. After this, I'm ready to focus on the positive!

[SharonRossy]

I'm finding the stems on my plants are showing the same dark mottling as you showed bower. The leaves on some of my plants look horrible and I've been removing them as much as possible. I'm really surprised as I'm growing in containers with a soilless mix and I've never had this before. Do I take down the plants or leave the fruit and take my chances? I've sprayed with serenade, copper, Clorox and water, daconil,, you name it, I've used it. I can't figure out if they are being affected by the plants that are in my neighbours side that have gone through the slats of my fence, or if the high humidity we've had is the cause. That and I've probably planted the containers too close, 2' between grow bags! I'm really bummed out!

[bower]

Sharon, I have two plants with some lesions on the stems which are otherwise looking fine now that the diseased leaves have been removed. I covered the bad stems with tissues to stop the disease from blowing onto any other plants or parts, and I kept the problem vent closed the last two days even though it's record heat and humidex to stop the leaf mold and/or other stuff blowing in.. There was no new yellowing nor any brown rot on leaves, shoots or stems today, thank goodness.
Besides removing the bad bits and covering the source of spores or bacteria on the stem, I fed the plants kelp and cinnamon tea again. I guess it helped.
Whatever it is, it is not killing these plants immediately, so I'm hoping to keep them alive long enough to ripen more fruit on the vine - at least, until it worsens again.
I put one of the affected plants outdoors after taking away all the bad leaves and shoots, and it's looking fine - even some of the small fruit on it have noticeably gotten larger.

If there's anything you can do to improve the air circulation, like moving the containers apart, that would help. Removing the bad leaves is important and will help the circulation as well. Also not sure what you could cover the bad stems with outdoors - maybe a bit of cotton cloth? That would not make it worse by causing condensation on the stem.

If it is a bacterial stem rot, less N and more K is supposed to help. Salycilate (willow, aspirin or whatever source) should also help the plants to resist the pathogen.

Good luck, I hope your plants make it.

[SharonRossy]

Hi Bower,
Don't think I'll be able to move the containers. The plants are all tied and there's staking in between. Plus the plants are huge. I will have to do some serious pruning of leaves and stems. I'm not sure how I will be able to cover the stems. Maybe cheese cloth? If I use aspirin, how do I apply it? And your tea, do you boil the kelp with cinnamon sticks. I haven't fertilized recently. I will try and add just some K. I just hope my toms keep on growing and don't die on me!
Thanks, Sharon

[bower]

Sharon, I've never used ASA but I guess you'd crush it up and dissolve it in water. I usually boil Spirea instead since I can't often get enough willow. Cinnamon is high in salycilates as well, I got a large container of powdered cinnamon for $5 or so last year so I just added that to the kelp tea but sticks would work if you boil them - I steep the kelp powder in hot water and dilute it with cold in the watering can.

[SharonRossy]

Great! I just realized I have a box of muriate of potash. It's 0-0-60. So it's all potassium. Have you ever tried this? Anyone else. I think I might try applying it on the surface, avoiding the stem, roots, and soaking it in. Any thoughts on this. I'm guessing kelp powder from the health food store and cinnamon I have. But I'll start with the potassium first and see how that goes. So frustrating!