Organic grower here with a self induced Pythium problem, ( I know why my cucumbers were infected ).
Has anybody sucessfully tried an organic solution to the problem please?
The experts have all tried various ‘cides’ that they sell and failed miserably.
Researching organic remedial action has uncovered a couple of interesting papers that have been successful in vitrio.
Trichoderma, ( Brewer already in action for this one ) and 1.53% silicone in the fertigation.
The latter will be trialled on a small scale first. Not game to blast the whole crop untested for my conditions.
Will post results, but in the meantime, has anybody any other organic remedies please?
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i have no experiance with root disease in cucurbita.
But in looking up information about tomato grafting i saw that most cucumbers can also be grafted. Maybe there is a rootstock with resistance to the disease?
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Thanks Oscar, an interesting thought. As far as I know nobody does this commercially here, as Pythium should not be a problem in a well organised greenhouse.
As I said, - I created the problem by taking short cuts and am now paying the price.
a quick google yielded this link for me.
Might be an interesting read. It’s about watermelon not cucumber though.
and this one, specifically about cucumber
They also mention increased vigor and fruit number.
Increased vigor and other benefits are reason for me to experiment with Cucurbita ficifolia as a rootstock. But i don’t know about it’s disease resistance. I’m growing some ficifolia for a seed harvest this year. So i have plenty of seeds to experiment with next year.
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Thanks again Oscar. I have read your linked suggestions, however I buy in my plants ( 50,000 at a time ) and no nursery will graft rootstock in commercial numbers. There is no demand for it.
This current crop was producing well until the leaf wilt started and then 50% of fruit developed problems.
I will go with reduced production for now and play with organic remedy trials for future reference.
Then the BIG clean up and sterilisation prior to the next crop.
Moral of the story, - DON’T take short cuts!
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Well I would never have believed it until I saw it in action.
A fellow grower suggested that I try the KNF Jadam JMS solution to treat the Pythium problem.
I was skeptical about an ‘alternative’ biological remedy that had not been researched.
I am glad that I tried it. Cheap and easy to make and the results were phenominal. It will now be incorporated into the growing SOP for all future crops.
Problem solved.
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It might be worth mentioning that some researchers have found that incorporating certain cover crops into the soil—for instance, mustards and other brassicas—can reduce Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and other soil-borne pathogens.
Thanks for the info Jeremiah. I have not come across that research and will investigate further. I have never had any problems in the field as I sow mustard annually as a cover crop anyway, that research will back up my organics program further. The pythium problem was in the greenhouse gro bags.
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