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Ct

I have had some cucumber beetles attack my plants for about 2 weeks now. When I realized the damage these things can do, I sprayed with insecticide { last night }. I have been reading about bacterial wilt and have a question. I have 6 plants, 4 of which have one leaf that is wilted. ALL 4 of the wilted leaves { one wilted leaf per plant } are in the same area, right where the main base comes out of the ground.The pattern seems to be the leaf closest to the base. They have been like this for about 4 or 5 days now but the rest of the leaves and plant look very healthy. Is this bacterial wilt?

7/17/2008 9:36:05 AM

Bloomington, IN

They are likely the original true leaves. If so, then this wilting is perfectly normal.

7/17/2008 9:47:40 AM

Ct

ahhhhhh.....I had my toes curled in suspense. I figured it was some kind of normal plant growth trait but wasn't sure.Thanks for the quick response.

7/17/2008 9:53:24 AM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

Make sure you wipe out those cuke beetles! They can end your season overnight!

7/17/2008 11:18:49 AM

Ct

Yep, sprayed them last night. Before that the beetles seemed to enjoy being inside the flowers.

7/17/2008 11:20:34 AM

Somers, CT

Lack of water will make the leaves wilt too. It is a sign of stress. Bacterial wilt will hit the entire plant and in about a week the whole plant will be laying down on the dirt. Keep with the systemics. I use the green bottle of concentrate from Agway that says systemic on it and apply it once a week.

7/17/2008 11:24:45 AM

Ct

If it were lack of water I wouldn't think there would be a pattern with the location of the leaves { one leaf per plant, closest to the main base} but neverthelass,great info from everyone. I'm learning all kinds of stuff here!

7/17/2008 11:43:57 AM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

What you probably have is a normal condition. Once the plants mature you will have a few leaves that normally end up dying at the base.

7/20/2008 4:44:08 PM