Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

The virus is commonly spread by aphids in these parts. A fellow grower has this problem. When I checked with our state ag folks, they confirmed this (for our area). Cleaning out any & all weeds is part of the puzzle. Removing or controlling aphids on all other suitable plants is another part.
The trouble for us will be killing aphids quickly enough. They can innoculate a pumpkin with the virus in seconds. Even the fastest insecticides aren't that quick. I do plan to propose to my fellow grower the use of "synergized permethrin". The synergist in this case will be piperonyl butoxide or pbi. If I find that the commonly available product (Kicker) is safe for use on pumpkins, it may offer sufferers some hope & relief.

Steve

1/20/2003 5:17:18 PM

porterville,california usa

I`m concerned about our warm winter also. Usually by this time of year we have had several nights with below freezing temps.So far we`ve only had a lite frost a couple of times. Last week-end while mowing the lawn I looked under leaves on some weeds growing nearby. I was shocked to find whiteflies crawling all around on them! If it doesn`t come a freeze soon next season will be desimated from them sucking the life out of the plants and more importantly, spreading the mosiac virus again. I lost my patch last year to the virus. All 9 plants were spread out anywhere from 25' to 100' apart and it still managed to spread. Does anyone know of a GOOD pesticide or other method of erradication of whiteflies.I`m willing to try anything short of nuclear warfare. If I loose another plant to them I`ll have to have a talk with "so-damn insane "about getting some of his weapons of mass destruction in iraq.I tried several pesticide cocktails and rotating various pesticides. It worked for a while but soon they were back. I`m willing to try ANYTHING !!!!!

1/20/2003 11:47:37 PM

porterville,california usa

P.S....My local nurseryman/horticulturist told me the type of mosiac virus most often found here in California is the tobacco mosiac virus. He asked me if I smoke or chew tobacco. I said yes and yes. He said to wash my hands ALWAYS before touching my plants after using tobacco in any form. The virus can live long enough on my hands to be transmitted to my plants!!! I don`t know if I believe him or not but it`s something to think about. He gets paid to tell people this stuff so it must have some merit. Just a word to the wise. booth P.P.S. Tremor, check your e-mail. I sent you the info you asked for.

1/21/2003 12:02:35 AM

Got it Ed, thanks.
Yes, the TMV can & does spread by handling infected tobacco products. I have a client that makes me scrub & check my smokes prior to entering the prop house for feat of TMV.
Check also if those White Flies can transmit TMV the way Aphides do here. It seems likely. But WF's are a non issue in these parts outside of the greenhouses. So I pay them little mind.
This I can say; They are too prolific & well traveled to be impacted permanantly by anything short of a very diligent spray progam. Not being real familiar with their breeding & harborage, I won't go further. But to suggest a sit down at your counties agriculture extension agents office. Those folks usually appreciate some company when their schedules allow & will handle your situation with attention if you take the time to visit.
If the problem continues in 2003, the same agent can arrange for a (probably free) lab analysis to confirm which MV you're dealing with. As yet, no chemical controls available so controlling the vector is the only solution.

Steve

1/21/2003 7:34:05 AM

LIpumpkin

Long Island,New York

Steve...The white flies may be transient and not common outside around here, but they do exist...I was infested in 2001 with them outside and Im not so far from you........G

1/21/2003 8:52:24 AM

G,

I've had them here too. On perennials. Nothing severe. Not pumpkins yet. I've used Talstar, Malathion, etc in the past. But since the widespread use of Merit began here, I haven't seen them. This could be more weather related than Merit. Too soon to be sure.

But according to Vinny Palmer with the NYDEC, you Long Gislanders won't need to worry about Merit much longer.
Stock up soon! AND DON'T DRINK THE WATER! LOL

Steve

1/21/2003 12:09:43 PM

porterville,california usa

I just spent hours researching the dreaded whitefly and its` deadly hitch-hiker pal TMV. I conversed with an entomologist buddy also. Seems a Home Depot garden dept. "expert"I talked with knows as much about "bugs" as anyone else. Maybe even more. Both said whiteflies cycle thru stages of growth development about every 14 days. Thus they can readily acquire resistance to most pesticides, rendering themselves immune and passing this resistance on to their offspring. Therefore it is extremely important to use pesticides according to the labeled instructions. Any wf that aren`t killed after a pesticide treatment can, and probably will, become immune to it and all the little ones they produce also. My "experts" recommend changing to pesticides with a different active ingredient every 7 days to kill the immune ones` offspring ,right after hatching from the egg, and before they mature enough to lay resistant eggs of their own. All this I already knew, and tried, last year. Needless to say with poor results. I used malathion,isotox, ortho bug b gone, sevin, bayer house and garden, ortho home defense, insecticidal soaps and oils, I even mixed up a home remedy of jalapenos,garlic, onion,palmolive dish soap, black pepper, and some other stuff i can`t remember in my wifes blender.All it did was kill the leaves I put it on (in less than 24 hours), and really pissed off my wife when she came home and saw the mess I made in HER kitchen. It produced an odor not unlike a truck load of goat crap on a hot summer day. It lingered for about a month. She claims that she can still smell it from time to time.

1/22/2003 3:13:30 AM

porterville,california usa

A jack-o-lantern pumpkin grower about a mile up wind from me had to plow under his entire crop last year because of TMV. I didn`t think much of it until my patch started showing signs of TMV.An invasion of whiteflies had descended upon my place about 6 weeks prior. I couldn`t see any real physical damage caused by them so I didn`t even consider pesticides. I didn`t realize they would spread disease. My bug buddy said normally a half mile is sufficient distance between farms to protect from invading insects such as the whitefly. He claims they are too small to fly much more than that. I guess he should have studied meteorology and learned about winds effects on aero-mobile insects. My guess is that something that tiny doesn`t need to fly far. Just a quick 20' vertical flight in a gust of wind could carry them and their viral pals a long way. Of course they have to make a few stops to eat and spread the disease along the way. I`ve tried vertually every product that Home Depot carries to kill whiteflies, followed directions to a tee, and still they live. I have mixed three or four pesticides with different active ingredients together, in varying strengths and amounts, and applied as directed,as not directed, as often, more often, less often, A.M.,P.M.,nite, day, hot, cold, etc.....95% kill ratio isn`t good enough for these bastards. Now I hear talk of Merit. What is it? Is it good? Can I get it in California?What is the active ingredient?..... Help please? booth

1/22/2003 4:03:01 AM

porterville,california usa

PS TMV can over winter in plants. If the plant had it, the plant still has it.Either get rid of the infected plant or the infected bug.

1/22/2003 4:06:42 AM

southern

Appalachian Mtns.

I'm looking for Merit also and was told it's not for sale to the home gardener. You have to have a pesticide license to get it....not sure if that's completely true but I've been unable to get it thru normal channels.

1/22/2003 5:26:15 AM