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| Beans planted in cool soils can get collar rot or get devoured by cutworms |
Q. I found a couple of beans in my garden that have been
devoured at the base. Could it be some sort of soil born larva or possibly a
virus? Any ideas would be helpful. I did
find one small white worm about a half of a centimeter long near the root about
an inch away.
devoured at the base. Could it be some sort of soil born larva or possibly a
virus? Any ideas would be helpful. I did
find one small white worm about a half of a centimeter long near the root about
an inch away.
A. It
could be a couple of things. First, with cool weather and cool soils it might
be collar rot disease that rots the stem at soil level. This will happen
if you plant beans too early in cold soils. Some varieties of beans are more
susceptible to this than others.
could be a couple of things. First, with cool weather and cool soils it might
be collar rot disease that rots the stem at soil level. This will happen
if you plant beans too early in cold soils. Some varieties of beans are more
susceptible to this than others.
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| Most likely cutworm damage |
The first indicator
is that some plants appear stunted and grow poorly. I usually end up
removing these plants and hope the weather warms up.
is that some plants appear stunted and grow poorly. I usually end up
removing these plants and hope the weather warms up.
The other
problem can be cutworms. You should be spraying or dusting the soil
surface around these plants with either Dipel or Thuricide, an organic
pesticide. This is the time of year you should be doing that anyway for a
variety of pests in the vegetable garden.
problem can be cutworms. You should be spraying or dusting the soil
surface around these plants with either Dipel or Thuricide, an organic
pesticide. This is the time of year you should be doing that anyway for a
variety of pests in the vegetable garden.