Vegetables - Insects
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  (March) I enjoy growing a large variety of squashes, pumpkins, melons, gourds, cucumbers. Last season, as the summer went on, my plants were hammered by insects (stink bugs and borer beetles.) By the end of the season I sprayed on a weekly basis but could never control the insects and I lost my last plantings of the season before they could produce. How can I effectively control these insects?

  Insects do build up all season, and the later in the gardening season we get, the harder stink bugs are to kill. The key is to work on controlling the insects early, and keeping the plants healthy. To start, you can use a granular insecticide tilled into the soil to catch any soil born insects. You can lightly wrap the stems of the plants to prevent vine borers, or keep them dusted with sevin -- avoid getting this product near the flowers. You can also try products with Permethrin or organic gardeners can try sabadilla dust. The key is controlling these early, so that they don't build up to large numbers.

  (June) I have just harvested my first cabbage and it is pretty wormy. I refrained from applying any insecticide to it while it was growing because it seems to me the poison just gets worked into and imbedded in the leaves and because we prefer not to use poisons if they can be avoided.

Is there an alternative to Sevin dust? Is my assumption that the poison will get imbedded in all those convolutions correct or does the cabbage grow from the inside out in such a manner that that is not an issue?

  If you apply pesticides at the recommended levels and follow label directions, you should be fine in using them. If you prefer to go organic, for cabbage worms, there is an organic insecticide called Bacillus thuringiensis. It is sold under the trade names of Dipel, Thuricide and BT. This is totally safe, and only hurts caterpillars -- no beneficials or others.

  (June) I would like to have some information on growing cucumbers. My vines look pretty good and they bloom good and get cucumbers which get to be about 1" to 1 and1/2" long and they just dry up and on some of the vines the leaves just seem to dry up . Have sprayed with Liquid Seven and also for Fungicide. Hope you can help me with this problem.

  Cucumbers can suffer from a disease called bacterial wilt, which is transmitted by the cucumber beetles. These lady bug look-alike are usually a yellowish green beetle with black spots on the back. As they feed, they transmit the disease. The disease begins with wilted tips of the vines, which is then transmitted to the rest of the plant. Sprays for the disease are not effective. To keep the disease in check, you need to prevent beetle infestation. When the vines wilt and collapse (usually about the same time that the first cucumbers are half grown), it is too late to prevent the disease.

  I’m a rather new retired transplant to Arkansas, and I am finding that gardening here is a real challenge. All my years of successful gardening up north, seem to lead to failure down here. All summer I fought a losing battle with a small black leaf hopper that seems to destroy everything in the garden. I sprayed with all sorts of products, to no avail. Is there anything to do now to prevent the problem in the spring, or what do I use in the growing season if I see it again?

  The insect which came with the plant sample was a flea beetle, but the damage on the foliage was not indicative of flea beetle damage. Flea beetles typically leave small shot hole type holes in the leaves. They attack a wide range of vegetable plants and can be somewhat difficult to control. They overwinter in trash, leaves or grass, so clean up the debris around your garden now. In the spring watch for early signs of damage and spray with sevin or pyrethrins. Young plants can be protected by floating row covers. It also appeared you had some spider mite damage. Again, sanitation is helpful for the winter, and then close monitoring during the growing season.

  We’ve lived in Arkansas for eleven years and have yet to raise zucchini. This should be such an easy plant to grow. I’ve tried placing barriers around the plant to ward off pests. Then I tried growing one in a planter-no fruit. This year I thought I had it figured out. I placed large pots with cut out bottoms in the ground in my garden and planted three plants. I was able to get 4 zucchini and then one by one the plants died. I tried spraying them and even poured fungicide in the ground. According to our neighbor, there is a small worm that gets inside and destroys the plants. The plants die within 24 hours of the first sign of stress. There is a strong rotting smell from the dead plant. I love zucchini, can you help? /p>

  From the sounds of your problem, you have one of two things. Squash vine borer can be devastating, but you should have certain symptoms -- frass or shavings at the base of the plant where it goes into the ground, or a shrunken stem. If you lightly dig around the stem at the soil line, you should see an entrance point. If you cut into the stem, you will find the worm inside. Using diazinon or dursban granules at planting can kill overwintered insects. You can also till the soil a few times during the winter to uproot the overwintering larvae and expose them to cold temperatures. Planting plants and placing a collar of aluminum foil can also prevent the insects from boring into the stems. The adult squash vine borer looks almost like a black wasp with a band of orange. It flies near squash plants laying eggs at the base. The eggs hatch and bore into the stems where they girdle the plants relatively fast. The thing that makes me wonder if this is it, is the strong rotting smell. This sounds more like a root rot. At the base of the plant the stem will collapse, and be soft and mushy. The stem is dark in color and smells bad. Is the soil wet or heavy clay–poorly drained? Usually poor drainage is associated with this disease. If the problem occurs next year, before destroying the plants, send a sample in for a correct diagnosis. At the first signs of problems take a sample to your local county extension office to send to the disease diagnostic clinic.

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