Gray Mold

[b54red]

Did you try the bleach spray?

[Katydid]

Originally Posted by b54red

Did you try the bleach spray?

Me? I did a couple of bleach sprayings, three days apart, and followed up with Daconil a day later, after a rain.

Results at this point are unclear. I'm still seeing a little bit of gray mold appearing on the newer growth. I think this would have worked better if I'd treated it earlier instead of just picking the diseased leaves off.

[b54red]

Yes, I lost about a half dozen plants to Gray Mold in May because I did the same thing. The only way we gardeners ever learn anything is the hard way. I don't usually wait around after seeing a disease making an inroad to start spraying but Gray mold was such a minor problem last year and I was spraying so regularly with Daconil that I didn't think it would spread as fast as it did. Last year when I first saw the Gray mold I was out of Daconil so I went ahead and sprayed right away with the bleach and it cleared it up really fast before it had a chance to get a good foothold in my garden.

[lang77]

This is not just on my Black Cherry plants. It can be found on a variety of plants all started from seed, and all very vigorous and healthy until we started to have extreme temps and extreme humidity. I did try the bleach solution and will reapply every 3 to 4 days as it did seem to stop it in it's tracks. But, the high humidity and extreme temps aren't as bad this week. So it's a hard one to figure out. I did see this same type of disfigurement on my hostas, impatiens, and strawberries. It's almost as if something melted the leaf tips,. Thanks for the tip on the bleach solution. I will reapply as needed.

[lang77]

One more question. How soon after spraying with the bleach solution can the fruit be harvested.???

[b54red]

As soon as it's dry. The bleach oxidizes very quickly and any residues from the oxidation can be rinsed off.

The last spraying seemed to get rid of the Gray mold from my last bout with it; but I still have some EB and Septoria but not much. I'll probably wait a few more days and spray again to be sure and then start back with the Daconil.

[Katydid]

Originally Posted by Katydid

Me? I did a couple of bleach sprayings, three days apart, and followed up with Daconil a day later, after a rain.

Results at this point are unclear. I'm still seeing a little bit of gray mold appearing on the newer growth. I think this would have worked better if I'd treated it earlier instead of just picking the diseased leaves off.

Following up on my earlier reply....

At this point, I'd give a qualified "yes" as to whether or not the bleach spray is effective against Gray Mold. I sprayed twice with bleach, one week apart, and followed up with Daconil a couple of days later. We were then gone for a week, and when we returned yesterday I found only a very small amount of active Gray Mold infection. (Before, despite spraying regularly with Daconil, Gray Mold was making major inroads on the tomato plants). I plan to do another bleach spray tonight, and let it be.

My "yes" is qualified because we've not had any rain for over a week and the dry weather is surely slowing the spread of the fungus.

[b54red]

Katydid, I'm glad it has been a help for you. In my experience this year dry weather will not stop Gray mold but it does progress much slower during dry times. As soon as the humidity goes up again it starts spreading faster. We have been blessed with a few weeks of very dry weather and most of the diseases have slowed significantly; but the last week the humidity kept getting near 100% and I'm seeing more signs of a resurgence of problems. Hopefully I can get a spraying in this weekend. I also need to spray for those aggravating spider mites.