I have second year Cascade and Fuggles hops growing in Georgia. The Cascades are exploding with cones and the Fuggles have a few nice size cones. We have had a lot of rain this year and it has been hot and muggy. I went out to check on them this morning and found what looks like a white cotton candy like substance on some of the leaves and bines. Does anybody know what this might be and if I need/can treat it?
Looks like powdery mildew. Here is some info.
Thanks, I took a look at the link and I think this is something different. It doesn’t show up as splotches of colonies on the top of the leaf. It is more web like and follows the veins of the leaf on the bottom. It also shows up on the bines themselves. I’m going to take a sample to a local nursery to see if they can identify it. If it’s serious, I’ll post back the results in case other hop growers find the same problem on theirs.
Does it look like spit? I’m not familiar with spittle bugs attacking hops but that’s what it looks like from the pictures
I notice that type of occurrence from time to time on my hops and can definitely rule out powdery mildew. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be but when you go to rub it off, something usually jumps off which I assumed was some type of leafhopper. After doing a quick search one of the first hits was this: leafhopper: fuzzy white - Metcalfa pruinosa - BugGuide.Net. Not saying that this is the culprit but it may be. I wouldn’t be too concerned.
Edit: Should have looked a little further: Plant Hoppers (Planthoppers) – Roosting on Stems | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener
The good folks at my local nursery identified the infestation as SCALE. The bug is very tiny, or at least, my eyes haven’t found them yet. I don’t know if they are doing any real damage but, I bought an organic treatment that suffocates the bugs by coating the plant (and bugs) with an oil. The product says that it is safe on fruit and vegetables up to the day before harvest, so the hops should be okay by the time I pick them in a few weeks. Once I see that the bugs are gone, I’ll start hosing the plants down just to be on the safe side.
My neighbor’s magnolia tree had scales. It was killing the tree and making a mess under the tree. they tried surface treatments but ended up having the soil treated around the tree. Basically, they inject insecticide in around the roots and the tree transports it up into the stems and leaves, killing the bugs from the inside out.
Hopefully the surface treatments work for you. The in ground optin would make the cones unusable.
Paul
That would be very disappointing! 