Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

http://gardensouth.org/2011/06/11/time-for-emergency-surgery/
Time for emergency surgery!
All of the various squashes are prone to suddenly wilt and die, just when we
think we will have a bumper crop. It's all due to a reddish moth that looks
like a wasp to the uninitiated, that has a larva (grub) that eats the inside
of the squash stems.
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0426w.jpg>
Description: Squash borer adult
Squash borer adult
If you see this mama flitting around your squash, be prepared for trouble!
And you can see that she's already been there. Note the holes and the damage
to the main stem.
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0420w.jpg>
Description: Squash borer adult - closeup
Squash borer adult - closeup
She's not going to hold still very long to get the camera focused, but here
you see the coloration that identifies her as an adult squash borer.
Once you see damage on the stems, just above ground level, that plant is not
long for the world, unless you intervene. Soon, as it munches away, you will
see gelatinous pellets of frass alongside the hole. The larva is growing.
We are going to try to catch this one young. We hope we can save the plant.
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0824w.jpg>
Description: Squash borer frass
Squash borer frass
So we will carefully slit the stem, parallel to its length. This won't hurt
the stem, at least not near as much as the borer will!
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0849w.jpg>
Description: Careful cut to find squash borer
Careful cut to find squash borer
Found ya! You little parasite! You are dead meat!
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_0926w.jpg>
Description: Found squash borer!
Found squash borer!
We've saved this plant. Time to cover the wound with some moist soil, so it
can heal.
One can try a less intrusive form of surgery by poking a sharp toothpick or
a stiff wire straight into the stem every quarter inch or so above the entry
hole. But this poses a risk of missing the larva.
Here's one that was too late to save; the borer has already eaten out all
the plant's plumbing, and has grown to large size.
<http://gardensouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DSCN1741w.jpg>
Description: Squash borer from killed plant
Squash borer from killed plant
The squash borer is a serious pest of all kinds of squashes. Some try to
kill it with pesticides, but this is fraught with problems. You must kill
the adult in the brief time it comes to lay eggs - or the freshly hatched
egg just before it bores into the stem.
Once it is inside the stem, it's pretty well protected. But using an
insecticide on squash that is blooming may contaminate the nectar and pollen
that feeds the pollinators. Kill the pollinators - and you bite the hand
that feeds you!
So I would personally rule out pesticides for borers. Most years, you can
get a harvest before the borers arrive.
Some use aluminum foil around the stem to either confuse or prevent the moth
from egg laying. Some wrap the stems in pieces of old pantyhose.
One technique that I have used for vining squash is to cover the stem with
dirt every couple feet. The plant will put out new roots at that point. If
the main stem is destroyed by a borer, the plant will still live and produce
from its alternative roots.


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