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Powdery mildew
Powdery Mildew starts out as whitish spots that spread quickly until the entire leaf is covered. The white powdery growth is a fungus that with time becomes gray to tan/brown felt like patches. Leaves may become stunted, curled, chlorotic and eventually wither and dry up. Mildew occurs from hot days , high humidity ,cool nights and at the change of season.
Depending on the severity, spraying it with a baking soda formula is effective as a preventative when applied regularily. For active infections spray daily for a week. Mix 1 TBsp each of baking soda and horticultural oil (dormant oil spray)or a few drops of liquid soap to 1 gallon of water. Spray weekly making a new mix each time. I also heard of mixing 1 tbsp of pine sol to 1 gal of water as a mildew spray. Neem Oil is also affectective in controling infections. Use 1 oz.(2 Tbsp) of Neem oil and 1/ 1/2 tsp of dishwashing detergent to one gallon of water. Spray once a week for two weeks.
You can use chemical sprays such as Benomyl (systemic fungicide), sulfur/fungicidal soap early in the growing season as a preventative or as soon as symptoms appear. A synthetic fungicide Baylaton sold as Strike also works well on mildew. Always follow label directions, to make sure the product is approved for specific plants. The combination of Neem and baking soda is the safest control method. Once the disease takes hold, it is difficult to control. Some cultural things that can be done are to remove the infected leaves, do not crowd the plants, provide good air circulation and keep plants well watered and stress free. Grow resistant plants when available.
Thanks to hortchat.com
I never use chem sprays, neem oil rocks, should be in any growers arsenal.
Neem works for a lot of bugs, mildews and other probs.
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Jah gives us all!
