Mid-Late Season Downy Mildew Management

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grainstoglass

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I am on my third year growing hops and was attempting to got the organic route, but this year I am battling a significantly increasing problem with downy mildew. I am wondering about what management techniques/fungicides I should be using at this point when the downy mildew has already taken hold. Am I out of luck for this season? I was not proactive about fungicide use early in the season and I am now seeing lots of downy mildew secondary sidearms coming off the bines toward the lower end of the plant. I have stripped the bottoms of each plant for air circulation, but should I also remove these secondary infected/stunted shoots? I began spraying with Agri-Fos this week and was using copper earlier in the season. Just wondering what to do and how to salvage things before I lose even more this season.
 
Being proactive when it comes to disease management is number one on the list and will help allow you to sleep a little better, ha!

I was in your situation a few years back and things basically were beyond repair. One big issue during that year was constant (at least weekly) rainfall with little sun to dry things out between sessions.

Definitely get rid of anything that's been affected and try to keep up with your sprays as dictated by the weather, and try to mix it up if you can. If you can isolate where the problem is starting (maybe one particular plant) you can either remove it or severely cut the crown back next spring. I did this with one crown I suspected was the source and things cleared up ever since.
 
Being proactive when it comes to disease management is number one on the list and will help allow you to sleep a little better, ha!

I was in your situation a few years back and things basically were beyond repair. One big issue during that year was constant (at least weekly) rainfall with little sun to dry things out between sessions.

Definitely get rid of anything that's been affected and try to keep up with your sprays as dictated by the weather, and try to mix it up if you can. If you can isolate where the problem is starting (maybe one particular plant) you can either remove it or severely cut the crown back next spring. I did this with one crown I suspected was the source and things cleared up ever since.
Thank you for the tips. I know I should've been more proactive in the spring and will definitely do that next season. What do you do when much of the bine is showing symptoms? Should I hack the whole plant down to the ground and start fresh next year or harvest what I can from them this season and proceed with caution next year? It appears to be that many of my hop bines are exhibiting short sidearms that may be infected, but are currently bearing healthy looking cones. My centennials and zeus seem to be the most effected and seem stunted and have the more prevalent and obvious infected sidearms.
 
If the plants were infected when you sprayed them but you were able to put the disease in check prior to it producing a bunch of spores, those stunted sidearms most likely won't be the cause of any more problems - but that doesn't mean that some other spores lurking elsewhere won't rear their ugly heads.

It's up to you if you want to try to pick through the good cones that are left, but whatever you do, give everything a very thorough spray this fall once you have everything cut back and removed (and burned) any spent plant material. I wish I was a little more versed in pathology to understand the life cycles a little better, but until then, keep it as clean as possible.
 
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