Preemptively Spraying for Fungus?

[allynlyon]

Last year I put down a fresh batch of mulch and I believe that mulch came with a nice fungal infection because shortly after that my hops and all the rest of my plants came down with a nasty fungal infection. I sprayed last year, but it was late in the season. Would you preemptively go ahead and spray or dust with copper to protect this years plants? If yes what brand is a favorite?

 

[B-Hoppy]

One of the first things you have to do is to determine what type of fungus/disease you're dealing with. Many control products are designed to treat a specific organism rather than a broad spectrum, and until you know what you're trying to control, you may be throwing your $$ away by applying products not labeled for your specific problem.

I'd do a search for hop diseases, specifically 'downy mildew' and 'powdery mildew' which are two of the major ones.

 

[allynlyon]

One of the first things you have to do is to determine what type of fungus/disease you're dealing with. Many control products are designed to treat a specific organism rather than a broad spectrum, and until you know what you're trying to control, you may be throwing your $$ away by applying products not labeled for your specific problem.

I'd do a search for hop diseases, specifically 'downy mildew' and 'powdery mildew' which are two of the major ones.

There for sure was powdery mildew on my other plants, although I didn't notice it on the hops I imagine it was only a matter of time before it spread. I also believe that I had some downy mildew but never was able to identify it for sure. It caused canker sores on my roses and my hop leaves toward the end of the season. One plant stopped growing all together last year.

 

[B-Hoppy]

There are many different powdery mildews (downy's also) out there and are specific to certain plants. Just because you have mildew on your roses/peonies doesn't mean that it can infect your hops or other plants. Identifying the problem is the hardest part and is REALLY difficult to do long-distance or over the internet. Make friends with your local cooperative extension agent and hopefully they can pull some resources to figure things out. Hoppy growing~

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

I think the miracle cure for all of hops ailments is NEEM oil. It seems that it works on everything! I just looked it up on funguses and it should work. I use 2-3 tbsp. per gallon and a little dawn (just a few drops) to emulsify it.

 

[allynlyon]

I think the miracle cure for all of hops ailments is NEEM oil. It seems that it works on everything! I just looked it up on funguses and it should work. I use 2-3 tbsp. per gallon and a little dawn (just a few drops) to emulsify it.

heh I thought neem oil was just used as an insecticide.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

It also works on most fungi.