what is killing my hop tips?

[bionicbrew]

I have several hops plants, 2 3rd year, 2 2nd year and 4 1st year. I notice that the 2nd yr Willamette and the 3rd yr Cascade every year have several tips that shrivel and die. some leaves look possibly eaten by rabbit or bugs, but not bad. the Galena seem to never have this problem and sits in the same 12 ft row as the other 2. here's 2 pics. third is some leaves of 1 that look deformed on the Willamette. not sure if this is related. I have plenty of good shoots that don't die, but I have to keep 4-5 extras growing for a month or 2 because sometimes a 2-3 foot bine does the tip dying thing.

 

[Hopfarmer]

look in the compendium of hop pests and diseases its online or used to be WSU site

 

[Dunerunner]

What is the PH of your water? Did your fertilize, and if so what with? How hot has it been and how much do you water? How quickly does your soil drain?

It doesn't look like pest damage to me.

 

[Hopfarmer]

try this its midnight in POLAAND AND I am getting drunk at the pub http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/con...s of Hops: Identification and Management.pdf/

 

[Hopfarmer]

I think it might be boron deficancy look for osu nutrient guide its on my site

 

[bionicbrew]

I don't know the ph of my water. the native soil is about 6.5-7. it's total sand, so I planted with potting soil when new. this year I mulched with organic compost from Lowe's, but that is the first time, and I saw this same thing last year.
my growing zone is 7A. it's been about 80 for highs and 40's at night. I water 5 days a week but for short periods(mostly because they are on the same drip system as our fruit trees). I had watered less last year and had the same thing. relative humidity is about 16%, so it's dry here. we are a high desert. my Galena and Sterling never have had this problem. mildew and most hop maladies are not a problem here. it's just too dry. some aphids, but I agree, it just doesn't look like pests. unless it is the same ones that get into rose buds and damage roses. we have those for sure.
the link hopfarmer gave didn't have anything that matched. I have the

Boron is interesting, I'll look into that. I'm getting up the WSU site now to check it. thanks for the help, keep it coming.

 

[Hopfarmer]

Some of my chinooks did the same thing about a half acre but not all shoots

 

[bionicbrew]

Some of my chinooks did the same thing about a half acre but not all shoots

exactly what I have happening. did Boron fix it?

 

[Hopfarmer]

It seemed to,but we had really wierd weather.It also happened when they were a little bigger

 

[HARDHEAD]

you mentioned they look eaten.....dont rule out cut worms

i lost several bell pepper plants to the lil buggers

 

[onthekeg]

Frost?

 

[timbudtwo]

I used to grow carnivorous plants (venus fly trap would be a common one) and this looks exactly like what happens when you soil conditions aren't right. For my plants its was one of four things:
1. Not enough light
2. Overly wet soil
3. Soil had too many nutrients (bad for carnivorous plants)
4. Soil PH was wrong.

I mentioned soil conditions because you are outside and you have plenty of light. Carnivorous plants grow in peat which is low in nutrients. Using tap water would add nutrients and would throw off the plant (they are supposed to get nutrients from bugs) and it would abort new growth after a while. Peat is also acidic so all the calcium and things in tap water throw off the ph and will eventually kill the plant.

Try what hopfarmer said as boron will adjust the ph of your soil.

 

[bionicbrew]

will cut worms eat out towards the end of it like that? I think we've had those here, we suspected them in our cucmbers last year, but they always got the plant just under ground level.

I doubt frost, but it could be possible. it only seems to hit the thinner bines. the tips seem to get yellowish edges shortly before they shrivel up. you can see that a little in the last pic. not sure if that is actually related, because a few that get the yellowing don't die. (though I usually trim those back eventually, as they aren't as healthy as what I train onto the string).

I will definitely add some boron to see if that helps.

 

[CJPaul]

I have a bunch of first years, and one of my Galena shows similarities

Maybe it's all the crazy spring wind we get :cross:

I hope boron helps.

 

[bionicbrew]

you mentioned they look eaten.....dont rule out cut worms

I couldn't see the pics from my work computer when I last posted.:cross: I guess they can eat out toward the ends.

CJPaul, interesting. leaves look similar. my tips die when the bine is at least a foot long. and my Galena is doing great right next to the ones that aren't. the crazy winds are a concern, I've had several bines break off from the wind. next few days won't be any better either. this problem is that they just dry up.
I hope to get some boron today and will report back. and thanks for all the help, you all are great!

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

Heat

 

[Jagdad]

My guess is a fungal crown infection that came with the original "dirty" rhizome stock - most likely Verticillium. Wet conditions favor disease development. A side effect of the infected rhizome breaking down is that it attracts fungus gnats whose larvae feed on roots and underground stems. Verticillium is a bad character because once your soil is infected it is impossible to get rid of. It was one of the major reasons commercial production moved from the midwest to the west.

 

[Jagdad]

I thought just occurred to me - - To check if you have a fungus gnat problem put some raw potato slices on the ground around your hop plant. Leave them over nite then check the bottom sides of the slices for little whiteish larvae with black heads.

 

[Jagdad]

Boron won"t adjust your pH - but be careful, a little goes a long way. Disslove one tablespoon per gallon water and applt only ONCE. Boron toxicity is a whole lot worse than a deficiency. A symptom of def. is the shoots will be brittle and snap off very easily.

 

[bionicbrew]

we have far from wet conditions here. even well watered in the am, the topsoil is completely dry by mid day(damp 1/4-1/2" down). I'll keep my eyes open for that and do the potato trick. the shoots seem pliable and not brittle. maybe I'll half the dose to be sure not to do more harm. thanks!