Hops Falling/Dropping off Vines... Time to Harvest?

[tpizzy]

It's my second year growing hops after a successful first year. The cascades I planted last year are thriving. However, I noticed that during the past few days, a few hops (about five each day) have fallen onto the ground. In my forum searches, I have only gathered indirect information that would lead me to believe that hops falling off the vines may be a signal that it is time to harvest. So, is it time to harvest, or could this just be the wind knocking them off? It hasn't been too windy around here lately.

A little background: The hops seem to have good lupilin development, some better than others. Aroma is there, but not altogether pungent. The hops that have fallen to the ground have been papery in texture too. However, not all of the cones have been large; there has been a mix of sizes. I live on Cape Cod, and since it's mid-August, it seems pretty early to harvest.

I am also wondering if these may be maturing early because it is the second year in the ground. I planted two other varieties this year and neither have had the same issue.

I do not want to harvest to early for fear of halting further development, but I also don't want to wait and risk losing all of these hops that are falling off the vine.

Thanks

 

[alane1]

When the hops fall are the stems still intact? Stems usually only break after the drying process occurs. Are there any other symptoms or stress the plant might be going through?

 

[tpizzy]

There are no stems at all on the buds, they just fall clean off. Aside from what I would call a minor case of powdery mildew, they look really healthy. Maybe the powdery mildew is worse than I realized?

Seems like this isn't a typical occurrence. I've attached a couple photos to see if that might help diagnose the issue. I had to lower the quality to fit them, so my apologies if they appear blurry.

Cheers!