Where to cut bines and also is this bad?

[wshearer9]

So I'm cutting down my bines because they had powdery mildew and it was in the hop cones. No that they are starting to die for the winter the leaves are starting to turn brown with white fuzzy areas. Can you tell me what's wrong and what to do and also to tell me where to trim the bines.


Picture of the white fuzzy stuff
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444583605.895714.jpg

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444583660.252160.jpg

 

[wshearer9]

The temps at night are about 40 degrees so should I cut them back?

 

[elerten]

Are you watering at night? Or late in the day? Usually get what you're seeing when the plant is wet all night.

 

[wshearer9]

No I'm never watering!

 

[wshearer9]

Also should I cut down my bines or is it to early?

 

[B-Hoppy]

The only sure way to know if you have powdery mildew is to have a lab test for it, pretty much the same for most diseases. Often times it's a real crapshoot to try to correctly identify the pathogen visually due to the fact that other (sometimes abiotic) conditions can bring about the same or similar symptoms of a particular disease. Here's some info: http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/wivegdis/pdf/2015/Hop PM A4053-02.pdf

 

[wshearer9]

It looked exactly like the pictures a while back and the local hop farmer told me I should cut down the bines so how should I do that?

 

[day_trippr]

Just hack the bines off a few inches above grade. Nbd.

When mine get to that point (soon) I'll whack 'em then leaf-mulch them...

Cheers!

 

[wshearer9]

Ok thank you!

 

[PapaBearJay]

You do not have powdery mildew, I can assure you of that. Feel free to check the breeding thread, as I just updated with photos of it.

 

[wshearer9]

I know those photos don't show powdery mildew I was wondering if that was something else.

 

[B-Hoppy]

It looked exactly like the pictures a while back and the local hop farmer told me I should cut down the bines so how should I do that?

Powdery mildew (the variety that can be devastating to hops) hasn't taken a foothold here in the east . . . yet, and can be a serious problem for the growers in your area no matter where you live. It's actually here but is very localized at this point. Page 4 of this newsletter explains a little better: https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce...2015Newsletter6.compressed_(1).pdf?1429297445

I'm surprised the farmer you spoke with didn't make a bigger deal about it? If it were me, I'd contact my local cooperative extension agent and explain what you think you may have and let them do the testing.

 

[wshearer9]

Ok but do you think I should still cut the bines down or give them more time?

 

[wshearer9]

Or at least cut them shorter?

 

[B-Hoppy]

The whole idea behind leaving them up after harvest is to allow any additional carbohydrates produced to be sent back down into the crown for use next year. From what I've seen over the years is that you most likely won't see any difference in growth the following season from a plant that was cut down at harvest vs one that was left up (as long as they have decent soil).

If you want to cut them back, I'd leave enough of the vine sticking up so you can locate the center of the crown next year, maybe 6-8 inches.

 

[wshearer9]

Ok