WATERMELON ROT
Watermelon Nigeria
Discovered my watermelon fruits have some form of infection. About four fruits are rotten in different stages one was looking ok but has a tiny hole on it, when I opened it found a maggot inside. It's the same watermelon plant with the infected leaves I posted few days back.. . Help please.
The one I found maggot inside
These red and black caterpillar looking living things are all over the leaves with the infection, are they infecting the leaves?
Posted
by: Dauda Wudiri
(1 point)
Posted: August 2, 2016
Answers
I don't think those are caterpillars. They look like some type of Millipedes. How are you watering your watermelons? I grow mine on a trellis and made a planter that I water from the bottom for the most part. I have the Icebox type of watermelons they don't grow as large as yours. I also grow different types of rare melons as well. I spray them once a week with a mixture of 1 1/3 T Neem oil, "enough dish soap to break up the oil in the mixture", 1 gal of warm water, 1/2 if there are no signs of fungus 1 cup if there is - of Hydrogen Peroxide, and 2 T of Epson Salt. This will help with bugs and fungus. If you are interested in the way I grow mine. Let me know. It'll get you more info. It will save you water, time, and space. Hopes this help you in the future.
Posted
by: Seyla
(6 points)
Posted: August 3, 2016
Dauda Wudiri commented,
Okay Seyla...it's raining season here infact we in the peak of our raining season month, August so the plants are always wet, heavy dew through the night and morning hours with less sun shining on them could this be the problem even though the soil is well drained? .....Wow I really love this system please I need more information about it! Thanks! about 8 years ago.
Okay Seyla...it's raining season here infact we in the peak of our raining season month, August so the plants are always wet, heavy dew through the night and morning hours with less sun shining on them could this be the problem even though the soil is well drained? .....Wow I really love this system please I need more information about it! Thanks! about 8 years ago.
Seyla commented,
Here is a link to youtube video I based my design on. It's not great for all plants such as those that like to have their soil dry between watering but they're great for melons and most other plants. https://youtu.be/Lp9Jdyno9hI Keep in mind that you still need to water the young seedlings till the roots establish long enough to reach the moist soil. Here in California about the top 2 inch's of soil stays dry. I'm also going to attached a video on how to prune melons. You won't get as much melons but the quality of the melons you end up with will be better. If you're short on space, this will be very useful. https://youtu.be/kmJFhBosKwQ I did have one problem when I planted my first seedlings. The plants started showing signs that they were dehydrated but they didn't show improvement from a watering. They started up fine for a a lil bit but then all died. I learned that it was because of some kind of fungus. This fungus effects plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons. I did a lot of research for a natural solution and I found it. Turns out, corn meal will is very good with dealing with this fungus. One way to use it is to take a cup of corn meal and let it steep it over night in a gal of water. Then water your plants with that water. I tried this way but found out that it was too late for effected plants. SO in a last ditch effort. I bought a few boxes of corn meal and mixed it into the soil(This is also good for preventing weeds). I also mixed in more corn meal in the spots I planted new seedlings. So far it's working. I hope you can learn from my mistakes. about 8 years ago.
Here is a link to youtube video I based my design on. It's not great for all plants such as those that like to have their soil dry between watering but they're great for melons and most other plants. https://youtu.be/Lp9Jdyno9hI Keep in mind that you still need to water the young seedlings till the roots establish long enough to reach the moist soil. Here in California about the top 2 inch's of soil stays dry. I'm also going to attached a video on how to prune melons. You won't get as much melons but the quality of the melons you end up with will be better. If you're short on space, this will be very useful. https://youtu.be/kmJFhBosKwQ I did have one problem when I planted my first seedlings. The plants started showing signs that they were dehydrated but they didn't show improvement from a watering. They started up fine for a a lil bit but then all died. I learned that it was because of some kind of fungus. This fungus effects plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons. I did a lot of research for a natural solution and I found it. Turns out, corn meal will is very good with dealing with this fungus. One way to use it is to take a cup of corn meal and let it steep it over night in a gal of water. Then water your plants with that water. I tried this way but found out that it was too late for effected plants. SO in a last ditch effort. I bought a few boxes of corn meal and mixed it into the soil(This is also good for preventing weeds). I also mixed in more corn meal in the spots I planted new seedlings. So far it's working. I hope you can learn from my mistakes. about 8 years ago.
this is definitely a millipede (centipedes are carnivores, whereas millepedes eat decaying plant material). It is not an insect and definitely not a caterpillar. I think your problem is some sort of physical damage and the subsequent decay due to bacteria entering through the fruit.
Posted
by: David Hughes
(68 points)
Posted: August 3, 2016
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