Got Powdery Mildew?

[Al B. Fuct]

ABC's Gardening Australia sez pasteurised milk will work:

 

Fact Sheet: Milk Fungicide

 

Presenter: Malcolm Campbell, 19/09/2003

 

Some organic gardeners have been using milk as a fungal control for decades, but it has only been in recent years that it has been looked at seriously as an effective and safe control of powdery mildew on some garden plants.

 

University of Adelaide research is exploring its potency. Grape vines have been the main crop that Peter Crisp used as part of his trials during a three-year research project, but he has also used milk spray on roses, zucchinis and tomatoes where it has been very successful in combating powdery mildew. A dilution anywhere between 1:5 and 1:10 milk to water is adequate, but if it is much stronger than that it can cause problems like sooty mould. Low fat milk is less effective than full cream milk, but the difference is not really significant. There are various compounds that are active in milk including the fats. The natural antibiotics present in milk, as well as the production of other agents during exposure to sunlight both act to reduce fungal infection.

 

For it to work effectively it must be used regularly at seven to 10 days intervals, or every fortnight if it is hot. The most important thing is to get a good even coverage over all of the leaves. One of the great advantages of milk fungicide is that you don’t need any protective gear for spraying.

Cool.

[Al B. Fuct]

OK, here's a vote for not only pasteurised- but powdered milk!

 

Days of wine and . . . .milk?

 

Thursday, 5 September 2002

 

The very same milk you find in your fridge can protect against fungal disease in vineyards, an Adelaide researcher has found.

 

Mr Peter Crisp, from the Department of Applied and Molecular Ecology at the University of Adelaide, has discovered that milk products — including milk, whey (a by-product of cheese-making), and whey protein — are as effective as some conventional fungicides in treating grape vines for powdery mildew.

 

Powdery mildew is parasite that lives off young, green tissue, its spores accumulating on leaves and berries in a white powder. It is an undesirable tenant in vineyards, as it affects the quality of the wine.

 

"It can get a slightly musty, almost mushroomy taste," said Mr Crisp. "Keeping the fungus under control is good for the wine quality."

 

Free radicals produced by milk products are the mechanism behind this novel fungicide, believes Mr Crisp. These free radicals physically damage the cell walls of the mildew, preventing it from growing on the grapevines.

 

Particular compounds found in milk may also contribute to its anti-fungal potential, he said.

 

Mr Crisp is beginning a third summer of tests on various types of milk (full-fat and light) in powdered and liquid form, as well as whey, canola oil with eucalypt extracts, and potassium bicarbonate.

 

Powdered full-fat milk has proved to be the most effective of the milk-based products

, probably due to its higher fat and calcium content.

 

The solution, made up of

30 g of milk or whey powder per litre

, is sprayed onto grape vines by the same means as conventional fungicides, at a rate of 300 litres per hectare early in the season, increasing to 500 litres when the vines are bushier. The solution needs to be reapplied every 10 to 14 days.

 

The research group will conduct tests on several types of grapes, concentrating on Verdelho because of its susceptibility to powdery mildew.

 

"Verdelho is very very susceptible, so we feel if we can control it on that we can control it anywhere," said Mr Crisp.

 

He anticipates that organic farmers will be most interested in the milk-based fungicides. Organic grape farmers currently use sulphur as a fungicide, which is less costly than the milk-based fungicides, but is not particularly effective at temperatures below about 15 degrees Celsius.

 

In hot weather, sulphur can cause leaf burning and fruit scarring, and it kills beneficial insects such as lacewings, ladybugs and predatory mites, which help control scale, aphids and pest mites.

 

Future research will test whether the milk-based fungicides affect the quality and flavour of the wine, said Mr Crisp.

 

"We will use professional tasting panels doing a blind test. We may do some pH tests to look at residual acidity, and possibly do some DNA analysis to see if there is any residual powdery mildew DNA getting through."

 

He said there had been a lot of interest from the industry.

 

"Particularly with Europe going so heavily organic, and a rapid increase for organic products in Australia, it is a marketing advantage to be environmentally friendly."

 

(bold emphasis mine- Al B.)

[sunnycoaststoner]

use a rose spray like triforine available froma garden shop or hardware, if you dont like tom's method. i use the milk method to sometimes and it does work.

[Pam]

And I thought I was the only one that went to the kitchen first... I've been known to go behind the grocery store and trash pick all the out of code milk and pour it onto my garden! Cannabis is a heavy calcium feeder and they seem to love the stuff so milk can't hurt. Keeps the tomatos from getting blossom end rot as well!

Baking soda is a good fix for bud mold caught early, and tobacco tea is an excellent bug killer. Hydrogen peroxide and water get the mold too!

The tannic acid in tea helps plants in soil better absorb nutes.

Listerine mouthwash is good for some plant diseases. Watered down of course.

So that's just a small sample, before you go buying chems, take a look in the kitchen or bathroom first, you may already have what you need~

GG

Edited July 16, 2007 by Granny

[MongyMan]

Conventional chemical controls for powdery mildew are only preventatives. Bicarbonates can eliminate the disease after it has already appeared provided the infection is not severe. Bicarbonates are contact fungicides, and kill powdery mildew within minutes. Sodium bicarbonate (Baking soda) is effective at controlling powdery mildew. Mix up a solution (1 half teaspoon of baking soda to one quart of water) and spray onto the infected plant.

 

Peace MongyMan

[Al B. Fuct]

Granny & MM, thanks for the hints.

 

I've tried H202 and water (5ml 50% grade H2O2 per litre) spray before- the powdery mildew just sorta shook its head and larfed at me.

 

Tried baking soda- was more effective than H2O2 but leaves a white residue all over everything. Makes it very hard to tell what's powdery mildew and what's baking soda residue.

 

Sprayed 2 days ago with 30g powdered milk in 1 litre water, added a few drops of Morning Fresh to wet the solution a bit. Bam, the PM is gone (will it work on John Howard, too? ), no residue. Will be interested to see how long the mildew is suppressed with the milk powder method. If it will keep the stuff down for more than 2 weeks, I'm a happy chappy.