Subject: blight on grapes

From: [email-masked] (Ken Leonard)
Date: 7 Sep 93 12:56:16 GMT

Howdy...

Well, I mostly got the blight (I think its fungus, but it may be bacterial)
under control this season, and the vines are now in attack mode-- lots
of big clusters of fat berries.

But--what it took to do the trick was Bordeaux Mix, and I may have oversoaked
them or it may have been too strong.  Many of the grapes, at their lowest point
where a water drop would hang, have a little burned-looking patch on the skin.
It's cosmetically unfit for market (but I have the luxury of just growing for
my family table) and less than great even knowing that it's harmless.

I used Bordeaux Mix from powder, mixed and strained and sprayed, mixed
to waht the package called "standard" 8-8-100 strength.

I cn't find a reliable looking schedule for spraying the B-Mix.  NOr
a reliable looking recommendation of strength to use.

BTW -- i have too many muncie-critters to do the "purely organic" route,
but I don't spray much--  I use a multi-agent insecticide when the
new leaves are still just feathers, and as soon as the blossom clusters
are mostly visible but long before they open --I use the B-Mix this year,
and Japanese Beetle traps.

I collec Mantis egg cases in fall and park them in the unheated shed until
early spring -- then put them in a couple pines I never spray near the grape
and berry rows -- then move them into the rows after the last Insecticide spray

But waht I need is a good how-to-do about this grape blight

Any good ideas or referrals will be greatly appreciated.

-------------------------------
Thanx and Regardz,
Ken Leonard, Glen Moore, PA

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From: [email-masked] (Don Christie)
Date: 8 Sep 93 17:10:07 GMT

>of big clusters of fat berries.

mmm sounds good!

>my family table) and less than great even knowing that it's harmless.

Bordeaux mixture is made from copper sulfate and lime... copper salts aren't
exactly harmless, in fact, they're quite toxic. 

Don
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