Why Aren't Leaves And Vines On My Melons Developing Properly?

Do the leaves have chewed holes in them?

Do the leaves have pale green patches on them, some leaves may have already wilted and blacken?

Do the leaves have yellow patches on them and are the older leaves mottled and distorted?

Are the leaves yellow, curled and wilted?

Are the leaves mottled and yellow between veins, undersides may have purple spots?

Are the leaves yellow and puckered, becoming bronzed?

Do the leaves have powdery white spots, especially on upper surfaces?

Do the leaves have spots, blotches or brown areas on them?

Do the dark brown spots have concentric rings on them?

Are the spots yellow and turning brown?

Are the spots water-soaked and turning gray, die and drop from plants?

Are the spots on leaves and stems gray, and are there any dark, gummy stems on the plant?

Are the melon vines suddenly wilting?

Do the vines wilt at midday and do the leaves have brown margins?

Leaves with chewed holes in them often indicate Cucumber beetles. These greenish-yellow beetles with black stripes or spots often carry viruses. Use pyrethrin spray or dust on your plants to control them.

Leaves with pale green patches that later wilt and turn black are caused by Squash bugs. Adults are brownish to black and young bugs are whitish green with dark heads and legs. They lay their bright orange eggs on the undersides of leaves. Handpick adults and eggs. Place a board on the ground near plants. Lift it each morning and destroy the bugs hiding underneath.

These symptoms often indicate viral disease - Mosaic. Afflicted plants are unproductive and fruit is bitter. Remove and destroy infected plants. Control aphids as they are the most likely carriers of the mosaic virus.

Yellow, curled and wilted leaves on melons usually indicate aphids. These tiny insects vary in color, green, pink, black, gray to completely white. You can control them by washing them off the plant with water spray. Insecticidal soap or neem oil should be used with severe infestations.

These symptoms usually indicate fungal infection - Downy mildew.

Yellow and puckered melon leaves are caused by mites. These tiny, spider-like pests feed by sucking sap from the underside of the leaves. You can control spider mites by spraying plants thoroughly with water 2-3 times a day for several days. Insecticidal soap or neem oil will help keep their numbers low.

White, powdery patches on the leaves are caused by a fungal disease Powdery mildew. Powdery mildew usually appears in damp places. Encourage good air circulation around the melons by thining any surrounding plants. Keep foliage dry when watering. Affected leaves and fruits should be cut off and removed.

These symptoms usually indicate a fungal disease - Alternaria leaf blight. You can control it with sulfur spray or with fungicide. Resistant cultivars are ‘Earligold', ‘Pulsar’, and ‘Saticoy’.

These symptoms usually indicate a fungal disease - Anthracnose. You can control it with sulfur spray. Resistant cultivars are

These symptoms usually indicate one of two possible diseases - Angular leaf spot or Scab. You can control both diseases using fungicides or copper. During cool, wet weather, fungicide sprays may not be effective.

These symptoms usually indicate a disease - Gummy stem blight. You can control it by using fungicides or copper spray.

Various fungal and bacterial diseases may cause leaves with spots and blotches.

The Most probable cause for this are Squash vine borers. These fat, 1 inch long larvae burrow into stems and feed on them leaving yellow-green sawdust-like excrement. Inject stems with BTK or parasitic nematodes to control them. Prevent borers by late spring BTK spray.

Likely cause for these symptoms is a fungal disease - Fusarium wilt. There is no cure for this disease, so infected plants should be removed and destroyed as soon as possible. Don't replant new melons in that soil for at least 3 years.

If vines are wilting at midday but the leaves remain green most likely cause is a disease - Bacterial wilt. Destroy infected plants immediately. Prevent problems by controlling cucumber beetles, since they spread the disease.