I Love To Grow!

[Quillback]

Some of my summer squash plants, the leaves get a lot of brown spots, then the leaves shrivel up and die, I thought it might be squash bugs but I don't see any around. Anyone have any ideas what is doing this to the squash?

[Trav]

Sounds like the same thing that is rotting reds tomatoes, too much water and poor drainage. In the case of the squash though you should be alright as long as the flowers arent affected.

[zander]

After grad school, I worked for Oklahoma State University dept of entomology and plant pathology on CYVD (cucurbit yellow vine disease). It is transmitted by squash bugs, but with this disease the plant is doing fine, then starts to yellow a little bit, and then totally collapses like someone totally deflated it. It is pretty fast. I doesn't sound like this is the disease, with the small brown patches you are looking at localized areas of necrosis which could be caused by some bacteria or by some fungi. I sure there is an extension agent somewhere around here that could ID it for you or send it off to the plant path lab to ID. The lab at OSU would get leaf samples in all of the time they would ID.

[patfish]

Whoa Zander! That is some serious science stuff. Nice! I knew this site would have some very good knowledge to pass around. This is going to be a good garden year.

[Trav]

How about those squash!

[patfish]

Right on Trav!