I have ants constantly crawling all over my okra blossoms and after
they sprout they continue to crawl all over the okra itself. And my
okra is coming out bent and deformed. I just recently noticed a mold
or fungus starting to form on the leaves of the plant.
So, my questions are:
1. Are ants bad for okra or do they just show up if there are already
problems.
2. What is the best way to treat the mold on my okra leaves?
Thanks,
Vance Kessler
Atlanta, Georgia
Vance,
Double check to see that it's actually the ants and not aphids which are
causing the deformities. Ants will farm aphids which in turn secrete
honeydew. The mould you see is probably being caused by the honeydew.
If you do see aphids, you can knock them off the plants with a spray of your
hose or you can use soap spray to keep them under control.
Arzeena
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Vance Kessler wrote:
Vance
I am nearly sure the ants and the mould are simply symptoms and the real
problem is something you haven't spotted yet. I would expect that this
is some sort of aphid which is sucking the juices of the okra flower and
the infant fruits. When aphids suck plant juices they excrete a lot of
sweetish water which falls on the surrounding foliage and this is what
the ants and the mould are enjoying. Some ants not only come to take
advantage of the free food, they even actively "farm" aphids carrying
them to fresh pastures and so spreading the trouble.
The mould is not a disease but a little harmless one-celled organism
which lives on the sticky aphid juice without affecting the plant
tissues themselves. It can easily be wiped off leaves with a damp cloth
and leaves no marks of damage.
So what you need to do is to find the aphids and get rid of them. They
are certainly causing the distortion of your young fruits. The first
defence would be to remove as many as possible with a strong blast of
water from the hose and you could then follow this up with perhaps a
soap spray (soft or horticultural soap) to mop up the stragglers. There
has been a considerable discussion over the last week or two on this
list about various types of soap product which are suitable for this
job.
Once the aphis are gone the ants and mould should simply disappear.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
