Disease

Bacterial wilt

Cucumber and melon vines wilt suddenly and die, from bacteria spread by cucumber beetles; tomatoes get a soil-borne kind.

What you'll see

• Single leaves wilt first, then whole vines; they may perk up overnight but wilt again and die within 1 to 2 weeks.
• Cut a wilted stem, touch the cut ends together and pull them apart: fine, sticky strands mean bacterial wilt.
• Tomatoes and peppers in warm regions wilt in the afternoon, recover at night, then wilt for good; a cut stem in water streams milky ooze.

Why it happens

On cucumbers and melons, the bacteria live in cucumber beetles and enter through their feeding wounds. On tomatoes and their relatives, a different soil-borne bacterium enters roots through small wounds. Both clog the plant's water-carrying vessels.

How to fix it

1. There is no cure: pull up wilted plants, roots and all, and remove them from the garden.
2. Control cucumber beetles from the day seedlings come up; one beetle can infect a whole plant.
3. Cover young cucumbers and melons with floating row cover until they flower.
4. Wash your hands and tools after handling infected plants.

Keep it from coming back

• Grow cucumber varieties bred to resist bacterial wilt or beetle feeding.
• Clear weeds and plant debris at the end of the season, where beetles spend the winter.
• For tomatoes in warm regions, buy healthy transplants and keep weeds down, since weeds can host the bacterium.

Sources

• University of Maryland Extension: Bacterial wilt of vegetables
• University of Maryland Extension: Striped cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt
• University of Maryland Extension: Southern bacterial wilt of tomato found

General guidance, not a diagnosis. For valuable, edible or outdoor crops, check with a local extension service or plant expert. Use any product exactly as its label says, and keep children and pets away while it dries.