Vicki and others,
With no disrespect intended to the person inquiring about this, I suspect
this idea is a myth. Powdery mildew is a leaf pathogen disseminated via
airborne spores. I can't imagine what applying something to the base of the
plant would do to prevent it unless it is providing something that the plant
is taking up through its roots. The most likely component I can imagine a
corn based chicken feed having in it that would prevent powdery mildew is
fungicide, which might be used too prevent Aspergillus from contaminating
the corn. Aspergillus fungus can be a problem in corn feed since it makes
alfatoxins which can limit poultry development. An organic feed should not
have fungicides in it. Using chicken feed which isn't organic as a disease
control on organic crops is a questionable practice, and may even be grounds
for decertification.
If organic chicken feed is being used, I suspect one of a few things is
happening: the disease is being misdiagnosed as powdery mildew; the
observation of disease control is coincidental, not an effect of the
treatment; the feed is covering up a source of innoculum such as plant
material from a previous crop; or the feed is acting as a fertilizer. Both
calcium and phosphorus can improve disease resistance in plants, and chicken
feed can have both. Phytase (phosphorus) is a common supplement in chicken
feed and I suspect (but don't know for sure) that there are some forms which
are allowed in organic feed. If this is actually what is happening, it
would probably be cheaper and easier to deal with the phosphorus deficiency
by using an organic fertilizer that has a lot of it in an available form, or
improving phosphorus availability by adjusting soil PH or encouraging
beneficial organisms such as mycorrhizae which help the plant take it up.
If I am incorrect about this, I would love to know what the product is and
how it works. PM is an increasingly common and destructive pathogen. It is
also important to recognize that it is usually host specific, meaning if you
have powdery mildew in your squash and your raspberries, they are almost
certainly different forms of the pathogen, and are not transferable from one
plant to the other.
Hope this helps.
Taylor
Vicki Morrone writes:
> Dear Readers (those who farm/garden especially)
>
>
>
> Are any of you familiar with a treatment to prevent powdery mildew by
> applying a corn based chicken feed to the soil near the plants? We at
> MSU recd this query and cannot find or have heard of such info. Do any
> of you have info about this topic or something similar?
>
> Thanks for any answers. To share with everyone hit "reply all" to share
> with just Vicki please hit "reply"
>
>
>
> Vicki
>
>
>
> Vicki Morrone
>
> Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
>
> Michigan State University
>
> C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
>
> 303 Natural Resources Bldg.
>
> East Lansing, MI 48824
>
> 517-353-3542
>
> 517-282-3557 (cell)
>
> 517-353-3834 (fax)
>
> http://safs.msu.edu/
>
> http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar
> http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html
>
If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar
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