QUESTION: I’m having trouble with two of my rhubarb plants. I lost two others last year in the same way. I tried eco-fungicide combined with Seasol, followed by a dose of Popul8 a couple of weeks later. I also applied liquid potash to boost plant health, but all to no avail. When I removed the dead crowns and rootballs, I found 7–8 curl grubs residing in each rootball, leading me to suspect they had caused damage to the plants. I also noticed the deterioration began after a very hot day, so I’m unsure if the leaves wilted due to the heat. Do you have any thoughts on what might be causing this? I’d really like to avoid a repeat of last year, if possible.
WAYNE H., KIAMA DOWNS, NSW
ANSWER: This is indeed an interesting conundrum, but you’ve touched on the answers. Firstly, it’s not a fungal problem as it might initially seem. Curl grubs can be challenging to control on edibles, but eco-oil is registered for such use in New Zealand and the USA.
You may also like to try growing your plants under a shadecloth. I recently filmed an organic gardener who swore by sheltering his rhubarb from direct sunlight with shadecloth. His crop was sensational, with deep red stems.
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