Hop Plant Owners!

[Tom]

Hop plant owners.

If your hop plant isn't really taking off already, for example the buds are still at ground level, check the soil for Vine Weevil larvae. These small white grubs, about the size of a two cent coin, eat through the roots around the main plant, and leave your plant struggling to grow. I found 25 in one pot. One is too many.

The pictures below are of the larvae and of the damage that they do. They leave behind a light orange sawdust, and severed rhizomes.

To check your hop:
1 - give the stump a wiggle. If it's loose then you probably have a problem.
2 - Dig around the plant. It won't mind. It knows it's for the greater good. They're really easy to spot, bright white against the soil. They will mostly be within the top inch or two (deeper if you mulched like a good boy/girl).
3 - If you find any, do your best to dig around the whole plant where the soil feels loose and pick them all out. Destroy them by squashing or drowning.
4 - While you're there, pick out anything else that isn't a worm. Leatherjackets (weird fleshy brown tubes, the larvae of Daddy Long Legs), slugs and millipedes (the black ones).
5 - check the soil before you put any back, or better still, replace it with fresh compost.

Do it now while the hop is still feeding on it's rootstock. Don't worry about little white roots.

Fundamental critter rule: If it's slow, it's got to go. If it's fast, ... something something last.

It's April 4th, and most of my hop plants are putting out bull-shoots and several other smaller shoots, so the ones that are struggling are pretty conspicuous in their sluggishness. Check them or you'll get no hops.




Don't worry about Goldings hops just yet, they start growing a little late.

[Tom]

Incidentally, this is slug damage:

[LordEoin]

That's a fine haul of grubs Tom. jackpot! How do they taste? 

[Tom]

Hehe! SPEW!

[Will_D]

Cheers Tom, Great Post.

[Tom]

Sorry, they're Vine Weevil larvae. My bad. OP has been modified.

Kill at will any vine weevils you see this summer.

[Beerbuddha]

Cheers fir the warning I just checked and found some fat greyish larvae feeding.

[Will_D]

Cheers fir the warning I just checked and found some fat greyish larvae feeding.

There is an organic answer to vine weevil grubs man!

Put on your best tie-died hippie shirt, purple shades etc and get thee to the garden centre and buy some nematoads!

Seriously these are dormant parasitic worms that love to eat vine weevils! You add them to the watering can and then water them over the pots/beds.

BTW: Vine weevils don't just eat vines or bines but most underground plant bits

[Tom]

Cheers, Will. I'm going to see how the plants get on, and probably introduce nematodes in late summer, when the larvae are at their weakest.

The hops seem to have perked up a bit, anyway.

[Danny(00833827)]

thanks for the heads up

[Tom]

Here's a good resource.

http://www.gardenforumhorticulture.co.uk/pestwatch/vine-weevil.htm

Just picked out another handful. 

[Tom]

Just giving this a BUMP!

It's April, and the hops are showing signs of life. If they're in pots they are prone to Vine Weevile larvae infestation. Over the winter the little grubs, if they're present, will have been feeding on your beautiful hop rhizomes, severing them from the crown of the plant. This leaves the crown with no food stores, and shortly after sprouting it will wilt and die.

Have a feel under the surface near the stem, or pick the rootball out of the pot. If you see a redish sawdust, the crown feels loose in the pot, or you see the actual larvae (see OP), then you can treat the problem with Nematodes. You'll need nematodes specific to Vine Weevil Larvae.

If your hops are in the ground, or they're in the mail, you won't have a problem. But if, like me, you grow hops in pots in your yard, it's well worth considering getting a packet of Nematodes for the price of a Cascade Rhizome, delivered.

Happy hop growing!