Hello,
I'm trying to grow gourds. It is ideal conditions right now, still warm and rain hanging around. The ones I planted last september died in the heat and the dry. The 2 gourds on the vines were stung by an insect and shrivelled up. Anyway, that is my main concern right now. The vines are tearing away and look lovely. But I have seen quite a few of the kinds of insects that ruined those gourds. They are orange and black, something about the size of an average fly but skinnier and flatter on top. I am no entymologist as you can tell but am hoping there is an aussie one out there! Also, most of the flowers have little grubs in them, about the size of a small waxmoth grub and green or white. A lot of the flowers are turning brown and falling off. They are also crawling on the gourds that are growing and are marking them. I was advised to use the non surface insect spray in the evening. Naturally I am hesitant about insecticides but I haven't seen a bee around. I gave them one dose, but the grubs were back 2 days later. The flowers are opening late, a couple of hours before dark. There are also bugs like large ladybirds with tiny spots but they only seem to be eating the leaves. Are there any suggestions on a safe kind of spray that could help? I am not sure what is pollinating the female flowers. I am trying to do this manually. Can someone please give me tips on the best method to do this in case I am not doing it right? There are a couple of gourds managing to grow despite the troubles, so I hope I can get examples of the four or five varieties I planted.
Lone