[brewmichigan]

I am posting this hear thinking it's the best of any places.

Okay, I have one hop plant at my house (nugget), which is 3 years old this year. It came up just fine and starting growing quickly. It got to around four feet and starting looking very funny. The leaves all curled and the ends starting becoming deformed. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen this before. The only thing I can think that caused this was the mulch. My wife bought some brown colored mulch that she put down in the flower bed (my hop plant is in the flower bed). The brown colored mulch had a lot of brown coloring that came off on her gloves and pants when she was doing this. Could it have caused an issue with the hops? I decided after she put that stuff down I was not going to use the hops anyways but I still like having it grow through the summer.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JXijilHkZkejlAcw8tnMcg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DM0ngH2ZWZNyIwjYpB5DJw?feat=directlink

[hopfenundmalz]

I have a few that look that way (magnum, chinook).  It maybe the bad winter and cold wet spring?

Hope someone can say what is really the cause

[bluesman]

Looks like one of the leaves has dried up. How much water have they been getting? Are there any other plants near them? Looks like a symptom of lack of water.  

[tschmidlin]

It sounds like a virus to me.  It may have come from the mulch, but it may not.

http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-diseases-and-pests

Viruses
Symptoms become particularly common during cool periods following a period that has been favorable for hop growth.
[snip]
The side arms are shunted and vine growth is poor. Quite often the growing tip of the vines curves downward and becomes brittle and dies. As the new shoots grow this also happens to them. The leaves are dark green and curled downward. The cones may also turn brown and fail to develop.

[bluesman]

It sounds like a virus to me.  It may have come from the mulch, but it may not.

http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-diseases-and-pests

Viruses
Symptoms become particularly common during cool periods following a period that has been favorable for hop growth.
[snip]
The side arms are shunted and vine growth is poor. Quite often the growing tip of the vines curves downward and becomes brittle and dies. As the new shoots grow this also happens to them. The leaves are dark green and curled downward. The cones may also turn brown and fail to develop.

That sounds about right Tom.

[pinnah]

I have seen some plants exhibit those symptoms, some that got some herbicide overspray.

Any chance of that?  Check out this article related to aminopyralid herbicides persisting in the ground and in compost,
not sure if it could travel with mulch?

Is it still growing?

[ibru]

That leaf curling looks familiar. Take a look at the under side of the leaves. Any sign of bugs? We get a lot of mites and aphids on our trees and I know the hop growers out here spray for them.

[Slowbrew]

I have seen some plants exhibit those symptoms, some that got some herbicide overspray.

Any chance of that?  Check out this article related to aminopyralid herbicides persisting in the ground and in compost,
not sure if it could travel with mulch?

Is it still growing?

That was my first thought too.  Used to see that kind of damage on Mom's grape vines after the fields were sprayed.  In grapes herbicide over spray will make them not produce fruit too.

I can't say with any certainty as I am not an agronomist nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn and Suites last night.  8^)

Paul

[hopfenundmalz]

I looked for bugs, as that happens.  No bugs.

Water is NOT a problem here this spring.  The 4th thunderstorm of the day just rolled through.  We are way ahead of average on precipitation.

Will have to see it the plants do better if we get more warm days.  The virus thing is not so good, hope it is not that.

[phillamb168]

Before looking at the pics I figured it might be aphids like I have, but no, that's some serious deformation there. If I had to guess I'd say pesticides or some kinda soil problem, possibly? Dunno about hop sicknesses, so I can't post about that.

[brewmichigan]

Like hopfenudmalz said, rain is no issue. If anything, they've had too much water. \

The plant has seemed to stop growing. There hasn't been any growth from the tip of the plant in weeks although the leaves are growing but it's not climbing anymore.

That's the only plant I have so I can't comment on whether or not it's happening to any others. All my wifes plants look fine that are close to the hop.

[hopfenundmalz]

This is the 3rd or 4th wetest spring on record in Michigan, and we are just a few inches from the record, with more rain predicted.  It has been cool also.  I am about 30 miles from the OP.
 
Doing some reading on the Internet, it could be downy mildew.  Not what I wanted to find out that it is.  These are grown for fun, and the actual time and money that goes into it makes those the most expensive hops I brew with.  I don't like it, but not going to lose any sleep over it.

[gmwren]

Similar question was posed on another forum with hops showing a distinct upward curling. It could be the result of 2,4-D or other herbicides used in weed and feed fertilizers. Even if you were careful not to over spray, hot, humid conditions cause some herbicides to volatilize and affect your hops from some distance. This is the first year mine didn't curl as I applied the weed and feed stuff much earlier this spring.

[hopfenundmalz]

Similar question was posed on another forum with hops showing a distinct upward curling. It could be the result of 2,4-D or other herbicides used in weed and feed fertilizers. Even if you were careful not to over spray, hot, humid conditions cause some herbicides to volatilize and affect your hops from some distance. This is the first year mine didn't curl as I applied the weed and feed stuff much earlier this spring.

That could be a cause, but it has not been hot here.  Good to know and will take care with any herbicides.  The ones with the worst signs of this are closest to the grass, so maybe the turfbuilder had some influence - but that has been used in past years.

[brewmichigan]

Similar question was posed on another forum with hops showing a distinct upward curling. It could be the result of 2,4-D or other herbicides used in weed and feed fertilizers. Even if you were careful not to over spray, hot, humid conditions cause some herbicides to volatilize and affect your hops from some distance. This is the first year mine didn't curl as I applied the weed and feed stuff much earlier this spring.

I hadn't thought about that but my neighbor sprayed his lawn with weed killer not long before this happened. I wonder if the wind could have carried over into my lawn and near the plants. I'm only 15 feet away from his yard.