MIRLITON.ORG

MIRLITON.ORG

Mirliton Water Uptake Root Diagram

by | Apr 17, 2024 | ,

Mirliton Root Structure: The roots extend about 12” deep. This diagram shows water uptake in increments of 4″. 

As you can see, 70% of the water uptake occurs in the top 8″.  

This is why, if you are doing a ground planting, you will need a metal soil sampler that can penetrate the soil down 8′ to get a useful core sample. (A bamboo stake as a moisture gauge will do if you have a raised bed filled with porous potting or garden soil, since bamboo can easily penetrate it)

And here’s a correction to my previous writings based on new information I have learned about mirliton root structure and moisture uptake: Although mirlitons have a few long, superficial roots a few inches below the soil surface that can extend laterally for up to 6 feet, they only take up a small percentage of the available moisture and nutrients. Most of the soil moisture uptake occurs within a few feet of the plant base.

This correction means it is possible to grow a healthy vine in an area smaller than 12 feet in diameter or 6 feet in length. A raised bed that’s the standard 3′ x 6′ is adequate, but it will still need to be at least 3′ deep to avoid excessive soil saturation and waterlogging.

A first-year mirliton that was excavated with the roots intact. The roots were more spread out horizontally in the soil, so they are not as deep in the soil as they appear in the steps.

_________________

How To Grow a Mirliton in a Container on the Gulf Coast

by | Apr 1, 2024 | ,

Many people don’t have access to yard space, so they are attempting to grow mirlitons in containers. That’s difficult to do along the Gulf Coast–but not impossible. In 2020, James Cobb in Houma, Louisiana, was the first person I knew of who grew a mirliton to fruition in the state. In 2023, Bonnie Landry Palumbo and her husband Butch also successfully got mirlitons to set fruit in pictured 22 ½ -gallon containers in Jeanerette, Louisiana.  I don’t know anyone else in Louisiana who has grown one in a container, though it’s a common way to grow them in drier climates like the West Coast. 

The difficulty in our region is that intensive rains saturate containers, and droughts dehydrate them, and this stress disrupts flowering and fruiting. The solution is to use a large enough container to moderate the wide fluctuations in soil moisture. Bonnie and Butch did that by dividing 55-gallon containers into two 22 ½ -gallon ones. (If you don’t have a 55-gallon container handy, I would recommend the 40-gallon oval Tuff Stuff tub at Tractor Supply.)

Some people are experimenting with fabric grow bags. The principal challenge is that they tend to dry out quickly and the soil moisture fluctuations disrupt flowering and fruiting.  Some growers have tried to remedy that with wicking and automatic watering systems.

The Palumbos used the “Miss Clara” certified mirliton variety. They proved that you don’t need a yard to grow mirlitons; it will be difficult–but not impossible. You can grow them on a patio, driveway, or balcony. You can use a vertical trellis if you don’t have space for a horizontal. The container has to be at least 22 ½ gallons, relatively shallow and raised a few inches off the ground to ensure drainage. You will need a soil sampler to closely monitor soil moisture.  

 

Corking: Another way to Verify You are Getting An Authentic Heirloom Mirliton

by | Mar 28, 2024 | , ,

Did you ever notice the brown lines on some mature mirlitons? They’re a fairly reliable way of knowing if the mirliton is a locally grown Louisiana heirloom. Dr. Jorge Cadena Iñiguez, a leading world expert on chayote (mirlitons), recommends we use the term Corking or Cork lines for the brown, cork-like lines that sometimes appear on the skin surface of mirlitons.

 

Corking in mirlitons is a form of “lignification” and is composed of lignin, the same substance that comprises bark cell walls. It probably develops to protect the fruit from pests and disease. What is important for us is that only mature mirlitons develop cork. So, if someone is selling or gifting a mirliton with cork lines, it was probably locally grown. (Imported chayote is never left on the vine long enough to develop cork lines.)

 

 Not all locally grown mirlitons will have cork lines; they may have been picked fresh off the vine. But if you see corking, it’s another reason to believe it’s an authentic Louisiana Heirloom mirliton.

Made In the Shade: Shade Cloths Protect Mirlitons and Increase your Harvest!

by | Mar 12, 2024 | ,

 

I used to believe that mirlitons could be grown in full sun.  Not anymore.  Intensive heat waves in the last few summers destroyed most vines that had been grown in full sun.  The only ones that survived were in natural shade or had shade cloths.  We learned the hard way that mirlitons need partial shade when the heat is prolonged above 93 degrees.  That, along with substantial ground irrigation, can get us through another Heat Dome or intensive heat wave. 

We also discovered that shade cloths may increase the amount of fruit that the vine produces! Not only does shade protect the vine from solar radiation and make it healthier, but it also makes it more bountiful. 

Build your trellis so you can easily mount a shade cloth over the vine.  

It can be thrown over the vine or mounted over it. Shade cloths come in different shading percentages, and we recommend 40% cloth with grommets so it does not blow away. They are available on Amazon and at most big-box stores.  Shop around online to find one that will last for years. An Amazon link is here.

Mount the shade cloth at least 24″ above the main trellis so that the vine can still grow unimpeded.

Shade cloths are only for extreme weather events. You won’t need it unless there is a heatwave with temperatures above 93° for several consecutive days. Too much shade, especially in the spring and early summer, can be detrimental to the vine. The leaves need sunlight for photosynthesis, which provides energy for the plant. Sunlight is a natural fungicide that prevents some plant diseases. Moreover, full sun also dries and hardens the leaves, making it more difficult for the fungi that cause powdery mildew and anthracnose to get a foothold on the vine.

Preventing Cross-Pollination in Mirliton Varieties

by | Feb 18, 2024 | ,

There are no scientific studies on cross-pollination in mirlliton varieties, so we can’t speak with any certainty about the chances of cross-pollination. Mirlitons are self-pollinating plants and are primarily pollinated by bees.  Honey bees are systematic foragers; they will focus on one plant until they have collected all the nectar.  That means they are less likely to carry pollen from another plant, thus reducing the risk of cross-pollination. 

Because of this, generally, you can grow two different varieties with little risk of cross-pollination. If you grow only one variety at a time, you will have even less risk. But if you want to ensure that the offspring of a plant will be true-to-type, there is a simple way to do that: controlled pollination.

Using controlled pollination will guarantee that the specific fruit you picked from your vine will grow the same variety. Click here to see how to do it. 

 

Mirliton Seed Online Store

by | Dec 24, 2023 |

 

Lee Flynn created and manages the Mirliton Seed Online Store, which she does as a volunteer. The store sells only certified Louisiana Heirloom Mirlitons. They are sold at cost, depending on the price that the grower charges (some are donated). Mirlitons are only available in season, and the quantity per order is limited so that everyone can obtain one. If we are out of stock, you will be put on a waiting list and be notified immediately when available.  Click here for the store. 

Additionally, people advertise heirloom mirlitons when they are in season (Spring and Fall) on our Mirliton.Org Facebook Group.

 

Frost Protection

by | Oct 30, 2023 | ,

Frost Protection

There is a possibility of a damaging frost whenever the temperature drops below 38 degrees. You can protect your mirliton with either a minimum or maximum plan.

Minimum plan: Tent the vine the day before with a tarp or 6-mil plastic cover. A FEMA tarp will work well. Weight down the edges of the tarp with bricks (you are trying to trap the heat from the soil inside the enclosure). This will raise the temperature a few degrees and may avert the frost. (This will also work to prevent “cold damage,” which can occur when the temperatures drop into the low 40s. Read about cold damage here.)

Maximum plan: Add heat to the tent. You will need an extension cord and a small space heater. A space heater will raise the tent’s internal temperature several degrees, which will protect the vine if temperatures dip to 32 degrees. There are also portable gas heaters.  Buy a remote thermometer and place the sending unit in the tent enclosure and you will be able to see exactly what the internal temperature is. Remote thermometers will permit you to see what the temperature is in the tented trellis from the comfort of your home. They are the best defense against a freeze–and cost only
$20. Buy it here.

Rethinking The Mirliton Planting Schedule: Winter Vines and Summer Shade

Rethinking The Mirliton Planting Schedule: Winter Vines and Summer Shade

by | Oct 17, 2023 | ,


The Louisiana Mirliton Two-Step
Because of increased extreme weather events like Heat Domes and frequent hurricanes, we need to think entirely differently about when and how to grow mirlitons. We have two chances at a mirliton crop: Spring and Fall. We need to especially take advantage of our cool months, October through May.

Step One
Plant your mirliton seed or container plant in the fall and build a trellis for the vine to grow on all winter. When necessary, temporarily cover it with 4-mil plastic and warm it with a portable heater to protect it on frost/freeze days. By the following spring, the vine will have a large canopy to support flowering–and you will get a spring crop.

Step Two
To help your vine get through the summer, use the same trellis to support a 30% shade cloth to shade the vine from June through August, if necessary. That will give you a a good chance at another crop in the Fall

10’ X 25’ 4-mil plastic sheets

Space Heater

Shade Cloth

Remote Thermometer for Enclosure

How to Hand-Pollinate Mirlitons

How to Hand-Pollinate Mirlitons

by | Apr 30, 2023 | ,

Sometimes bees and other pollinators are not doing their job, and you want to ensure that your female flowers are pollinated. Gardeners are often advised to remove male flowers and apply them to the females. But this destroys the male nectar, which attracts pollinators. Instead, the simplest way is to hand-pollinate with a slender artist’s brush with dark horse hair bristles (the nylon brushes won’t work). The bristles make it clear that you have collected yellow pollen from the males. Using a brush means you do not destroy the males and can return to them for additional pollen.

Click here to see how to do it.

Identifying and Managing Anthracnose in Mirlitons (Chayote)

by | Apr 23, 2023 | ,

Sudden wilt and dead leaves caused by anthracnose.

Anthracnose is a summer disease caused by many fungi, but the pathogen that affects mirlitons is Colletotrichum orbiculare. For the purposes of this article, I will call Colletotrichum orbiculare the “anthracnose fungus. It is a chronic problem with mirlitons, and it’s the main reason plants die in the first year. There is no known synthetic or biological fungicide that can prevent or eradicate anthracnose in mirlitons, although Mirliton.Org is testing some new biofungicides.

But anthracnose is like a sprained ankle; you can’t prevent it or take a pill to cure it, but you can minimize the risk of getting it and speed up the healing process.

Anthracnose and powdery mildew (PM) are fungal diseases that start with a common sign: leaf yellowing (chlorosis). It’s important to recognize the difference because powdery mildew can be treated, while anthracnose can’t. The PM fungus spreads on the surface of leaves, initially as faded yellow dots and then yellows the whole leaf until it wilts and dies. 

Anthracnose, in contrast, grows inside the leaf cells and spreads cell-to-cell (intercellularly), so it tends to spread between the leaf veins and form sharp wedges. It kills the tissue within the wedge, spreading across to the whole leaf, so you will see both yellow and brown tissue in the same wedge photo.

The anthracnose fungus also penetrates the stems, leaving brown lesions on the surface that emit a gummy exudate–another distinctive of the disease.  Once inside the stem, it blocks the flow of water and nutrients downstream to the rest of the plant. The “girding” process is why you will see a sudden wilt and death of a stem branch.  Brown stem lesions and sudden wilting are key signs that the vine has an anthracose infection.

Anthracnose lesion with gummy exudate on the stem.

Mirlitons tend to experience anthracnose epidemics in July and August due to rainfall patterns. Intensive rains splash up anthracnose fungi from the ground onto the plant stem. The fungus incubates during warm nights and produces thousands of spores that are contained in a sticky base. Rainstorms dissolve the sticky film, which releases the spores. Then, raindrops splash the spores to adjacent leaves, and that’s why anthracnose epidemics occur during the hot, rainy season.

The good news is that for every stem lost, a healthy, usually a mature vine, will send up a new shoot. It is a tug-of-war with the disease through the summer, but generally, the disease will disappear by September in time for flowering and fruiting. Additionally, once infected, that mirliton plant will acquire increased resistance to anthracnose every time it gets the disease. So, if your vine develops anthracnose this year, it is less likely to develop it next year. However, first-year plants are more vulnerable and can die from the disease.

The key to surviving an anthracnose epidemic is to have a healthy vine in place before the epidemic. That means a well-drained and aerated vine. When the soil is water-saturated and oxygen is unavailable in the root zone, plants undergo dramatic changes to survive. They are literally in anoxic soil, similar to the dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. They shift from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, resulting in only 5% of the energy efficiency found in healthy, aerated soil. 

As a consequence, they produce toxic organic and inorganic compounds and deprive leaves of potassium, a crucial element for maintaining leaf functions. After 24-48 hours, the roots have been damaged, making it more difficult for them to uptake water and nutrients. Leaf functions are weakened, and the whole plant is vulnerable to anthracnose and other diseases–and will reduce vegetative growth and fruiting.

The challenge for us is that, unlike most of the U.S.A., well-drained soil is difficult to find along the Gulf Coast. Most of the suburbs and many new developments were built on reclaimed swamps that were filled with soil from local rivers. That soil was never intended for agricultural use, and it drains poorly, has a high water table, and intense rains can quickly saturate the soil, leaving it anoxic. 

So, drainage is a key factor in disease prevention.

Solutions: The most reliable way to prevent anthracnose is to protect the roots. 

Ground Planting:
Make sure the soil is well-drained and aerated. Plant on your highest available area, use planting hills, and avoid planting near roofs. Plant near a tree if you have one; trees are natural sponges and tend to stabilize soil moisture. If you already have the vine planted, you can dig shallow drainage trenches to remove excess rainfall away from the vine or add a corrugated drain pipe or a French drain.

Raised-bed Planting:
Raised beds are particularly vulnerable to anthracnose and should be avoided if possible. Remember that a raised bed can’t drain into a saturated yard, so you need to construct a bed that will permit excess rainfall to escape laterally through the sides. Add a lateral route for excess water to exit above ground level by drilling 1/4 “ holes along the side panels.

Play the Odds:
Raising one mirliton is tricky, but raising several increases the odds that you will make it through the first year. Mirlitons acquire resistance to some plant diseases over time, so there is a benefit to keeping a plant alive for several years. 

Summary:
For now, the best protection against anthracnose is (1) to use only locally grown heirloom mirlitons for seed since they are likely to have some resistance to anthracnose; (2) plant in well-drained, aerated sites; (3) provide plenty of trellis space so leaves on top can spread out and get maximum exposure to the sun (a natural fungicide) and air circulation; (4) minimize leaf/soil contact by using an overhead horizontal trellis at least 4 feet above the soil; (5) remove all dead leaves after an anthracnose infection and dipose of them in a plastic bag;  and (6) always irrigate gently with a hose set on low on the surface or drip irrigation to prevent splash-up of soil-borne fungi. Do not water mirlitons from the top down. Once leaves and stems are brown and dead, remove them and dispose of them away from the vine.

We are testing a new biofungicide, Timorex Act, and will report on our findings when the trials are complete

Click here to learn the signs of anthracnose.

 How the anthracnose fungus works: 

Colletotrichum orbiculare is a versatile fungus because it feeds on all kinds of tissue–living or dead.  The scientific terms for its mode of parasitic activity are biotrophic, saprotrophic, and necrotrophic, which simply mean it can live off living tissue, dead tissue, or both.

Understanding necrotrophic helps diagnose anthracnose. This means the fungal pathogen will destroy a section of the leaf, turning it yellow, and then consume the remaining section until it is brown (necrotic), effectively eating a hole through the plant. The brown spot on the leaf or on the edges is a reliable indicator of anthracnose. PM, in contrast, is an airborne spore that can deposit at the top of a plant and is not as versatile; normally, the leaf will simply uniformly turn yellow and wilt before dying (necrotic), with paper-like spots and holes appearing. 

Click here to see photos of anthracnose infection signs on leaves and stems at different stages (click on each photo for descriptions)
Click here for information on identifying and managing powdery mildew.

Click here to see all posts in Mirliton’s Blog

Recent Posts

Mirliton Water Uptake Root Diagram

Apr 17, 2024

Mirliton Root Structure: The roots extend about 12” deep. This diagram shows water uptake in increments of 4".  As you can see, 70% of the water uptake occurs in the top 8".   This is why, if you are doing a ground planting, you will need a metal soil...

How To Grow a Mirliton in a Container on the Gulf Coast

Apr 1, 2024

Many people don’t have access to yard space, so they are attempting to grow mirlitons in containers. That’s difficult to do along the Gulf Coast--but not impossible. In 2020, James Cobb in Houma, Louisiana, was the first person I knew of who grew a mirliton to...

Preventing Cross-Pollination in Mirliton Varieties

Feb 18, 2024

There are no scientific studies on cross-pollination in mirlliton varieties, so we can't speak with any certainty about the chances of cross-pollination. Mirlitons are self-pollinating plants and are primarily pollinated by bees.  Honey bees are systematic foragers;...

Mirliton Seed Online Store

Dec 24, 2023

  Lee Flynn created and manages the Mirliton Seed Online Store, which she does as a volunteer. The store sells only certified Louisiana Heirloom Mirlitons. They are sold at cost, depending on the price that the grower charges (some are donated). Mirlitons are...

Frost Protection

Oct 30, 2023

Frost Protection There is a possibility of a damaging frost whenever the temperature drops below 38 degrees. You can protect your mirliton with either a minimum or maximum plan. Minimum plan: Tent the vine the day before with a tarp or 6-mil plastic cover. A FEMA tarp...

How to Hand-Pollinate Mirlitons

Apr 30, 2023

Sometimes bees and other pollinators are not doing their job, and you want to ensure that your female flowers are pollinated. Gardeners are often advised to remove male flowers and apply them to the females. But this destroys the male nectar, which attracts...

Identifying and Managing Anthracnose in Mirlitons (Chayote)

Apr 23, 2023

Anthracnose is a summer disease caused by many fungi, but the pathogen that affects mirlitons is Colletotrichum orbiculare. For the purposes of this article, I will call Colletotrichum orbiculare the “anthracnose fungus. It is a chronic problem with mirlitons, and...