Jack1000 wrote:

The damage was done
below the surface of the soil. It looked like the outer layer of the below
ground part of the stem was missing maybe eaten off, or could it be that
the damage was caused by the vast amount of rain we have had in Brooklyn,
NY? Anybody else have this kind of problem?

Jack

Jack,
To my un-trained senses, it sounds like nematodes.

Bill
--
I do not post my address to news groups.