QUE: Pumpkin problems

Jul 24, 2003 2 Replies
E

I have several thriving pumpkin vines. No mildew or other disease or parasite problems. I have one fruit that has formed which you can practically watch as it grows. I have many female flowers which begin to form (with the fruit at the base) but before the flower actually opens, the fruit shrivels up and dies. I have read materials which say that a lack of pollination is the cause for withered fruit and that manual pollination would be the work-around. However, does this apply if the female flowers haven't even opened yet? How does one pollinate a flower if it isn't ready yet? Also, could there be another issue which is causing the withering fruit?



Thanks in advance.


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P

The vines will abort the female flowers if they are unable to support the fruit. This will happen before the flowers even open. Usually this happens after some number of fruit are set on the vines, which depends on the species and variety (and particularly, size) of the fruit. Mini-pumpkins can set dozens of fruit per vine. The big jack o'lanterns, will set maybe 1 or 2.

Not quite enough sun, not quite enough of some nutrient (or nutrients way out of balance) and you can get healthy looking leaves and vines but no fruit.

Sometimes I get vines starting in my compost pile which look fairly healthy but there is too much shade there for them to grow any fruit.

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A

I am in the same boat. So, if you continually trim most of the fruits off of the vine save a few, those few should logically produce? I assume that trimming the vine wouldn't help because the stem and leaves are what produce the energy for the fruits.

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Pat Kiewicz wrote:

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