Why does a pumpkin rot in the garden, what to do about this problem and how to prevent its occurrence

Pumpkin is a healthy product used in preparing dishes in many countries. This vegetable is one of the most popular in the garden due to its unpretentiousness and long shelf life. However, despite the fact that the crop is easy to care for, gardeners are often faced with the problem of spoilage of fruits in the garden.

Why does a pumpkin rot in the garden, how can this problem be solved, what nuances should be taken into account when growing this culture - you will learn all this from our article.

How to detect the problem

The apparent integrity of the fetus can be deceptive. Even minor dents and darkening can indicate the onset of rot. Often, pumpkin damage is a consequence of disease. To correctly determine the source of the problem, you need to pay attention to the stem and foliage of the plant.

Often the pumpkin begins to rot in high humidity. After prolonged rains, you should go around all the beds and check the fruits for damage.

Possible reasons

The quality and quantity of the harvest is affected by plant health, pollination, arrangement of beds and watering.

Diseases

The following diseases cause pumpkin rotting:

• white rot;
• olive mold;
• Alternaria blight;
• bacteriosis

In addition to diseases, the fruit can also rot due to care errors.

Pumpkin is not pollinated

Pumpkin flowering begins 50–55 days after the first shoots appear. Male flowers appear first, and female flowers appear after 7–10 days.

The ovaries may begin to rot in cold, damp weather.Pollination of plants is carried out by different groups of insects. Due to constant rains or strong winds, insects cannot get close to the flower and pollinate it. Even with partial pollination, there is a high probability that the ovary will fall off along with the corolla of the flower.

Watering too often

Pumpkins need water to grow well. The crop pumps out all the moisture from the soil and evaporates it through the leaves. However, abundant watering does not always benefit plants.

Pumpkin does not like waterlogged soil. To protect it from diseases, you need to follow a watering schedule. Excess moisture is especially dangerous during the rainy season, when large, already formed fruits lie on the beds.

Planting density

Pumpkin may rot due to excessively dense beds. The fruits of bush varieties may suffer due to the abundance of ovaries.

What to do to prevent the pumpkin from rotting

If one pumpkin begins to rot, you can save the rest of the crop. Once the source of the problem is determined, you must immediately begin to eliminate it.

Artificial pollination

If the problem of ovary rotting lies in the absence of insects, pollination is carried out independently. The morning of a dry, warm day is suitable for the procedure.

Procedure:

1. Find male flowers. They can be identified by long pedicels with several stamens.
2. Use tweezers to remove the petals.
3. Press the tops of the stamens against the protruding part of the pistil of the female flower.

Moderate watering

Pumpkin needs abundant watering during the period of mass flowering and fruit formation. The plant is watered at the root with warm water that has been left in the sun. Its temperature should not be lower than +20 °C. Seedlings watered with cold water may die.

Watering must be alternated with loosening the soil near the base of the stem.To prevent the pumpkin from rotting, you should take into account the plant's needs during different periods of growth.

Pumpkin watering schedule:

• the plant is watered abundantly 1-2 times until the first loosening and hilling;
• the second watering is carried out after 2-3 weeks;
• as soon as female flowers appear, the pumpkin is watered every 7–10 days;
• in August the number of procedures is reduced;
• The last watering is done 20–25 days before harvest.

Important! During the entire growing season, the plant is watered 5 to 10 times.

Arrangement of beds

You can avoid excessive watering if you arrange the beds correctly. Gardeners who frequently water their plants make large beds - at least three meters wide.

In regions with heavy rainfall, the height of the beds plays an important role. The higher they are, the more the pumpkin will be protected from rotting. This trick allows you to harvest an early harvest even in a rainy, cold summer.

The distance between climbing pumpkin varieties should be at least 150–300 cm. Between bushes, the distance is reduced to 70–100 cm.

Bush varieties do not require shaping. However, for better penetration of air and light, it is better to remove the excess ovary, leaving 3-4 fruits on one plant.

Plants grown on open ground, need pinching. The first procedure is carried out in July, when 1-2 ovaries with a diameter of 10 cm have already formed on the pumpkin. The larger the pumpkins, the fewer of them should remain in the garden after pinching.

Idle and empty shoots must be cut out, leaving side shoots, the length of which should not exceed 50 cm.

What to do with affected fruits

Rotten vegetables are dangerous to human health. Heat treatment is not capable of neutralizing the waste products of fungi.Eating even slightly rotten pumpkin can result in poisoning, affecting the kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system.

If only the upper hard shell is damaged and the flesh is not damaged, you can cut off the rotten area. However, the risk factor should be taken into account when consuming such a vegetable, so it is better to process it thermally.

Rotten pumpkin is suitable for composting. The most damaged parts of the fruit should be cut off and the rest used for processing.

Preventive measures

In many ways pumpkin harvest depends on what seeds the gardener used when planting. It is important to follow the rules of crop rotation and provide good lighting.

Pre-sowing seed treatment

Caring for the harvest begins from the moment the seeds are prepared for sowing. To do this you need:

1. Disinfect the material. This can be done using a solution of potassium permanganate. Processing time is 30 minutes.
2. Then you should select quality seeds by immersing them in a 25% saline solution. Empty seeds will float to the surface, ready for planting they will sink to the bottom.
3. Rinse the selected seeds with clean water.
4. Dry the material at a temperature of 55–60 °C for three hours.
5. Finally, the seeds must be bubbled for 18–24 hours—treated with water at a temperature of +20 °C.

Compliance with crop rotation rules

Plants of the pumpkin family can be planted in their original place only after 4-5 years. The best crop predecessors are legumes and cruciferous plants. You can also plant pumpkin after potatoes, cabbage and onions.

Beds with crops should be arranged away from melons, cucumbers and zucchini.

Good lighting

Lack of light leads to a decrease in the number of ovaries and the plant stretches upward.A lack of sunlight provokes the development of fungal diseases, rot and pests.

It is important to provide plants with good light in the first phase of growth - from the moment the sprouts appear until the real leaves. Seedling should be in the light 9-10 hours a day. This amount of time accelerates the formation of female flowers.

Important! For a fruit-bearing plant, daylight hours should last at least 10–12 hours.

Advice from experienced summer residents

Vegetable growers also encounter other reasons for pumpkin rotting. It is important to understand what became its source, and for this it is necessary to identify where the damage to the fetus began.

How to determine the root of the problem and fix it:

1. The problem of root rot after transplanting seedlings is caused by the early application of nitrogen fertilizers. Vegetable growers recommend starting to feed plants when the soil temperature rises to +12...+13 °C.
2. The roots may begin to rot due to damage when weak shoots are pulled out. It is better to cut off weak branches close to the ground.
3. The problem of fruit breaking and rotting can be solved by placing small pieces of fiberboard or planks under the pumpkins.
4. Timely removal of wilted flowers and unformed ovaries protects the plant from diseases and pests.
5. When the tops turn yellow, you should tear off the affected leaves. The cut areas must be sprinkled with crushed coal or treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
6. Minor damage to the fetus can be covered with a band-aid.
7. Even short-term frosts can affect the health of the plant. When it gets cold, film or covering material will help protect young shoots.

Conclusion

Pumpkin is a tasty and healthy product that is used to prepare various dishes.Although this is a moisture-loving plant, excessive watering can lead to rotting of the fruit. Productivity is also affected by the lack of pollinating insects.

To get a rich harvest, it is necessary to follow the rules of crop rotation, carry out pre-sowing seed treatment and properly arrange the beds.