Whether you are growing pumpkins as a part of an eatable garden or if you have annual plans for a pumpkin eyepatch , your cucurbits may expose white mold growth as a symptom of a grievous problem . blank mold disease of pumpkins is distinct from other disease by the shameful fruiting soundbox that arise within the ashen , cotton plant - corresponding cast . make by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , the disease causes your pumpkins to quickly decompose once infected . Beginning near the stem and travel outward , washy areas of fruit collapse as a event of decay .

Step 1

Recognize that once livid mold has infected your pumpkin plant , though you’re able to physically scrape away the white mold growth , these plants are beyond saving . point for the goal of saving your persist pumpkins and eradicating this disease from your gardening space .

Step 2

employ drip irrigation alternatively of overhead irrigation as the standing moisture on pumpkin plant life encourages fungous maturation of white molding . Irrigate only during dry period as pumpkins put up live temperatures and arid mood , but tight precondition increase the likelihood of contagion .

Step 3

Avoid wounding pumpkins as these openings act as entry stage for fungal pathogen .

Step 4

transfer and destroy pumpkins infect with white mould . Avoid establish other highly susceptible industrial plant like cabbage or beans , which can promote spreading or re - introduce fungous disease to your autumn pumpkin .

Step 5

Rotate your pumpkin crops to clavus or grass in edict to move pumpkin out of potentially infested soil unless only a few pumpkin are infect and removed .

Step 6

secure that pumpkin are planted with sufficient place between plants in rows space 10 to 15 substructure aside as open ontogeny decreases the likeliness of contagion .

Pumpkin Stop Growing?

Cucurbita pepo rise in ardent , Robert Lee Frost - free weather , with most variety taking 95 to 120 days to arrive at maturity and barricade grow . A pumpkin vine is ready for harvest when the yield reach its full color for the diverseness and the rind is too hard to pierce well with a fingernail . provide 1 to 2 inches of water weekly is usually sufficient for healthy growth . Disease and pest problems can lead to short or scrawny growth , result in little pumpkin that stop growing before they attain full maturity date . Keeping the garden free of weeds , rotating garden beds each year , and treat aphid infestation with a quick - to - use insecticidal soap spray at five - day intervals minimizes the cattle ranch of disease . Powdery mold can stunt plants and slenderize yield .

Tip

Always wear gardening gloves when handling mould and sanitize hired hand and clothing before handle uninfected plants .

References

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