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Ohio

On one of my pumpkins near the stem end and out twards the middle of the pumpkin about 1/4 its started to grow really contoured ,gnarly looking around this area. The pumpkins all start out fine the first week or so with perfect shape and then start growing with this contoured shape on the back half of the pumpkin. I usually cull these type pumpkins but kept it because the one further out on the main was even worse. Now I pollinated one on a side vine to see if this would happen again and it did not,. I ended up culling the side vine pumpkin though because I just couldn’t see culling a pumpkin that was on the main verses one on a skinny side vine, I just could bring myself to cull the one on the main.
I was talking to Jack Larue and he has had this problem before and has had it a little this year as well, he told me he will cull a pumpkin like this. He also, like me, cant figure out what causes this.

But here is what I think might cause this.
Just 4 days before I pollinated this pumpkin I sprayed Merit(systematic). Now maybe, just maybe, this could have caused this and I sprayed this insecticide to soon to pollination. I have also heard people who use Banner Max(systematic fungicide) have had this problem with there pumpkins as well. What do you guys think might causes this?

Brooks

7/19/2007 9:18:10 PM

[email protected]

I never heard of Merit causing this but any stress around pollination could cause trouble. Was the rate correct or were we a little off the label?

7/19/2007 10:07:45 PM

Ohio

Tremor, I use a little more then I should, I use what the commercial licensed applicators use, I use what you say not to use but if you use it ,it still wont hurt anything, but don't use it because I said use it, ha!!

Naw, I use a little more then the recommended amount that you say is safe for growers to use,not enough to hurt anything anyway, I don't think,ha! I been using it like this for the past couple years and never had a deformed pumpkin, so maybe it isnt the Merit,, but dang, something is making em look like a ol ladies chubby leg,lol.

7/20/2007 3:48:20 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

On the 805?

7/20/2007 8:48:56 AM

[email protected]

I doubt the Merit caused this. It's Glenn's fault.

7/20/2007 9:28:41 AM

Nashville, TN

Brooks, I've been using probably triple the rate (between the granular and the foliar)... Some 'kins are pretty, smooth and round - some are just ugly bastards that look like giant gargoyles taking over the patch!!!

Maybe the fact that all the Ugly ones came from a certain 572 Bosworth mother????...hhmmmmmmmmmm.....

7/20/2007 7:08:32 PM

Ohio

You know what L.P, you might be right, because now that I think of it, when I grew that 572 a few years back, and all kidding aside ,cause I kid sometimes, not often though, maybe just rarely, or maybe one time a week, but never ever more the twice a week and if I do kid more then that its G's fault and not mine. But anyway,

The 572 is the first pumpkin I have grown that was deformed looking near the back, stem end. The 572's produced a long pumpkin but 1/4 of the stem end quit growing seemed like. The rest of the front of the pumpkin grows normal. I never grew any of them out though because of that, I ended up yanking the plant. This could be why your getting them pear shaped pumpkins L.P,what you think?

7/21/2007 4:44:40 AM