Pumpkin Pests And Diseases

The pumpkin can suffer from a number of problems both from a disease and also insect damage and these can destroy the plants.

Powdery mildew is seen as a white powdery deposit on the leaves and once on them is very difficult to control and the usual solution is to remove the plant and destroy the rubbish. Fungicides can be used but they have a limited use. It usually occurs in hot and humid weather periods.

Bacterial Wilt causes the plant to wilt and die, the leaves will have brown areas on them and there is no known cure, the plant needs to be removed and destroyed. Wilting can occur from lack of watering but bacterial wilt is a more complex problem. Rotate the crops in future years.

Vine borers are small insects that bore into the base of the foliage at the base and the plant will slow its growth and eventually die. There are insecticides which will help but these should be applied as early as possible to be in anyway effective, ideally before the insects cause any infestation. Rotate the crops in future years.

Cucumber beetles are a common pest on cucumbers and most squash plants and they damage the leaves and can pass the diseases which can be fatal. They can be treated with dusts and insecticides.

Slugs and snails love the fruit when ripening so set traps and remove from the area.

Also see How To Grow Pumpkins

By Richard Allen -