Pumpkin leaf issue - Ask Extension
Noticing I'm having some issues on my pumpkin leaves. I didn't see any insects of bugs though. Could it be heat stress or fertilizer issues?
Knowledgebase
Pumpkin leaf issue #876436
Asked July 08, 2024, 8:44 PM EDT
Noticing I'm having some issues on my pumpkin leaves. I didn't see any insects of bugs though. Could it be heat stress or fertilizer issues?
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Hello; Thanks for submitting your garden and landscaping questions to the University of Maryland Ask Extension Service.
Growing any vegetable crops in this environment of extensive heat and drought is difficult for anyone. Watering your veggies in the early morning or late afternoon is all that one can do, and hope for rain. See this UMd Extension webpage on scouting for insect and disease issues that you may find: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/ipm-vegetable-and-fruit-scouting-tips/.
See this University of Minnesota Extension webpage on the two-spotted spider mite that may be causing problems on your pumpkin foliage: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/spider-mites#:~:text=Damage%20caused%20by%20twospotted%20spider%20mites&text=This%20injury%2.
And here is a nice Extension webpage from the South Dakota State University about sun-scorching of vegetable plants that is worth reading: https://extension.sdstate.edu/leaf-scorch-and-sunscald-garden.
Final comments, if you do discover webbing or see the mites themselves on your pumpkin leaves the first approach may be to blast your pumpkins with a water blast. That can temporarily cut down populations of these critters. Read manufacturers directions if using either horticultural oil or insecticidal soaps. Temperatures are too hot for use of horticulture or neem oils.
Good luck in your gardening efforts. Thanks; Christopher
Growing any vegetable crops in this environment of extensive heat and drought is difficult for anyone. Watering your veggies in the early morning or late afternoon is all that one can do, and hope for rain. See this UMd Extension webpage on scouting for insect and disease issues that you may find: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/ipm-vegetable-and-fruit-scouting-tips/.
See this University of Minnesota Extension webpage on the two-spotted spider mite that may be causing problems on your pumpkin foliage: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/spider-mites#:~:text=Damage%20caused%20by%20twospotted%20spider%20mites&text=This%20injury%2.
And here is a nice Extension webpage from the South Dakota State University about sun-scorching of vegetable plants that is worth reading: https://extension.sdstate.edu/leaf-scorch-and-sunscald-garden.
Final comments, if you do discover webbing or see the mites themselves on your pumpkin leaves the first approach may be to blast your pumpkins with a water blast. That can temporarily cut down populations of these critters. Read manufacturers directions if using either horticultural oil or insecticidal soaps. Temperatures are too hot for use of horticulture or neem oils.
Good luck in your gardening efforts. Thanks; Christopher
Thank you so much, this was very helpful and informative!!!
