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Pumpkin Plant Disease.... An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....... When it comes to diseases of pumpkins, such a powdery mildew, the above saying bears great weight. When growing giant pumpkins, great weight is enhanced by an ounce of prevention.......
Common Pumpkin Diseases: One of the two major threats to your prize pumpkin is disease( the second is those Pesky Bugs). Of these two, there is more than a casual relationship as insects, especially, the cucumber beetle, are carriers of disease. Powdery mildew, a white powder-like bacteria is the most common culprit. Powdery mildew thrives in hot, humid weather--in the middle to late summer--- just as your pumpkin is really getting big. It spreads rapidly, and will quickly destroy the plant. This problem is common to many vining plants, from cucumbers to squash of all kinds. A second disease is Bacterial Wilt. This disease is evident by a wilting and browning of the leaves. Sometimes the leaves will firm up at the end of the day, only to repeat itself the next morning, and get worse each time. This can sometimes be confused early on with wilting due to lack of water or high temperatures. Wilting from lack of water results from either a literal lack of water in the soil or the vine ends not getting enough water as the fruit is sucking up all the nutrients. The acid test for bacterial wilt is to take one leaf and cut it an inch or so from the vine. If the sap that drains out is yellow and stringy, you have confirmed the presence of the disease. There is no known cure and the plant will certainly die. The best course of action is to remove the diseased plant. Plant Viruses On-Line is a thorough and complete guide to information on viruses of all the cucurbita family. Prevention: Refer to the saying at the top of this page: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". There is no cure for a pumpkin patch that has been overcome by Powdery Mildew or Bacterial Wilt. Therefore, the best defense is a good offense. Here are the best defensive measures to help avoid this and other disease problems. Water only in the morning or during the day. Avoid late afternoon and evening. Powdery Mildew and other diseases thrive in humid weather. Watering at night adds fuel to the fire. When you water in the morning, the sun quickly dries the leaves. Watering at night leaves moisture on the leaves for the entire evening and early morning period. On warm nights, this is the ideal growing condition for Powdery Mildew. A friend of mine has a huge field where he grows pumpkins. His family has grown them and sold them in our town for generations. A few years ago, he told me how he had a disaster with his crop. The vines were shriveling and the leaves were turning white. He said he kept on watering them in hopes that they would grow back. The more he watered, the worse it became. I asked him about his watering technique. He said he waters with an overhead sprinkler at night. I then explained the impact of humidity on the disease, and that watering was only promoting it's growth. Even though there is less evaporation of the water at night, it is not worth the risk of disease. Water only to the roots and vines. If you apply water with a soaker hose, the leaves do not receive the additional moisture that promotes growth of diseases. Place the soaker hose facing down. This also minimizes water on the leaves. Apply sprays to control diseases before they get started. A fungicide disease spray may save your crop from this problem. Many of us want to avoid chemicals wherever possible, and that is obviously commendable. If you do not eat the pumpkins, you should have less concerns about applying fungicides. Start applying disease control sprays early and before disease occurs. If your pumpkin patch is already infested, apply it right away. If caught soon enough, the plants should recover. Remove diseased plants from the garden. Do not turn diseased plants into the soil or compost them. Diseases can overwinter either in the soil or in your compost pile. It then re-infests this years' crop.Compost piles sometimes do not get hot enough to kill bacterias. Toss diseased plants out in the trash or send them to your local lawn waste re-cycling center.
More Information: Pests of Cucurbits by UC Davis
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