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South Dakota

My plants have several leaves where at the base of the stalk they are split open and rotted half the stalk away, some more than half. The big leafy part is still quit green. My question is, are these damaged leaves pulling weight away from my pumpkin, or should I leave them alone until the leafy part declines. Don't know if the plant would be wasting energy trying to help those damaged leaves survive, or are the damaged leaves still contributing to the growth of the pumpkin as long as they are green? Also, I think it was SVB that caused my problem, does this sound right?

8/28/2018 2:27:46 PM

Hadley Ny

If the leaves are at the stump end of the plant this is natural..caused by age. You will lose leaves near the base and it will progress further down the vine as they age. As far as pruning..I'm not sure. As far as SVB no it doesn't sound right. Pics would help!!!!

8/28/2018 2:42:43 PM

South Dakota

Yes, they start at the stump end and have been working its way down. I thought it was the SVB larva working down the stem. I did dig 3 larva out of the stump of one of the plants, sadly not until the entire stump had been sacrificed. Good to know what's happening is probably normal. Should I spray the brown rotting area with fungicide? I'm sure it would not hurt.

8/28/2018 2:59:50 PM

Hadley Ny

Scrape all rotted area ...scrape being the key word...do not cut rot out!! Use a spoon or butter knife. Apply Sulphur powder and keep dry. I let my leaves rot on their own..but I'm not a real serious grower. Most serious growers will put a fan on rotted areas but if it just leaves I leave them alone. More experienced growers will probaly chime in with what they do.

8/28/2018 3:11:00 PM

Central NY

I’d say look up rhizoctzonia...clearys can help with that...we have that this year...thought it was svbs, and a few were but the way you describe it, sounds familiar...the clearys has stalled it anyway...we are leaving leaves on so long as they look ok...if they start to funk out?...off they go...now is the time to check those main vines and look for trouble...good luck

8/28/2018 3:52:37 PM