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Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.

Hello~! :-D Sorry about this being a bit long-winded.
Where I live it has rained very frequently for the last 2 months. It has also become very hot and humid. Luckily, there were no cucumber beetles this year.

Weeks ago I noticed that the dirt had been removed from my pumpkin plant (something was digging at it).The leaves were also limp. I put up a little fence to protect the roots area and the leaves perked back up.

Recently though, the problem has gotten worse and now the leaves are constantly droopy. They have also begun to turn yellow and then crispy brown (one by one).

I decided to examine the root (which was quite pale . . . is that normal?) and uncovered it a bit to find a large gash or split.
I did a test for bacterial wilt (cut off a stem, if there is yellow stringy sap it's bacterial wilt) and could find
no evidence of it.

My major question are:
What should I do? Should I cover the gash/split or uncover it?
Could it still be bacterial wilt?
Could the drooping and browning leaves be a result of something else?
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

8/15/2009 12:54:39 PM

Winston Salem NC

The drooping leaves and turning brown could be several things. Heat can cause the leaves to droop. The browning could be sunburn, or chemical burn if you have applied anything foliar. My plants have leaves that are turning brown and dying but I figure its just due to the age of teh leaves. If its behind the pumpkin along the main and first secondarys I would probibly figure just old age. If you could put a list of anything you have applied to the plant in the last few weeks and post some pics it would be helpful.
Rick

8/15/2009 2:47:47 PM