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Pennsylvania

Hi, I pollinated 3 female flowers on one pumpkin plant about a week ago, 2 as backup. Exactly 7 days later (today), all 3 seem to be turning pale yellow/white and getting soft. I cut open the worst of the three and inside there were extremely tiny white worms with black dots at the ends of them. They were smaller than any larvae I’ve seen, hard to even see without looking for them. No other part of the plant is showing signs of any distress at all and are growing great. Is this a bug that ruins the plant I.e. vine borers, or just something breaking down the already aborted, rotten pumpkin? Note that this was 7 days of 85 degrees and higher temperatures. Thank you!

7/12/2022 11:03:47 PM

Grittyville, WA

You might want to overhead irrigate or provide shade, then. The sun can cook them! Bugs are probably just a secondary issue.

7/13/2022 2:10:02 AM

Central Illinois

The pollination did not take it was probable due to the high temps

7/13/2022 4:59:57 AM

Pennsylvania

Thank you!

7/13/2022 7:51:58 AM

Torrance, Ca.

What baitman said.

In this situation I get gallon milk jugs full of water, freeze them, build a little hut around the baby fruit and place the frozen jugs and a small fan inside the hut. I'm in a greenhouse that gets very warm and this has worked for me every time.

7/13/2022 11:25:18 AM

Upa Creek, Mo

Those sound like Vine Borers, they start tiny and white with a little black head when they hatch. The chew their way through everything. I have cut them from inside pumpkins too.

85 is not that hot. If the plant is still rooting vigorously, they will often abort until the plant is "set".

All that being said, the larvae sound too small to have caused the aborts... keep pollinating and vine burying, treat the vine borers, and hope for cool temps.

7/13/2022 11:43:11 AM

Pennsylvania

Thank you!

7/14/2022 8:01:29 AM