Pumpkin Production Issues and Trials, 2013 - 2014

R. Allen Straw Area Specialist SW VA AREC

Virginia Cooperative Extension

Slugs

Several Calls – Losing stand – Birds ? – Herbicides ? – SLUGS!

When examining at night as many as 7 slugs per leaf

Magnesium Deficiency

Manganese Toxicity

Fertilization – Bare Soil

Pre-Plant (medium soil test) – 50 – 100 – 100 lb/A

500 lb/A of 10-20-20 or equivalent

Sidedress at 12” runner – 31 – 0 – 0 to 62 – 0 – 0 lb/A

200 - 400 lb/A of calcium nitrate – 34 – 0 – 0 to 64 – 0 – 0 lb/A

100 – 200 lb/A of ammonium nitrate

Fertilization – Plastic Mulch & Drip

Pre-Plant (medium soil test) – 50 – 100 – 100 lb/A

1,000 lb/A of 5 – 10 – 10 or equivalent

8 to 10 weekly applications (beginning 3 to 4 weeks after planting) – Alternate

7.75 – 0 – 0 – 9.6 (Ca) 50 lb/A/week of calcium nitrate

6.875 – 0 – 23 50 lb/A/week of potassium nitrate

10 – 10 – 10 – 50 lb/A/week of water soluble 20 – 20 – 20

Pumpkin Spacing

Traditionally – 6 – 8’ between rows – 4’ in-row – 24 – 32 ft2

Grower Practices – 3 – 4’ between rows – 3’ – 5’ in-row – 12 – 20 ft2

Plant Type Bush

12 – 18 ft2

Semi-Bush 18 – 32 ft2

Prolific Vining 32+ ft2

Extremes – 12 ft2

– 100 ft2

Spacings for Specific Pumpkin Varieties

Wholesale Jack-O-Lantern

‘Aladdin’ 12 – 24 ft2

‘Gladiator’ 15 – 30 ft2

‘Magician’ 12 – 24 ft2

10 – 12 ft2 School tours

‘Magic Lantern’ 12 – 32 ft2

‘Cronus’ 36 – 48 ft2

Large Fruited 18 – 36 ft2

‘Big Doris’ ‘Captain Jack’ ‘Early Giant’

Small Fruited (“Pies”) – 12 – 18 ft2

‘Hybrid Pam’ ‘Mystic Plus’ ‘Pik-A-Pie’

12 – 18 ft2 ‘Iron Man’ ‘Cannon Ball'

Spacing Work on Varieties

Would like to do some more spacing work

Cronus – HMX 0685 – Optimize Yield – Optimize Size

Magician – Tighten up spacings

to make “school tour” pumpkin. 8 to 12 square feet

Pie Pumpkins – Optimize Yield

8 to 12 square feet on restricted vine varieties

Pollination

Rule of thumb: – 1 hive/A

Observations 0 hives/A

Native bees Cucumber beetles

2 hives/A Competition

Admire and Colony Collapse

Irrigation

Most pumpkins have been grown utilizing Dry Land Production

Trends Overhead Irrigation (Traveling Gun) Following annual plasticulture strawberries with pumpkins, utilizing the mulch and trickle irrigation system Possible Future Trends - Trickle Irrigation of bare ground production

Needs: – 1 to 2 1/2 inches of water/A/week

Environmental Conditions

Year after year we experience times of irregular rainfall. – Extremely Dry – Poor Distribution – Extremely Wet

Nearly every year we experience a time pumpkins need supplemental water. ‘Magic Lantern’

Diseases: The Problem with Overhead Irrigation of Pumpkins

Downy Mildew Microdochium Blight

Trickle Irrigation

Increased yields – Double and even

triple non-irrigated Increased fruit size

– 25% larger fruit Less incidence of

Fusarium Fruit Rot

Yield – Pumpkins/A

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Yield – Tons/A

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Average Fruit Weight – lb

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Weed burn down with hooded sprayer Weekly fertigation Fungicide and insecticide

Pumpkin Growth in Mid-August

Pumpkin Harvest in Early October

MONTH PRECIPITATION TEMP

2004 AVG Percent

DIFF

JUN 4.60 4.81 96% 1.7

JUL 6.10 5.04 121% -0.7

AUG 2.43 3.81 64% -2.2

SEP 8.43 3.84 220% 1.3

OCT 4.03 3.71 109% 6.9

SUM 25.6 21.2 121%

PES-Crossville, TN, Weather Data

Yield – No./A

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b b b

Yield – Tons/A

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Average Fruit Weight – (lb/fruit)

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(lb/fr

uit)

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Conclusions

Plastic mulch more than doubled yield in 2004.

Irrigation increased yield by nearly 20% in 2004.

A warmer drier growing season may produce more irrigation response and less plastic mulch response.

Some rainfall was effective under plastic mulch. How much still to be determined.

Irrigation / Plasticulture 2012

A trial was conducted in Floyd County in 2012

4 Treatments – Black Plastic & Drip – White Plastic & Drip – NT with Drip – NT without Irrigation

Varieties – Field Trip – Apollo – Apogee – Gladiator – Magic Lantern – Magic Wand

Summary

Plastic Mulch increased yields – Weed Control

Fertigation – Need to pay close

attention to N rates – Too much can keep

the vines vegetative Differences among

varieties

Yield – Plastic and drip

irrigation tended to increase yields by 10 to 20%

– Magic Lantern most noticeable

– Magic Wand some trend, but not as obvious.

No-Till Considerations

Preparation is KEY! – NT into sod is a

gamble – Ron Morse has

developed some very good guidelines

– Prepare for no-till Work soil in the fall Sow appropriate cover crop

Control the cover at the appropriate time in the spring

– Too short – not enough cover

– Too tall – hard to control

Fertility – Concern: surface

application of urea – Nutrisphere (?)

Water (Irrigation) Allelopathic Effects (?)

Which Cover Crop?

Rye – Most growth – Best “mulch” – Grows very rapidly in

the spring – Use 1 bu/A – 2 bu/A often gets too

thick

Wheat – Less growth than rye – Not as much “mulch” – Doesn’t grow as fast – 1 to 2 bu/A

Vetch – Adds N – Harder to kill

Cover Crop – 2011 - 2012

Which is Best? – Barley @ 2 bu/A – Winter Oats @ 2

bu/A – Spring Oats @ 2 bu – Triticale @ 2 bu/A – Wheat @ 2 bu/A – Rye @ 1 bu/A – Rye @ 2 bu/A

Results – Really didn’t see any

differences – However, huge

difference as compared to no cover

– Time of seeding is very important

– Rye Rate ?

Rodent Control

Rodents – Field mice have

been bad the last couple of years

– Worse in NT production

– Control • Admire • Furadan (?) • Whatever Means ?

Traditional Planters

For several years: – 4 row - 36” JD 7000

series planter – Plant the outside two

boxes for a 9 ft row spacing

– Use and idler that would cut seeding rate in half

– About 24 to 36 inches in the row

– Problem Seed Metering

Cole Planters

In other areas something like a one row “Cole” planter would be used

Problem: – Variable seed

placement Depth In-Row Spacing

Something about ingenuity? Some growers

become very creative! – One grower fixed a

drag type tobacco setter to plant pumpkins:

– Spring loaded film canister in a PVC Tee to drop the seed at the correct spacing

Problem: Seeding depth

Hand Planting

Of course if you wanted accuracy in planting you could always do it by hand

Problem: – A lot of work – Takes a lot of people

to plant very many acres

– Sometimes difficult to plant into NT

Ultimate in Hand Planting

The ultimate in back breaking planting labor is the hoe – Problem:

Back-breaking Seeding depth

Seeding Goals

What is our goal in seeding: – Plant the desired

population without wasting seed.

– Uniform Seeding rate (in-row

and between row spacing)

Seeding depth

What are our best options?

Hand – Labor intensive and

time consuming Vacuum Planter

– Very accurate in seeding rate

– Expensive – Some older models:

Concern about uniform seeding depth

Three Options

Monosem Vacuum Planter

MaterMacc Vacuum Planter

JD Vacuum Planter

Which one do you choose?

?

Farmore Seed Treatment

Syngenta – Different

formulations I100 D300 DI400

Cucurbits – DI400

Disease Control: – azoxystrobin – fludioxonil – mefenoxam

Insect control: – thiamethoxam

seed treatment for pumpkins, squash and cukes

Contains the systemic neonicotinoid – Thiamethoxam (same insecticide as Platinum™ and Cruiser™)

Also contains 3 fungicides: Dynasty, Apron and Maxim

Downy Mildew

New Strain of Downy Mildew

There appears to be a new strain of downy mildew that is resistant to many of our labeled fungicides.

Forecasting: – http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/cucurbit/

Epidemic Map

New Products for Control of Downy Mildew

Presidio 4F @3 to 4 fl oz/A

Previcur Flex @ 1.2 pints/A

Ranman 400SC @ 2.75 fl oz/A

Revus 2.08F @ 8 fl oz/A

Tanos 50WP @ 8 oz/A

Rotation is very important!

Tank mixes are recommended! – Chlorothalonil – Maneb

Microdochium Blight

Powdery Mildew

Fungal Disease Control

Downy Mildew

Gummy Stem Blight

Acrobat chlorothalonil (Bravo) Gavel Previcur Flex Presidio Ranman Revus Sonato Tanos chlorothalonil (Bravo) Folicure Inspire Super Pristine (res. In GA)

Fungal Disease Control

Microdochium Blight

Powdery Mildew

chlorothalonil (Bravo) (?) Cabrio Dithane Inspire Super Maneb Pristine Quadris (?) chlorothalonil (Bravo) Inspire Super Folicure Fontelis Pristine Procure Qunitec (Melons and Pumpkins) Rally Topsin M (R) Wettable Sulfur

Fontelis Fungicide

DuPont – Fungicide – FRAC Code 7 – Penthiopyrad – Rate

16 to 24 fl oz/A

Tomato – Early Blight – Botrytis

Cucurbits – Powdery Mildew

Strawberry – Botrytis

Bravo and Sunburn

Sunburn issues with Bravo on mature watermelon.

Could mature pumpkins be sensitive to Bravo?

Grower experience suggests a good possibility!

2008 observations suggest a good possibility!

Fusarium Fruit Rot

Fusarium Control

At least 11 different species of Fusarium that infect pumpkins

Manifestation – It often appears after

periods of stress Drought Heat Sometimes, even during excessively wet seasons

Fusarium Control – Irrigation – Use of calcium nitrate at

sidedressing – Foliar applications of

calcium – Foliar fertilizer

applications (?) – Use of no-till or minimum

tillage systems (?) – Rotation (?)

Phytophthora capsici (Fruit Rot)

Phytophthora Control

No such thing!!! Very persistent in the

soil – Resting spore

At least 8 years (15) Alternate host plants

Cucurbits Squash and pumpkins most sensitive

Solanaceous Peppers most sensitive

Green Beans

Phases – Root Rot – Plant – Fruit & Foliar

Management – Avoid fields with

Phytophthora – Avoid low or wet areas – Ridomil Gold at planting – Ridomil Gold Bravo

applied to foliage – Presidio – Tanos

Biofumigation

Caliente Mustard – AITC – Very effective on

Phytophthora Arugula

– Nematodes

Combination – Caliente 199 – Arugula – Very effective

Pelleted Mustard – Biofence

Stem Quality

Control Diseases – Powdery Mildew – Microdochium Blight

Vine Health – Fertility

• Sidedressing • Foliar

– Irrigation

Percent Bad Stems

01020304050607080

Gold ChallengerGladiatorColumn1

Unusual Observation in 2013

Sclerotinia Stem Rot - Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

S. sclerotiotum Control

– Fontelis @ 1 pint/A – Endura @ 6.5 oz/A

Disease not on Label

– Pristine @ 12.5 to 18.5 oz/A Disease not on Label

Wildlife Control

Deer Control

Fencing – Expensive

$500 to $2,000/A Electric Slant

Repellents Biosolids Hair Soap Human Scent

Get to familiar Lose activity over time Reapplication

Repellents (cont.) – Blood or Blood Meals

Expense Longevity Reapplication

Noise – Air Cannons

Lead Poisoning – Timing – Time to hunt

Plant Skydd Findings, 2004

Treatments – 2.2 lb / 5 gallon

Broadcast – 2.2 lb / 10 gallons

Broadcast – 2.2 lb / 5 gallon

Perimeter – UTC

Crops – Pumpkins – Snap Beans – Strawberries

Results – Worked for 3 to 4 weeks,

then the deer would move back into the entire area regardless of treatment

Plant Skydd Use

Begin applications prior to any feeding

Spray as a perimeter spray, especially where deer traffic is expected to be the heaviest

Apply at 1 cup / 3 gallons of spray solution

Repeat every 3 to 4 weeks

Post Harvest Handling (cont.)

Store in a cool, dry, dark place – Cool: 45 – 55 degrees F – Relative Humidity: 70 – 75% – Single Layer

Research for the Future

Research 2013 – Strip-Till – Biofumigation

(Cost?) – Herbicides – Planting Date (?) – Spacing – Varieties – Fungicides – Cover Crops

Other things of Interest – Calcium Silicate – Maximizer

Research for the Future (cont.)

The use of Calcium Silicate – “Old” weathered soils like

most of us have are low in plant available silica

– Therefore, the plant is unable to take up enough Silica

– Silica in the leaves helps resist disease

– Silica can also increase yields 5 to 10%

Results for 2012 – Apply Calcium Silicate at

3,000 lb/A. NT CT ‘Conestoga Giant’

– Evaluate severity of foliar diseases

– Evaluate yield

– No observable benefit from Calcium silicate Marginal Field ?

Research for the Future

Maximizer – 3-18-18 nutrient

broth with Auxin, Cytokinin, Giberillic Acid

– Increase bloom set / flower retention (?)

– Have seen good results in tomatoes

– Foliar applications with Boron

Possible Grower Trial – Make 5 foliar

applications – Beginning 2 to

weeks after planting – Data Collection

Female Bloom Counts

Fruit Set Yield

Maximizer Results

5 Trials – Sparta, NC – Craig County, VA – Floyd County, VA – Hanover County, VA – Grayson County, VA

General Observations – Yield increases of 25

to 33% Field Trip generally

had 2 fruit per vine 1 out of every 5 to 10

plants had a 3rd fruit

– Slightly Larger Fruit – Healthier Vines

Research for 2013

Maximizer – 3-18-18 nutrient

broth with Auxin, Cytokinin, Giberillic Acid

– Increase bloom set / flower retention (?)

– Have seen good results in tomatoes

– Foliar applications with Boron

Replicated Grower Trials – Make 5 foliar

applications – Beginning 2 to

weeks after planting – Data Collection

Female Bloom Counts

Fruit Set Yield

Questions?

R. Allen Straw Area Specialist SW VA AREC 12326 VPI Farm Rd. Glade Spring, VA 24340 Mobile: 931.261.0973 Office: 276.944.2202 E-mail: astraw@ vt.edu Fax: 276.944.2206