What are the diseases and pests of pumpkin? Control methods and prevention

Pumpkin cannot be called a sickly plant – it has a fairly strong immunity to infections and pests. Diseases of this culture are provoked by improper agricultural practices and unfavorable growing conditions. We will find out what the pumpkin is sick with, what insects threaten it, and how to deal with it all.

What is sick pumpkin?

Pumpkin can suffer from fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. Knowing the symptoms of diseases, simple control and prevention measures will help reduce the risk of damage to a minimum.

Bacteriosis

It belongs to the category of the most dangerous diseases. Can cause huge crop losses. The causative agents are phytopathogenic bacteria. The infection is carried in different ways – water, wind, birds, insects.

The spread of the disease is facilitated by:

  • temperature changes;
  • increased soil and air moisture.

Symptoms of bacteriosis:

  • Dark green spots appear on the leaves.
  • Pumpkins have brown ulcers. Fruits are deformed, get ugly forms.
  • The leaves become like a grid. They are dotted with torn holes.

Bacteriosis persists on seeds and plant debris, so they must be removed from the site and destroyed.

How to treat:

  • spray with 1% Bordeaux liquid;
  • spray with 0,4% copper chloride.

To prevent the disease, pre-sowing disinfection of seeds with zinc sulfate 0,02% is carried out.

Muฤnistaรข rosa

A fungal disease that usually appears in violation of agricultural technology. Spread by spores. Infection can occur through plant debris.

Muฤnistaรข rosa

Provocative factors:

  • dampness and coolness;
  • lots of nitrogen in the soil.

Signs of powdery mildew:

  • on the leaves – round white spots;
  • the spots merge into one large one – a white coating covers the entire sheet;
  • over time, a whitish coating passes to all parts of the pumpkin;
  • the affected parts of the plant, darkening, dry out;
  • the disease disrupts photosynthesis – this causes a slowdown in the formation of ovaries, a deterioration in the taste and quality of fruits.

How to treat:

  • Sick plants are treated with colloidal sulfur – 70% paste or 80% granules are used. The solution is prepared by mixing 10 liters of water and 20 g of sulfur.
  • Sprayed with mullein solution. Fresh mullein is poured with water (1:3) and infused for 3 days. Strain, dilute with water – 3 liters of water per 1 liter of infusion.
  • If the above methods did not help, spray the plantings with Topaz.

To minimize the risk of damage, it is recommended to choose modern pumpkin varieties.

If the leaves are heavily infected, fruiting bodies are formed on them, in which spores of the fungus ripen.

Downy Mildew

In appearance, peronosporosis (this is the second name of the disease) is very similar to powdery mildew. Diseases can be distinguished by the color of the plaque. In powdery mildew it is white, in peronosporosis it is gray with a purple tint.

Downy Mildew

Provoking factors:

  • high humidity;
  • temperature in the range from +16 to +22 ยฐC;
  • rain and fog.

When the temperature rises to +30 ยฐC, the symptoms of downy mildew disappear.

Peronosporosis symptoms:

  • gray bloom is concentrated on the inside of the foliage;
  • the outer side of the leaves is covered with yellow spots, over time they begin to darken;
  • leaves lose fluid, dry out, become brittle.

ย How to treat:

  • Spray with a solution of copper oxychloride (35 g per 10 liters of water).
  • All parts of plants – sick and healthy – are subject to processing.

To reduce the risk of peronosporosis, observe the established intervals between plants – thickening contributes to the disease.

Root rot

Attacks plant roots. Weakened seedlings usually succumb to infection. If time does not take action, the plants die.

Root rot

What causes root rot:

  • sharp temperature drops;
  • watering with cold water.

Symptoms of root rot:

  • Pumpkin roots turn brownish gray and soften.
  • The leaves at the bottom of the plant turn yellow.
  • Pumpkin stops growing and developing.

Treatment methods:

  • Disinfection of seeds in a 0,5% solution of copper salts.
  • The top layer of soil is removed. Instead, fresh non-infected soil, peat, sand or sawdust are added.
  • The above-ground part of the plants is treated with wood ash, fluffy lime, crushed coal or chalk.
  • Sprayed with a 1% solution of “Fundazol”.

Watering with warm water (from +20 ยฐ C) and soil treatment with the Previkur fungicide helps to reduce the risk of infection with root rot.

green spotting

This disease appears in the second half of summer, shortly before harvest. The disease is carried by wind and water. At first, the symptoms are almost invisible, but the disease fully manifests itself during storage.

green spotting

Provoking factors:

  • clay soils;
  • sudden temperature changes.

Symptoms of green spot:

  • spots appear on pumpkins – light green or brown;
  • cracking of the crust;
  • during storage, the affected fruits deteriorate from the inside and quickly rot.

Fruits affected by green spotting are not stored for storage – they must be put into processing immediately after harvesting.

How to treat green spot:

  • spraying with Bordeaux liquid;
  • treatment with Alirin-B.

The following measures help prevent green spotting:

  • use of seedling growing method;
  • selection of large and weighty seeds;
  • seed disinfection with aloe juice or potassium permanganate solution;
  • seed hardening.

yellow mosaic

The disease manifests itself very early – as soon as shoots appear. Or a little later – on young bushes. The disease is transmitted through the ground, as well as by insects – aphids, whiteflies and others.

yellow mosaic

The pumpkin against the yellow mosaic does not have a high enough immunity. There is a risk of secondary infection, which in almost 100% of cases leads to the death of plants.

Provoking factors:

  • weeds;
  • aphid infestation.

Symptoms:

  • on young plants, the leaves turn white and curl;
  • on adults – the leaves are covered with yellowish patterns;
  • the plant looks sick and stops growing;
  • the fruits are deformed and do not develop, their coloring becomes mosaic.

How to treat:

  • sprayed with a solution of karbofos;
  • if a greenhouse pumpkin is sick, the top layer of soil is removed, and a 0,5% solution of trisodium phosphate is used to treat the greenhouse.

The following measures will help prevent yellow mosaic:

  • disinfection of seed material in potassium permanganate;
  • treatment with the antifungal drug “Pharmaiod-3”;
  • treatment of plants with an emulsion prepared on the basis of mineral oils.

After spraying infected plantings, the clothes are boiled several times – the yellow mosaic virus can remain on the fabric for 2 years.

Anthracnose

This fungal disease affects leaves and pumpkins. The spores of the fungus are carried through the air and, together with the rain, are carried by insects.

Anthracnose

Pumpkins affected by anthracnose are unsuitable for food – their flesh acquires a bitter taste.

Causes:

  • high humidity;
  • the presence of weeds in the area;
  • heat.

Anthracnose symptoms:

  • large brown-yellow spots appear on the leaves;
  • over time, the spots dry and crumble;
  • then the infection passes to the stems and fruits – they are covered with brown ulcers;
  • the plant dries, the gourds become shriveled and rot.

Treatment:

  • spraying with 1% Bordeaux liquid;
  • treatment with the drug “HOM”.

At the first symptoms of anthracnose, the plant should be treated with one of the above drugs. If the plant is completely infected, it is pulled out and destroyed.

Prevention of anthracnose, in addition to general measures, involves the treatment of plants with sulfur powder.

When harvesting, they try not to damage the pumpkin peel – fungus spores can penetrate through the cracks into the fruit.

To prevent anthracnose, seed treatment with ash is used:

  • dilute 2 g of ash in 40 liters of warm water;
  • keep in a dark place for a day;
  • soak the seeds for 6 hours in the solution;
  • dry and use for planting.

Fusarium wilt

The causative agent is a soil fungus that can live in the ground for a long time. It also survives on seeds. Infection occurs through the soil – the fungus first penetrates the roots, and then spreads through the vascular system of the stem.

Fusarium wilt

You can infect a plant during weeding and hilling – damaging the roots. The fungus quickly penetrates through wounds and cracks.

Causes:

  • low temperatures at the germination stage;
  • high temperatures at the stage of an adult plant;
  • clayey and loamy soils in drought conditions;
  • increased soil acidity.

Fusarium wilt symptoms:

  • weakening of the root system;
  • thinning of the stems;
  • the affected areas are covered with a white-pink bloom;
  • the leaves turn yellow if the summer is dry and dry out.

It is almost impossible to detect Fusarium at an early stage, since the lesion begins from the roots. When the signs become visible, the whole plant is already affected, it remains only to destroy it. Therefore, all measures to combat Fusarium wilt are preventive, aimed at preventing the disease.

Prevention of fusarium wilt:

  • top dressing with organic matter and mineral fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium;
  • processing seedlings “Kornevin”;
  • soil treatment with fungicides, for example, “Fundazol”, “Fitosporin-M”, “Bactofit”, etc.;
  • spraying seedlings with a solution of milk and iodine.

White rot

Sclerotinia (second name) affects the pumpkin at the fruiting stage – its fruits and all above-ground parts. The causative agent is a fungus, the spores of which hibernate in the ground, and then are carried by the wind. The disease affects a variety of cultures and is very common in Russia.

White rot

Reasons for the appearance:

  • waterlogging of the soil;
  • high humidity – about 90%;
  • low temperatures – from +12 to +15 ยฐ C;
  • watering with cold water;
  • tight fit.

Symptoms of white rot:

  • a whitish flaky coating appears on the affected fruits;
  • further on the fruits appear sclerotia – dark spots;
  • the affected areas become soft.

As a result of the disease, all affected fruits die while still in the vine or later, after harvesting. Pumpkins plucked from a diseased plant may look healthy, but will surely rot during storage.

How to treat:

  • sprinkle the affected parts with crushed chalk or coal;
  • coat the diseased areas of the fruit with a paste of chalk, potassium permanganate and water;
  • cut out the affected area, capturing part of a healthy fetus.

To prevent white rot, plantings are sprayed:

  • a solution of urea (10 g), zinc sulfate (1 g) and copper sulfate (2 g);
  • at the stage of three leaves, Bordeaux liquid is treated.

Pumpkin pests and control methods

There are not many pests in pumpkins, and the main methods of struggle are folk. Gardeners try to use “chemistry” in the most extreme cases.

Melon Caviar

This pest can be seen on the inside of the leaves – this is where they settle in their colonies. Aphid larvae may appear in flowers and ovaries.

Melon Caviar

The aphid has an oval body of yellow or green color, its length is 1,25-2 mm. The insect drinks the juices of the plant, so the aphids must be destroyed as soon as possible.

If wingless insects are not eliminated, the next year the garden will be attacked by females with wings, which, flying from plant to plant, will quickly destroy the crop.

The defeat of aphids contributes to:

  • weeds;
  • violation of agricultural technology and lack of prevention.

Signs of defeat:

  • sheets curl and fall off over time;
  • flowers fall;
  • the plant stops growing, the probability of plant death is high.

Aphids are carriers of dangerous diseases.

What to spray:

  • Decoctions of celandine and wormwood. In a bucket – pour 2-3 kg of chopped grass with water. They insist for days.
  • Infusion of onion peel. In 10 liters of warm water insist 200 g of husk.
  • Soapy solution. 150 g of laundry soap is diluted in a bucket.
  • Chemical preparations – Karbofos, etc.

Treatment with “chemistry” should be stopped 20 days before harvest.

Aphid attacks can be prevented by attracting ladybugs.

spider mite

The spider mite is a small but worst enemy of the pumpkin. If you do not help the plant, it will certainly die.

spider mite

Factors that provoke the appearance of spider mites:

  • dry and hot weather;
  • lack of autumn digging – larvae, ticks overwinter in the soil.

The length of the tick’s body is 0,3-0,4 mm. It lives on the inside of the leaves. Having settled on a plant, insects gradually draw all the juices out of it.

Signs of defeat:

  • on the inside of the leaves – yellow dots;
  • single spots gradually merge into one large one;
  • the insect webs the leaves first;
  • hard spots appear on the fruits.

How to fight:

  • spray plantings with warm water;
  • treat plants with infusion of onion peel or garlic – 200 g per 10 liters of water;
  • spray “Keltan”, “Karbofos”, etc.

Click beetle (wireworm)

Beetles do no harm to pumpkins. Harm its larvae – wireworms. They are dangerous in the second year of life, when they turn yellow, covered with a dense chitinous shell.

Click beetle (wireworm)

Harm caused by wireworms:

  • eat young shoots;
  • damage roots and root collar.

How to fight:

  • set up traps;
  • if the infestation is high – insecticide treatment.

Baits for wireworms are made from pieces of potatoes, turnips, and beets. Chopped root crops are placed in small depressions, and after a few days they are taken out along with the larvae.

Slugs

They appear in late spring. They are very prolific, gluttonous and capable of causing significant damage to the crop. Their distribution is facilitated by wet and cool weather. Slugs crawl out at night, and with the onset of morning they hide.

Slugs

Damage caused by slugs:

  • eat ovaries;
  • eat young leaves of plants;
  • eat the fruits.

How to deal with slugs:

  • thin out plantings, weed out weeds and loosen the soil;
  • make traps from cabbage leaves, boards, wet rags;
  • dust the soil with ash or tobacco dust;
  • carry out the processing of plantings with infusions of chamomile, garlic, wormwood;
  • make protective strips of lime or copper sulfate;
  • if there are a lot of pests, the soil around the plants is sprayed with “Kreotsid-100” or sprinkled with “Thunderstorm”.

sprout fly

The fly itself does not harm the pumpkin, its larvae are dangerous. The fly reaches a length of 5-7 mm. She has a gray body, and a dark stripe crosses her abdomen. The larvae are white, grow up to 7 mm in length, slightly narrowed in front.

sprout fly

The pupae, having overwintered in the ground, fly out in May and lay eggs in the ground. The larvae, after hatching, eat the germinating seeds and seedlings of the pumpkin.

Harm from the larvae of the germ fly:

  • making their way inside the stem – living and eating in it, they destroy plants;
  • do not allow pumpkin seedlings to develop – they can destroy 2/3 of the plants.

Fighting methods:

  • pickle the seeds before sowing “Fentiuram”;
  • plant seedlings as early as possible;
  • dig up the soil in autumn, introducing fresh manure and mineral fertilizers.

Preventive measures

In addition to special preventive measures used to prevent infection with specific diseases and pests, there is a set of general measures. Their implementation allows you to resist all diseases and pests at the same time.

General measures for the prevention of diseases and pests of pumpkin:

  • destruction of diseased plants;
  • regular weeding and destruction of weeds (burning);
  • planting varieties resistant to diseases;
  • compliance with the landing pattern – dense plantings should not be allowed;
  • deep preplant digging of the soil with the introduction of manure;
  • soil disinfection with “Fitosporin” or “Gamair”;
  • compliance with the principles of crop rotation;
  • soil mulching;
  • regular watering pumpkin;
  • regular site inspections.

When fighting diseases and pests of pumpkin, it is important to identify the problem in time, and even better – to prevent its occurrence. By taking timely preventive measures, you can reduce the risk of damage to the pumpkin to a minimum.

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Anna Evans

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