What causes pumpkin fruit abortion? Latest analysis of the causes

When growing pumpkins, pumpkin fruit abortion often occurs, and both the yield and quality of the pumpkins are greatly affected. Pumpkin fruit abortion is a physiological disorder, mainly referring to young fruit stopping growth after reaching a certain stage, followed by flower and bud drop. So what exactly causes pumpkin fruit abortion? Today the editor will give you a brief introduction. Let's take a look together below!

1. Unsuitable temperature during the flowering period

Temperature is very important for pollination and fruit set in pumpkins. During the flowering period of pumpkins, if the temperature exceeds 31 degrees, the pumpkin's floral organs will be unable to develop normally due to the rise in temperature. The function of the pollen grains in the floral organs will also continuously decline, and if it reaches a stable 40 degrees, then pollen grain germination and pollen tube elongation will be noticeably inhibited, and the pollen grains are highly likely to die, making fertilization impossible and leading to fruit drop. However, too low a temperature is also no good. If the temperature is below 15 degrees during the development of the pumpkin's ovary and the flowering period, deformed fruit and hollow fruit are likely to appear, and the seeds will also be reduced as a result.

2. Cloudy and rainy weather during the flowering period

During the pumpkin flowering period, if there is prolonged cloudy and rainy weather, it is very unfavorable for pollination and fertilization of the pumpkins. Because there is insufficient light on cloudy and rainy days, the pumpkin's photosynthesis is hindered, and fruit and bud drop are very likely to occur. In particular, if there is prolonged cloudy and rainy weather, it is even harder for the pumpkins to set fruit. This is because during cloudy and rainy days, the development of the pumpkin's ovary and floral organs is affected. Moreover, if the stigma of the female flower is washed by rainwater, the pollen will be washed away, or the pollen will rupture and be unable to germinate, making pollination difficult to complete and causing fruit abortion.

3. Growth imbalance

When growing pumpkins, a balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth must be maintained. If the pumpkin vines are improperly pruned and trained, causing excessive vines and leaves that compete with each other for growing space and resulting in poor field ventilation and light penetration, this will cause excessive vegetative growth in the pumpkins, reduce their vigor, and thus lead to poor pollination and fertilization and trigger vine drop and fruit abortion. Therefore, we must pay attention to doing the pruning work well, cutting off excessively dense and numerous branches and leaves. In addition, the planting density must also be controlled well, and they must not be planted too densely.

Pumpkins have a very large demand for fertilizer and water during their growth process. And when we manage fertilizer and water, if the management is improper, it will cause an imbalance in the plant's nutrient ratio, and the stems and leaves will also show excessive vegetative growth as a result, thereby causing fruit abortion in pumpkins. In particular, when fertilizing, if too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied and the proportion of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is small, then the plants are highly likely to grow excessively, producing various diseases such as anthracnose and reducing the pumpkin fruit-setting rate.

The above is a brief introduction to what causes pumpkin fruit abortion. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!