A Detailed Explanation of the Causes of Pumpkin Fruit Cracking and the Control Methods

Pumpkin is one of the common melon and vegetable crops, with a sweet taste that is deeply loved by the public, but both young pumpkins and mature pumpkins can develop fruit cracking, which seriously affects the quality of the pumpkin and brings economic losses to farmers. So how should pumpkin fruit cracking be controlled? Let's take a look together.

1. Symptoms

When a pumpkin cracks, longitudinal, transverse or diagonal cracks appear on the surface of the fruit. The cracks vary in depth and width. In severe cases, the cracks can reach deep into the flesh, exposing the seeds inside, and the wounded surface of the cracked fruit will become corky over time. Minor cracks are just a small slit, but if a young fruit cracks and the fruit continues to grow, the crack will also gradually deepen and enlarge as the fruit grows.

2. Causes

The main cause is long-term drought or excessive water control to prevent disease, followed by a sudden heavy rain or heavy irrigation, when the flesh cells absorb a large amount of water and expand. However, the skin cells have aged and cannot grow in sync with the flesh cells, thus causing the skin to split. In addition, when young fruits suffer wounds from farming activities or mechanical wounds, the fruit will crack around the wound as it expands. When calcium is insufficient at flowering, calcium deficiency in the flower organs can also cause young fruits to crack.

3. Control Methods

Choose flat terrain with loose, fertile soil and strong water and fertilizer retention for planting. Before planting, prepare the land finely, apply enough fully decomposed organic fertilizer, and pay attention to the combined use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Spray calcium fertilizer before flowering to prevent calcium deficiency in the plants. Water reasonably during the growing period to avoid drought or excessive moisture in the soil, and especially pay attention to sudden rain or heavy irrigation after a long drought. When growing in a greenhouse, pay attention to avoiding high or low temperatures, and maintain a temperature of 18-25 degrees as appropriate. During farming operations, mechanical damage must be prevented.

  The above is an introduction to the causes of pumpkin fruit cracking and the control methods. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.