What causes zucchini fruit abortion?
Zucchini fruit abortion is a common physiological disorder during the growth of zucchini. Generally, within 3 days after the female flower opens, the young fruit shows chlorosis and yellowing, becoming thin and soft. Fruit enlargement is clearly hindered, and it begins to shrink, basically losing its market value, leading to rotten and dropped fruit. So what are the main causes of zucchini fruit abortion? Today the editor will give you a brief introduction, let's take a look below!
1. Temperature
Temperature is the main cause of zucchini fruit abortion. During the growth of zucchini, if the daytime temperature exceeds 35°C and the nighttime temperature is above 20°C, photosynthesis of the zucchini will be seriously affected, causing increased respiration. The stems and leaves receive a large amount of carbohydrates, leading to excessive vegetative growth and nutritional deficiency in the zucchini vines, causing zucchini fruit abortion. However, the temperature should not be too low either; if the daytime temperature is below 20°C and the nighttime temperature is below 10°C, the absorption capacity of the roots will also be affected, likewise causing fruit abortion.
2. Light
Light is very important for the growth of zucchini. Especially during the flowering period of zucchini, if there is continuous cloudy and rainy weather, the duration and intensity of natural light will drop significantly. Moreover, the temperature difference between day and night is small, which affects the photosynthesis of the zucchini. The nutrients consumed by the whole plant far exceed the nutrients produced by the zucchini, thus causing fruit abortion due to insufficient nutrition and other reasons.
3. Density
Planting density is also a cause of zucchini fruit abortion. When planting zucchini, if the planting density is too high, the zucchini plants will compete with each other for growth influence. The aboveground parts will also compete with each other for growth space. Once the leaf area of the zucchini reaches 4 or more, it will reduce the air permeability of the zucchini plants, which will also inhibit the photosynthesis of the zucchini, consume excessive nutrients, and increase the fruit abortion rate.
4. Pollination
During the flowering period of zucchini, if pollination is poor or artificial pollination is not carried out at all, then the zucchini ovary cannot produce auxin, causing the embryo growth inside the fruit to be hindered. Moreover, during vegetative growth, the plant will also compete for the nutrients needed for fruit growth. When the growth nutrients of the female flower are insufficient, the plant auxin content in the ovary will decrease significantly, thus causing the zucchini to fail to set fruit and resulting in fruit abortion.
The above is a brief introduction to what causes zucchini fruit abortion. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!