Re: [gourds] Gourds collapsing/rotting while developing
Owen Kibel (gourds@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 18 Jan 1998 23:26:28 -0800
MOORE John wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> We are in the middle of summer, and I thought my gourds were going
> well,
> until I noticed that all the gourds that appeared to have set recently
>
> (generally through my own manual efforts) are not developing beyond 2
> or
> 3 inches in diameter, when they just seem to give up. They go soft,
> collapse and mostly start to rot, on otherwise healthy looking vines,
> and these are the same vines that have already got large healthy
> looking
> gourds on them that set one or two months ago, including a large
> bottle
> gourd the size of a basketball. What might be causing this?
John,
There may be several explanations, but first consider that this might be
a normal phase of gourd growth. The plants can only nourish a limited
number of large fruit and tend to abort smaller fruit when there are
large ones already on the vine. Developing gourds of virtually any size
begin to collapse. The plants tend to go through phases of development,
with fruit growth not always in sync with foliage.
> fertilized them recently with a complete fertilizer, but believe I
> followed the directions properly. It has been quite hot recently (41
> deg C last Saturday), but I keep them watered and they rarely wilt
> during the day.
The combination of chemical fertilizers and hot weather can cause severe
dehydration if the fertilizers burn the root system and draw water away
from the the plant osmotically. Over-watering can also paradoxically
cause dehydration if the roots die from lack of oxygen. This would
especially apply if gourds are grown in containers without enough
drainage.
It is also possible that the plants have a bacterial disease, which your
local nurseries might offer products for. However you could wait for the
plants to hopefully recover. The weather should become less extreme as
the Southern summer begins to wane. Water a wide area around the plants
as they have shallow widespread root systems and allow them plenty of
space. Do not cultivate too much this late in the season near the plants
- it disturbs their roots - they seem to withstand weeds fairly well by
growing over them and shading them. Interesting to hear how they will
do.
Owen