Skip to Main Content

It’s a great pumpkin year, Charlie Brown

With horticulture degrees from Purdue, assistant professor of weed science Stephen Meyers and his wife Jess were ahead of the curve – or ahead of the carve – when it came to growing pumpkins.

Meyers has always been interested in horticulture, professionally and personally. When the couple recently moved back to Indiana, they decided to use some of their land to grow and sell pumpkins, which afforded Meyers a deeper appreciation for some of the gourd’s temperamental tendencies.

Pumpkin yields vary widely year to year in Indiana and the Midwest, where roughly 90 percent of the country’s pumpkins are grown. In 2015, most of the crop was killed off, leaving a jack-o-lantern shaped hole on most porches at Halloween.

There are a couple reasons pumpkins prove more erratic than other crops, Meyers said. Rain and moisture can be a major issue, as it was during the great pumpkin shortages of 2015, and 2009 before that.

“There are a lot of pathogens that pumpkins are susceptible to and they spread more easily and are more problematic in wet weather,” Meyers explained. “One of the ways to help combat this is to plant a cereal rye cover crop in the fall before planting pumpkins the following summer.  This puts a barrier between pumpkins and the soil.”

Of course, pathogens spread even without excessive moisture and pumpkin diseases have been known to take out crops even during drier seasons.

meyers-portrait.jpg
Stephen Meyers

Insects can also hinder a healthy pumpkin yield. Squash bugs (Anasa tristis) feed on plant sap and, while doing so, inject toxins into stems and leaves, which lead to damage or death. These bugs are also vectors for the cucurbit yellow vine disease bacterium, which is a rapid and deadly plant disease.

But, despite the many pathogens and pitfalls open to pumpkins, preventative measures can be taken.

“In addition to planting cover crops in between seasons, we can use disease-resistant cultivars, rotate our crops, and apply plant protectants when needed, which helps keep the plants healthy. It’s also important to allow pumpkins room to ramble.”  For Meyers that means each plant gets 18 to 32 square feet of field space. “A successful pumpkin crop requires proper management and help from Mother Nature.”

This year brings good news for pumpkins and pumpkin enthusiasts: the pumpkin crop is strong throughout the state. Meyers adds, “It’s great to see our pumpkins bring a little joy to children and grown-ups alike. The simple act of picking out a pumpkin brings a sense of normalcy, something much needed in 2020.”

Featured Stories

Piglets
Combined microbiome datasets yield accurate prediction of animal ages

An analysis combining the results of 14 studies from around the globe has uncovered some common...

Read More
A hand holding two eggs
Rehabilitation through agricultural skills with Purdue Farmer-to-Farmer Trinidad and Tobago

Gardening and poultry care are sometimes seen as trendy hobbies in the U.S., but in Trinidad and...

Read More
Claire King waters her quinoa in the greenhouse.
Claire King named a Golden Opportunity Scholar

It’s easy to imagine the whole of agriculture as a giant feast sprawled out on an equally...

Read More
Logos for the American Fisheries Society, Society of American Forestry and The Wildlife Society conventions/conferences
FNR Research Was Well-Represented at Fall Organizational Conferences

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources and the cutting-edge research being performed by its...

Read More
corn silk
Understanding Black Layer Formation in Corn

The use of the term “black layer” is often a universal method among farmers and...

Read More
corn silk
Paying Attention to In-Season Nitrogen Timing is Important when following a Rye Cover Crop

Managing and maintaining a high-yielding corn crop following a cereal rye cover crop can often be...

Read More
To Top