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C N Y

My opinion is that judging by that the other plants are doing well, the plant in question needs a little more of something than the others, whether it be...anything. I feel that different plants have ever-so-slightly different needs, just as a student in a classroom may need extra help with math or speaking in front of the class. Also, the failed, rogue fruit in the bottom-right pic says low phosphorous but there are many others who will be able to pinpoint the queried problem better than I. The weeds are doing well but they are not the fastest-growing plants in the world, either. No matter what, in my world of no soil test, I would hit that one plant with 24-8-16 water-soluble at the label strength every 3 days regardless if it rains or not - just not during, lol. THAT could be very bad advice but I am first out of the gate here. See, referencing 4 plants that are...well, 3 and one of my own, my 166 - 3 TOP seeds - the 2003 Haist, 1940 Urena and the 839 Sandercock, when I had hit them with 10-52-10 like twice in a couple days' time, the 2003 blew up my biggest '26 fruit (volleyball-sized), pretty much right after a day-long rainy spell. Couldn't believe it. I had used 10-52-10 to KEEP the ones I had pollinated. Then, a 166 began splitting open around its equator and was eventually removed. The other 166 was next and the 1940 had one on it but it just 'sat there' and because of an open pollination later on the main, was removed. Long story short (too late, lol) the 839 had been unprotected and was literally pecked about 15 times by a bird and THAT one is the only remaining fruit of the 4.

[Last edit: 08/01/26 2:16:12 AM]

8/1/2026 1:59:59 AM

C N Y

I've gone back to 24-8-16 and there has been a significant 2" of rain over the last 3 days or so and the growth rate is about 1 FOOT per day on a couple of my squashes, which I may have never seen before, I dunno. I suddenly have FIVE pollinations to do - THREE are on that 166 that I had said was 'next' (along with a new Open Pollination!) and
one is on a squash (one of the 1-ft-per-day plants - a secondary!) and the fifth is on a FP. ***The three pollinations tomorrow on the 166 are within a 3-foot span of the main. Whuttt... So, highly unpredictable they are and I wondered tonight if all the
fertilizing I had done trying to 'outrun' the rain got percolated down into the root zone of the plants and also there was plenty of water available to just put it all to good use. In summation, on that one plant, 24-8-16 every 3 days and there is no bad advice if it works, lol.
Once I have any at beachball-size, I will decide what to do differently and even now, I may alternate between 24-8-16 and 10-52-10. Although one can mix the ferts (to 17-30-13), I THINK I'll keep them confused. It seems to have had a positive effect on ME, lol. Maybe aborts start with insufficient water; We've all heard about 'exlosive growth' after a rainstorm, eh? In summation, again, lol, even though I am using 24-8-16 since like a week ago, a plant needs to keep growing, so, anything less than 24% might be too little Nitrogen and the same belief goes for the rest. I am sure that the fert I use has the micronutrients, as well.
I am not a Heavy Hitter (940.6 in 2020) and this rant is with many rough edges. I do, however, have 20 plants that made me say 'Wow!' tonight and all but 5 of them have fruits in good shape, whether just-pollinated or maybe soccer-ball-sized. No worries. Take care---eric gerry

8/1/2026 2:00:09 AM

C N Y

Sorry for the 500-page report, lol.
It is simply what would work for me in keeping them going, at least.
NY. Midnight. Pumpkin plants. Full Moon. What's to not love? Ha ha---eg
PS---Almost forgot>>>I would put your query also in Fertilizing and Watering
or Pests, Diseases and Other Problems for greater coverage, if you'd like.
eg

8/1/2026 2:13:52 AM

Moscow, Russia

Eric, hello! Thank you so much for your advice and opinion. We will try to give more phosphorus to this plant. Although it seems to me that this is not the case here. I had a similar situation a few years ago, when I was growing giant pumpkins in the botanical garden. And the local agronomists told me that it looked more like a virus. Because there were no problems with nutrition. But you know what happened, I just remembered, heavy rains. And this year it rains and it's cold all the time. Useful elements in the soil are washed out as quickly as possible. Although other plants feel fine. Perhaps it's the plant itself. In my case, the plant never came to its senses, tied up the fruits, these fruits grew for a while, and then the plant dropped them.

8/1/2026 6:19:34 AM

Bethlehem CT

https://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=321992
The GPC wrote an article on this a few years ago. Its called the precocious b gene and it is triggered by cool/cold weather. It doesn't look to worrisome to me.

8/1/2026 8:15:43 AM

Bethlehem CT

I found the article
https://gpc1.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Common-Ground-Summer-2020.pdf

8/1/2026 8:18:21 AM

Bethlehem CT

I clipped this from the article. There are definite advantages to the precocious b gene. AG growers say it usually indicates the pumpkin will be a nice orange color.
"Fruits turn yellow earlier, making
them more suitable for baby
vegetable markets ?and they lack
the greenish cast typical of immature
fruits
- The ?B?gene may increase the
number of female flowers, increasing
yields
- Varieties with the ?B?gene do not
show symptoms when infected by
viruses". That is amazing, Perhaps growers who struggle with mosaic virus should only be growing plants with the precocious b gene?

8/1/2026 8:23:33 AM

Moscow, Russia

John, hello! Thank you so much for this information. We are more satisfied with this outcome of the case than if there was a virus and it was a matter of nutrition. But I can say for sure that when I had such leaves, the fruit was white, but there were orange fruits in the pedigree of this line. The only thing that bothers me is that the plant eventually stopped growing in me, maybe something else played a role, it wasn't the leaves. Interestingly, this gene doesn't affect the chlorophyll content in the leaves. I'll read the article, maybe I'll find the answers there. Thanks again!

8/1/2026 10:44:36 AM

Grittyville, WA

Looks like a field kin. Does precocious b apply to field kins? Probably does!

8/1/2026 12:38:32 PM

Grittyville, WA

Never mind. I guess I was seeing that wrong.

8/1/2026 12:39:40 PM

C N Y

I used to be precocious. Now, I have to wonder about if it's in a pumpkin plant, lol. I also learned that there is ONLY a wild goose chase - if it were tame, no need to chase, lol---eg

8/1/2026 9:32:07 PM