Early in the season, it’s not uncommon to find that your pumpkin leaves are turning yellow. While this may seem alarming, it’s actually quite normal and more common than you might think. But why exactly does this happen? Are you also thinking, why are my Pumpkin leaves turning yellow?
Yellowing leaves can be the result of several different problems. But, don’t worry, it’s probably not the end of your pumpkin plant. Many reasons cause Pumpkin leaves to turn yellow, and luckily most of them don’t mean disaster for your plant.
The leaves have evolved this way to protect the plant from extreme sunlight and other environmental hazards. So even if you see yellowing in the leaves, the pumpkin fruit may still turn out fine.
Almost all of the causes of yellowing leaves of the Pumpkin plant can be taken care of through attentive care and proper observation.
So, let’s take a look at some common reasons why pumpkin leaves turn yellow and what you can do about them.
Reasons That Answer Why Are My Pumpkin Leaves Turning Yellow
1) Overwatering or Underwatering
Watering habits is the most important thing while looking out for why are my Pumpkin leaves turning yellow. When watering your pumpkins, you have to strike a balance between overwatering and underwatering.
Too much water can cause root rot and lead to yellow leaves in your Pumpkin plant. Before planting your pumpkin seeds or seedlings, make sure you’ve prepared a well-draining soil with plenty of compost mixed in. Water regularly while they’re growing, but don’t let them sit in soggy soil for long periods.
Too little water will make your Pumpkin plant dry. Unfortunately, this also causes yellowing of leaves in the Pumpkin plant.
You can easily find that something has gone wrong with your watering routine if your Pumpkin plant displays yellow leaves. So, try adjusting your routine accordingly. If you take care of your Pumpkin plant by maintaining good watering conditions, it will reward you with high yields.
2) Too Much or Too Less Fertilizers
The yellow leaves in your Pumpkin plant can be because you’re feeding too much fertilizer or not enough. Either extreme can cause leaves in your Pumpkin plant to turn yellow. So it’s important to achieve a proper balance when feeding your plant.
If your leaves are yellowing and falling off in large amounts, it could be because of nutrient deficiency. Fertilizing your plant with excess Potassium with Nitrogen will cause smaller leaves.
Using Phosphorus when deficient will produce larger ones. Watering them frequently may help increase vigour while keeping them properly hydrated during dry spells will ensure strong roots. This helps in nutrient retention as well.
Sometimes growing conditions vary from season to season and year to year, meaning one season, your plant may need more water and fertilizer than another. Make sure you monitor the fertilizer needs closely along with the quality of sunlight and soil.
3) Bacteria & Diseases
The pumpkin plant is affected by a wide range of diseases, pests and bacteria. One of those is Fusarium Wilt. It is also known as Bacterial Wilt or Verticillium Wilt.
Like many other plants, the Pumpkin plant can get infected by Fusarium Wilt through certain pathogens that cause browning in leaves, wilting, and stunted plant growth. The fungal-like pathogen spreads rapidly from plant to plant through water or soil contaminated with seeds, spores or roots.
Downey Mildew is a disease that causes yellow leaves in a Pumpkin plant. This is one of the most common diseases in a Pumpkin plant.
Fungal infections cause mildews. Symptoms of Downy Mildew include spotting and discolouration of leaves, stunted plant growth and eventually death.
4) Less Sunlight
Sunlight is another important reason to find out why are my Pumpkin leaves turning yellow. If you have too little sunlight, your pumpkins’ leaves will be turning yellow because they’re not getting enough light.
You can fix that by growing them in a different location or transplanting them to an area with more sun.
Alternatively, if you have a lot of other plants around your Pumpkin, you may need to thin out some of those plants, so there’s more room for the sun.
5) Natural Process
It may look alarming to see the leaves of your Pumpkin plant turning yellow, but don’t worry. The leaves won’t die, and your plant will continue to grow and produce Pumpkins for you.
This yellowing might just be a sign of a natural process occurring in your plant. If so, you don’t have to do anything about yellowing leaves as they aren’t harmful. Plus, if they fall off while your plant grows new ones, it helps protect against diseases.
Apart from turning yellow with age, a pumpkin plant grows pale green and gets darker as they grow. So, it is recommended to leave them in direct sunlight so they’ll ripen more quickly.
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Many factors could affect leaf health and find out why are my Pumpkin leaves turning yellow. Leaf yellowing occurs when a plant is stressed, so it can be caused by over or under watering or insufficient light or nutrients.
However, it can also occur if a disease has infected your pumpkin plant. A light infestation of spider mites or a nutrient deficiency caused by overfertilizing can cause yellowing in older, mature leaves, as well as younger leaves that are still developing.
If there is no insect or nutrient problem, then yellowing may be caused by fungal disease and leaf blight.
To treat pumpkin leaves that are turning yellow, you will have to identify and eliminate any factors causing it. Some pesticides used in treating leaf blight also work on spider mites, so read pesticide labels carefully before using them.
Certain fungicides can help prevent or fight fungal infections, but they won’t do much to treat pumpkin leaves that have already turned yellow due to a fungal infection.
If you notice yellowing leaves on your pumpkin plant, look for any signs of disease first and then adjust your watering and fertilizing schedule as needed. Finally, remember that different varieties of pumpkins will require different care.