by Zucchini is an unpretentious crop. But sometimes it happens that the plants suddenly lose their ovaries. There may be several reasons. But often the problem can be solved. If you know how to act correctly.
When a large number of ovaries are formed, some of them dry up. This is normal, because there is not enough nutrition for all the fruits. But if too many ovaries fall off, then this is a cause for concern.
To avoid ovary shedding, you need to not only allocate sunny areas for zucchini, follow crop rotation rules and regularly care for the crop. Let’s figure out what causes ovary shedding on zucchini and how to prevent it.
Cold and damp weather
Zucchini is a heat-loving crop. They do not tolerate temperature changes, excessive humidity, frequent rains and lack of sun. In bad weather, the plant weakens and cannot provide the fruits with the necessary nutrients, so the bush gets rid of some of the ovaries.
It is not easy to deal with the whims of the “heavenly office”, but some manipulations will minimize stress for the plant.
If the weather is cold outside or a significant temperature jump is expected, cover the developing crop with agrofibre or spunbond.
To protect against rain, make a canopy out of film or install old umbrellas over the squash bushes. Make sure that the flowers and formed ovaries are under cover. Raindrops pose a great threat to them.
Place straw or planks under the fruit – this will also protect it from excess moisture.
Try to loosen the soil more often so that the moisture evaporates faster and the earth dries out.
Bad pollination
In bad inclement weather, there are fewer pollinating insects in the garden. As a result, bumblebees and bees pollinate plants poorly and zucchini shed their ovaries.
The problem is solved by artificial pollination. From the squash bush, pick male flowers that do not have an ovary on the stem, and carefully apply them to the female inflorescences so that pollination occurs.
The second option is to spray the plants with a sweet solution of honey, sugar or a special agent to attract pollinators, which will lure insects to the squash bushes.
Incorrect watering
If you overdo it with watering, it will also lead to rotting and falling off of the ovaries. Zucchini does not like excess moisture, so try not to overdo it with water.
To preserve the ovaries, reduce the amount of watering and use the same recommendations as in the case of rainy weather – loosen the soil more often, mulch the plantings and put boards under the fruits.
Please note that excessively hot weather and lack of moisture also cause the ovaries to dry out and fall off.
Water the zucchini at the root as the top layer of soil dries out. Do this no more than once every 7-10 days. The average water consumption is about 10 liters per 1 sq.m. Use warm, settled water for watering. You cannot water the zucchini with cold water from a well, the zucchini will not appreciate it and may begin to rot.
Do not water the plants during the day. If water gets on the leaves in hot weather, they may get sunburned.
Thickened plantings
If the weather is good, bees are buzzing around and you haven’t over-watered, but the ovaries on your zucchini are still falling off, it’s possible that the dense planting is to blame.
When zucchini are planted close to each other, leaves grow and block sunlight and fresh air from the ovaries. As a result, they rot and fall off.
This problem is solved simply – it is enough to simply remove old leaves, especially those that cover the center of the bush. And regularly get rid of weeds so that the ovaries are ventilated and receive sunlight.
To prevent the plantings from becoming too dense, when growing this crop, keep a distance between plants of approximately 70×70 cm.
Faded inflorescences
Flowers that have already faded but still remain on the tips of young zucchini pose no less of a threat to the delicate ovaries.
During rains or watering, the flowers absorb moisture and rot. Then the rot spreads to the young ovary. In order not to lose it, regularly inspect the bushes and remove wilting squash flowers.
If the female flower has already rotted, but the fruit is still whole, carefully cut off the damaged part. Just do not tear off the flower roughly, this can damage the top of the ovary. Sprinkle the cut with ash to prevent excess moisture from getting into the fruit itself.
Carefully inspect each flower to avoid picking off live and blooming inflorescences. If pollination has not yet occurred, removing the flower will ruin any chances of a harvest.
Deficiency of nutrients
This is one of the most common reasons that leads to rotting and falling of ovaries. The lack of such microelements as boron and iodine has a particularly negative effect on pumpkin crops.
Iodine deficiency can occur due to watering with water containing high levels of iron, and boron may be lacking in the soil to begin with.
To replenish the balance of these substances, spray the squash bushes with solutions of boric acid (at the rate of 2 g per 10 l of water) and potassium iodide (in the same ratio). Or treat with complex fertilizers that include these microelements.
To ensure that the zucchini do not experience a deficiency of nutrients, take care of their replenishment in advance. Ten days after the emergence of shoots, dilute 50 g of superphosphate and 20 g of urea in 10 liters of water and feed them. Repeat the feeding a week later.
Zucchini also respond well to mullein feeding. To do this, dilute it with hot water in a ratio of 1:10 and let it stand for 3-4 hours. Then dilute it again in a ratio of 1:5 and water the bushes at the roots.
Diseases
The reason for the ovary dropping may also be crop diseases, such as cucumber mosaic virus or powdery mildew.
In the early stages, the infection affects the lower leaves, then the infection spreads to the rest of the plant, including the delicate skin of the ovaries.
If you notice signs of the disease, immediately remove the affected leaves and spray the plantings with fungicidal preparations, such as Alirin-B, Fitosporin-M, Topaz, etc.
Since pests can be carriers of the disease, it would not hurt to treat it with insecticidal preparations, for example, Aktara or Iskra Zolotoy, etc.
When using chemicals, take into account their duration of action in accordance with the instructions and correlate them with the expected harvest time.
If you eliminate these unfavorable factors, the ovaries will not fall off and the harvest will be more abundant.
