Pumpkin meeting explains to producers how to control diseases

Vegetable farmers and market growers can learn more about the pumpkin industry and find solutions to current industry issues by attending the Purdue Pumpkin Twilight Meeting Sept. 17 in Wanatah, Ind.

The meeting will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. CDT at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center, located at 11402 S. County Line Road.

“A tour will give participants an opportunity to observe different varieties of pumpkins, first hand,” said Liz Maynard, Purdue Extension horticulture specialist.”

The tour will cover 29 varieties of pumpkins spread across a two-acre area. Twelve of the varieties will have some pumpkins with fungicide applications and some without. Maynard will give a demonstration with harvested pumpkins showing the results of the fungicide applications.

“Participants will be able to walk through the plots and see for themselves what the difference is between the varieties. They can take what they have learned back to their own patches,” she said.

Dan Egel, Purdue Extension plant specialist, will discuss powdery mildew, how to manage the disease and what varieties and fungicides are most suitable to use.

Powdery mildew is a talc-like fungus that will overtake a patch and reduce the pumpkin quality, if not treated correctly. It is common in Indiana and is present in most untreated patches.

Participants will have an opportunity to visit with representatives of six seed companies that have been developing seed resistance to mildew. Some of these varieties are on the market and some are in the experimental stage.

Program sponsors include Northwest Indiana Commercial Horticulture Program, Purdue University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue Agriculture Research Program, Purdue Agricultural Centers and Purdue Extension.

For more information and directions, visit http://www.hort.purdue.edu/fruitveg/events/PumpkinTomatoTour09.pdf , or contact Maynard at 219-785-5673, emaynard@purdue.edu .

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