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Cleveland, Illinois

Hello, I am a newbie on this site and a relative newbie at growing pumpkins. Every year I have the same problem. For last three years that I am growing the pumpkins, they start out just fine and look wonderful, and then the leaves turn a yellowish green, then yellow, then die. It seems to start at the base and progress is very rapidly. There are no blotches. or marks on the leaves or the edges changing color. By the time I see something is going on, the whole vine is yellowed within a couple days. I see no bugs or holes in the stems or any sign of infestation whatsoever. When I cut open the stems, I also don’t find anything. I spray every 7 to 10 days with liquid seven and.Baconil fungicide. I make sure I get underneath the leaves. It does nothing! Both my daughters also grow pumpkins in this area and they have the exact same problem. I expect it’s a virus of some kind.Please help me find out what is going on!

7/13/2026 5:18:11 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

general nutrient defeciency id give something like 20-20-20 and see

7/13/2026 7:07:23 PM

Cleveland, Illinois

Thank you for your response. I do give them generous amounts of 10 1010 and a chicken manure tea. Also the rate of decline is so rapid, it seems to be more than just nutrition.

7/13/2026 8:02:48 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Maybe a severe nutrient uptake problem caused by damaged roots

7/13/2026 8:49:21 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Before they turn yellow, do they wilt badly almost like they were cut off from the vine (but obviously not)? Or, do they keep their shape and turn yellow?

I doubt it is nutrition if going that fast.

7/13/2026 9:48:52 PM

Cleveland, Illinois

You are correct, they do wilt before turning the greeny yellow. I thought it was from the heat as I know that is common, but they seem to wilt more severely. Sounds more like what is happening, do you have a idea?

7/13/2026 10:11:57 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Do you know what squash vine borers are? Field pumpkins show external damage from them easily, but AGs have bigger vines so harder to find the frass they leave behind until they do enough internal damage that the leaves get cut off and wilt. Eventually they cut off the vine as a whole to the point where they cannot be salvaged. They bore in when they are tiny and grow once inside the hollow vine. If you cut open a compromised vine and it looks like damp sawdust or like a mustard paste, it is SVB. You should be able to find the grubs in the vine, but there are likely many.

If not SVB, has to be a virus or disease like yellow vine disease or some type of bacterial wilt. I am not real familiar with diagnosing those so I will let someone else do that.

7/13/2026 10:40:38 PM

Cleveland, Illinois

Thank you! I will look for that although I have cut them open before and not seeing evidence of anything but I will look again. This is been very baffling. I even took pictures to the local horticulture\seed store and they couldn’t tell me anything definite. I looked at this site top 10 problems with pumpkins thinking that it had to be there because the problem is so common with my daughters and I. I also grow squash, and after the pumpkins yellow and die the squash will die also.

[Last edit: 07/13/26 11:22:38 PM]

7/13/2026 11:16:39 PM

C N Y

I'd prefer if no one dismissed nutrition as a 'root cause', ha ha, right off the bat. If I go 4-6 hours without food, do I get hungry? Yup. 8-10 hours, I might not get as much done even while pushing myself to go even longer and get that brake job done, mow a little more, etc. A full day? Never happened, lol, but I might turn yellow and wilt. No evidence of anything other than lack of (enough/high-/often-enough) fertilization is all I would see and feel. Another grower once told us that the leaves on trees give back their elements and that is why they turn colors and fall off. I never even really wondered why they do that, anyway, and I'm usually pretty well-informed on scientific stuff. Upon reading/hearing this, it changed my perspective on my plants' health a lot. One might not notice a sad leaf until it's really sad. 10-10-10. Granular or water-soluble? I, myself am in 'crisis mode' as to my own plants' fertility, as I am almost out of my own water-soluble fertilizer. Same thing, every year, lol. These are to be GIANT pumpkins, not store-bought ones and they take a *great amount* of anything they can get. Ever throttle a minibike that needs its (lean) carburetor adjusted, or an older car? Same effect, really. 'Bawwwwww...' *Please pardon my grumpy tone, as Wal-Mart is out of what I wanted to get tonight (24-8-16 WS fert) and it'll be more $$ wherever they do have it.* In summation, I will get that fert tomorrow and copiously apply it at the recommended dosage *butt at a frequency that is of 3X a week*, or every 3rd day if I could get into a schedule about it. I already 'am', but a couple days' being lax about it? >>>Yellowing leaves and serious concerns about set fruit aborting...

[Last edit: 07/14/26 12:56:55 AM]

7/14/2026 12:44:26 AM

C N Y

Sound familiar... If you have multiple plants, perhaps try even the 20-20-20 that was suggested, but not at '2-week intervals' like they may mention in the instructions... (I have also considered this, upon fruits becoming at least beachball-sized-on) ...on at least one of your plants **along with intensive adherence to others' advice**. I am not yet a Heavy Hitter. Chicken manure tea - you've got more guts than I do, lol! I do have months-old-but-nasty chicken manure in one of my patches this year and I am NOT stomping around out there until there are ????-pounders to be lifted, ha ha. Hard lessons were learned, lol. Things lacking are as bad as things in excess, so, you never know what the tea is doing, either.
Great Luck to you, and those yellowed leaves will prolly not ever recover, but they did their part in alerting you to a problem. Take care---eric g---PS---A plant weak in resources will be a prime target for any OthEr afflictions. "...Kick 'em when they're down..." '(Dirty Laundry - Don Henley)' eg

[Last edit: 07/14/26 12:54:20 AM]

7/14/2026 12:44:35 AM

Grittyville, WA

My plants have all died dont know if it's the same cause. I believe it was fusarium. But, different diseases for different areas of the country. There was an aspect of yellowing and collapse of plant health and no fertilizer cures it, once it has progressed too far I think they are done for.

7/14/2026 1:41:32 AM

Grittyville, WA

It seems to be an endemic disease here, in compost, etc. I dont know if that's your issue. Posting some pics would help narrow it down.

7/14/2026 1:45:14 AM

C N Y

LK---'no fertilizer'? Oh, no! Ha ha just kidding and I agree with everyone here. Many villains can be at-hand. eg
PS---I had the best year in 5 (2025) doing what I'd suggest to myself and others. The year before was the worst. Ever.
I'll always take the nearest exit, lol. eg

[Last edit: 07/14/26 2:14:41 AM]

7/14/2026 1:59:20 AM

Upa Creek, MO

How fast is this process where they wilt and die? If rapid, I still think a disease or virus. There are some really good people at diagnosing problems on here, but they need to see the post. Try uploading a photo to grower diaries.

Leaves fall off trees due to external factors of changing seasons like less light and dropping temperatures which shift hormones in a process called abscission. In turn, they give back their "elements".

7/14/2026 7:45:02 AM

Cleveland, Illinois

Thank you. I did upload a video to grower’s diary, I hope I did it right. I don’t have RSS. I was hoping there were some good people on this site is why I started using it. I would sure appreciate any help they could give me. I’m getting desperate!

[Last edit: 07/14/26 12:09:08 PM]

7/14/2026 11:13:54 AM

Upa Creek, MO

Go to grower diaries and then your pic, you already got a diagnosis. Not 100% it is right, but you can ask further questions there. Big Moon gave a good guess of yellow vine disease which I mentioned above.

7/14/2026 5:56:09 PM

Cleveland, Illinois

Thank you all so very much!! I will try spraying every 2 to 3 days. Is there anything else that might help?

[Last edit: 07/14/26 10:06:26 PM]

7/14/2026 9:56:12 PM