Troubleshooting Guide
Fruit Bending in Cucurbits
Misshaped Fruit and Insufficient Pollination
In case of misshaped or small size fruits, cut open the fruit and check the seed set. If the fruits have low seed set or partial set try to find out the reason!
• Due to overdose fertilizer, plants remain in vegetative stage
• Insufficient movement of the plants for self pollinators
• Crop is too dense and difficult for pollinators to enter
• Too high temperatures or too low
• No or insufficient male flowers
• Low or no insect activity
Cucumber Fruit Bending Issues
Fruit Bending in Cucurbits (2)
Cucumber Fruit Bending Issues
Fruit Bending Due to Pollination Issues
Causes of Fruit Bending
Pollination Problems:
1. Lack of complete pollination will result to fruit bending.
2. Pollinators available around the crop are both active and less active.
3. Conditions may not be supportive and not favorable for good or complete pollination.
4. Stress conditions: Too dry condition or continuous rains during flowering. As a result, cucumber ovaries may get fully pollinated.
5. Stress conditions: Heat kill the pollens
6. Alive pollens & dead pollens carried by pollinators may lead to partial pollination
Fruit Bending in Cucurbits (3)
Causes of Fruit Bending
• Physical Barriers:
Bending happens if growing or elongating fruits get tangled.
• Crop Nutrition:
Less support on the application of fertilizers.
• Insect Damage:
Sap sucking insect pests feeding may interfere the pollination. It may affect pollen development and quantity.
How to Manage or Prevent Fruit Bending?
To ensure good pollination and growing conditions
1. Keep barriers or obstacles away from the developing fruits while growing on the trellis.
2. Enforce the crop nutrition. Adding boron and magnesium at flowering stage are helpful for pollen tube and pollen development.
3. Control the sucking pests
4. Prevent crops from stress
5. Adequate irrigation
