I believe you're refering to secondary roots that develop later under each leaf
junction......"Secondary roots potentially can develop on the vine at the base
of each leaf stem . Encourage this as much as possible. The secondary roots can
add weight to your fruit. A second benefit of secondary roots is that it
anchors the plant in the ground along the entire vine system and allows the
plant to better withstand windstorms.".......I removed all the "curly feelers"
from my 854 lber last year....Ken



MacTech wrote:

I hope someone can help me. i have pumpkin plants grwing in my garden.
They have started to sprout curly feelers if thats what they are called.
Are they needed? can I pluck them off? they are starting to attatch to my
other plants in the garden. thanks.

Do not pluck the feelers off. Those are secondary root systems. When
the vine is laying on the ground those feelers will bring nutrients
directly into the vine. They also help anchor the plant, without them
you can end up with a shredded plant the next time a big wind blows.
You should gently unwind them from the other plants and lay the vine
on the ground.

Randy

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