Summer squash virus?
 

My two yellow crookneck squash are producing lumpy, warty fruit. The
plants are prolific, but I don't want to eat these tough-fleshed
outballs. I've Googled and found a number of diseases, but not one is
described like this. Does anyone have any ideas? I live in Northern
California.

Diane M

Diane McGill wrote:
My two yellow crookneck squash are producing lumpy, warty fruit. The
plants are prolific, but I don't want to eat these tough-fleshed
outballs. I've Googled and found a number of diseases, but not one is
described like this. Does anyone have any ideas? I live in Northern
California.

Diane M


Is there catnip growing nearby?

I used to get the same thing; the squash plants would be healthy until
they started blooming, then they would get this virus -- yellow squash
would be green and warty, zucchini would turn a sick yellow. The plants
would get this twisted tortured look to them and die.

My brother mentioned the catnip to me. He says it's an alternate host
to a squash virus. I figure the squash and catnip are blooming at the
same time and bees visit both and carry infected pollen to the squash.
The virus infects the fruit and then moves it's way down.

I started a catnip eradication campaign, and I didn't grow any squash
for a couple of years until I got the catnip under control. And the
problem went away. Might be a coincidence, I dunno.

Catnip still comes up wild around here, but I pull most of it up (and
feed it to the cat) and I never let any of it bloom.

Hope this helps, :-)
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
Diane McGill wrote:

My two yellow crookneck squash are producing lumpy, warty fruit. The
plants are prolific, but I don't want to eat these tough-fleshed
outballs. I've Googled and found a number of diseases, but not one is
described like this. Does anyone have any ideas? I live in Northern
California.

Diane M



Is there catnip growing nearby?

I used to get the same thing; the squash plants would be healthy until
they started blooming, then they would get this virus -- yellow squash
would be green and warty, zucchini would turn a sick yellow. The plants
would get this twisted tortured look to them and die.

My brother mentioned the catnip to me. He says it's an alternate host
to a squash virus. I figure the squash and catnip are blooming at the
same time and bees visit both and carry infected pollen to the squash.
The virus infects the fruit and then moves it's way down.

I started a catnip eradication campaign, and I didn't grow any squash
for a couple of years until I got the catnip under control. And the
problem went away. Might be a coincidence, I dunno.

Catnip still comes up wild around here, but I pull most of it up (and
feed it to the cat) and I never let any of it bloom.

Hope this helps, :-)
Bob

Nope, no catnip, just dill, basil, chives and tarragon.

Diane

Diane McGill said:

My two yellow crookneck squash are producing lumpy, warty fruit. The
plants are prolific, but I don't want to eat these tough-fleshed
outballs. I've Googled and found a number of diseases, but not one is
described like this. Does anyone have any ideas? I live in Northern
California.

If the foliage is healthy, I might suggest another possibility; the plant
may have reverted to a gourd-type squash or the seed parent crossed
with a gourd.

I used to grow a variety of yellow acorn squash that occasionally
produced plants which grew lumpy, hard-shelled and bitter squash.
(And I remember reading that this reversion to a gourd-like fruit
was a known defect in the variety.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)