| Your assistance is needed in reference to my cucumbers. They were doing fine, now all the sudden the leaves are yellowing and the cucumbers are no longer enlongated but growing round. Please help. |
| Yellowing older leaves are a sign of a lack of water or low nitrogen. A lack of water may be due to a drought, but can also result from root damage (severed, rotten or drowned roots). If you feel plants may need some nutrition, a liquid plant food mixed and applied at label rates should confirm that with positive results in a week or so. Make sure you're watering plants adequately, especially during the hot days of summer. The round or misshapen fruit usually is a sign of poor or incomplete pollination. Make sure bees are present or you may have to take over their job by transferring pollen from male to female flowers with an artists brush. Bad weather conditions can reduce bee activity, pesticides can kill these insects, and excessive climatic conditions can hamper pollination success. The problem should clear up on its own with the onset of cooler fall weather. You may want to replant for your fall crop next summer, as older plants often have a lot of problems and produce poorly. Thanks for the question! |
