British Columbia: misshapen zucchinis

My zucchini fruits are misshapen, they are wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, the tops are yellowing and then rotting.
Is this a decease or nutrients problem?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Kind regards
Ann

 

Hi IMO, this is possibly a pollination problem. My wife and I used to grow Courgettes (Zucchini) and this started to occur to ours when bees and insects started to decline. So IMO your Zucchini was not pollinated properly, causing the deformity. Have you noticed a lack of bees and insects in your garden this year??
Or it maybe that you have not watered it enough, they are 'incredibly' thirsty. Ours were watered daily, sometimes twice a day to get a good crop.
Hope that's of some help

 

I was thinking it may have something to do with the growing conditions while the fruit was forming. I notice you are growing them in pots. It can be difficult to maintain even and sufficient water in pots especially for thirsty plants like zucchini. Also it does not like cool weather at all and especially while forming fruit.

 

Thank you very much for your prompt answer;
This was my suspicious as well, I have mason bees houses in my garden and I was hopping that they would do the job in early spring I guess they were not that many this year to do the proper pollination.
I've noticed that there are more bees around around in my garden right now, so perhaps they will pollinate the new forming zucchinis.
Should I remove the ones which are deformed, giving the mother plant some time to rejuvenate.

 

Thank you very much for your answer Eric.
I'm growing them in pots, since we have a serious infestation of powdery mildew here, this way I can move them under the roof when it's raining.

 

I would remove them and ensure the pots are placed closer to the bees and also make sure you water regularly. Do not move them undercover when it rains btw. Rian water is always best.

 

Thank you so much for all your answers, will do exactly as you suggested.