Hi--newbie here-- I have a hubbard squash. It looks great and has a nice 6 foot runner. The problem is near the base of that runner there is an ugly split maybe two inches long which follows along the vine. I only noticed this yesterday. Photo attached. I looked inside the split and and gently poked around and did not find any bugs/borers. The split is weeping a bit. Is this a pest or did some stresses on the vine cause it to split? I put a shovelful of dirt further along the runner in hopes it will lay down secondary roots. Does anyone know what is happening to my squash? Suggestions on how to proceed? thanks, Steve
My guess would be that it is just a mechanical stress problem, not a disease or pest, I don't know if covering the runners will make it root or just encourage it to rot. You might improve your chances for an informed reply if you move this post to the fruit & vegetables or pests and diseases forum.
Thanks for the comment. much appreciated. The split has grown a lot--it might be 6 inches and is totally wide open, but it looks stable now. The runner is probably 8 feet long and growing, and looks completely healthy. The runner is growing 4 runners. I stuck compost under each of the baby secondary roots and given that it continues to run, I have stopped worrying. Also, I accidentally found out that one of the secondary roots was at least half a foot long. I find it curious that it just keeps growing despite a rather severe split/damage at the base of the runner.
Update: squash plant is fine, and there is a big hubbard squash growing on the runner. the squash is about 30" around and looks great. There doesn't seem to be any issues at all coming from the split, despite the concerns I originally had.
I personally would not worry about it. my family have grown squash plants up here in New Hampshire U.S.A for many years (including hubbard) the problem may be caused from to much water. The plants stems as you will notice is hollow and stores water inside it if it contians to much much water it will split. I hope this helps.
Final update: As it turns out our hubbard squash produced a 21 pound squash fruit on the damaged runner. It sure is tasty too! Squash are much more robust than I imagined. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. In particular, burying the secondary roots may have been helpful as those roots seem to have taken hold to some extent.
