My Zuc plant has BER :-(

Qweniden · June 2, 2010

Anything I can do to save it?

Qweniden · June 2, 2010

Was just reading that maybe they arent getting pollinated. I guess I'll hand pollinating. Its going to be hard as the plants are so big.

**carolyn137** · June 2, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qweniden

Was just reading that maybe they arent getting pollinated. I guess I'll hand pollinating. Its going to be hard as the plants are so big.

it's not uncommon for summer squash to develop BER for the same reasons that tomatoes do. Cabbage and cauliflower and peppers, for instance, canalso develop BER.

And if it's BER the ends will have a dark brown to blackish area but if it's just a lack of pollination the ends of the infant squash will just look withered.

Be sure that you have both male and female blossoms on the plants before you think of hand pollinating, which is something I never had to do.

Qweniden · June 3, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

it's not uncommon for summer squash to develop BER for the same reasons that tomatoes do. Cabbage and cauliflower and peppers, for instance, canalso develop BER.

And if it's BER the ends will have a dark brown to blackish area but if it's just a lack of pollination the ends of the infant squash will just look withered.

Be sure that you have both male and female blossoms on the plants before you think of hand pollinating, which is something I never had to do.

Yeah, its black and rotten looking at the end

Can I salvage them? Not all the fruits have it.

shelleybean · June 3, 2010

I have never experienced BER on any squash before but I have had tomato varieties that displayed BER early in the season and then it resolved on its own, producing normal fruit the remainder of the time. Any fruit that doesn't have it is fine to eat.

**carolyn137** · June 3, 2010

No, you can't salvage the fruits that have it, just remove them from the vines.

But as long as you have both male and female blossoms on your squash plants the insects will do the pollinating as they normally do and the next set of squash will probably be OK.

The same stresses that induce BER in tomatoes are the ones that do it for other crops including your zukes, and similar to the situation with tomatoes, as those stresses disappear with time the BER will go away.

Next thing I'll read here is that you'll be posting that you have too many zukes.

June 2, 2010	#1
Qweniden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 267	My Zuc plant has BER :-( Anything I can do to save it?

June 3, 2010	#5
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I have never experienced BER on any squash before but I have had tomato varieties that displayed BER early in the season and then it resolved on its own, producing normal fruit the remainder of the time. Any fruit that doesn't have it is fine to eat. __________________ Michele

June 3, 2010	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	No, you can't salvage the fruits that have it, just remove them from the vines. But as long as you have both male and female blossoms on your squash plants the insects will do the pollinating as they normally do and the next set of squash will probably be OK. The same stresses that induce BER in tomatoes are the ones that do it for other crops including your zukes, and similar to the situation with tomatoes, as those stresses disappear with time the BER will go away. Next thing I'll read here is that you'll be posting that you have too many zukes. __________________ Carolyn