Hello All,

I'm new to this forum and I have a problem with my butternut squash. They were doing fine and then all of a sudden the leaves closest to the main trunk started turning yellow, wilting and dying. The plant continues to vine and produce flowers, but no more squash. I have pics but don't know how to post, Help please.

Welcome to our World!

Squash tend to wax & wane in terms of productivity - there's a big flush of growth & flowering early in the season, followed by a partial dying back, but they can experience a regrowth if the plants & soil are healthy and conditions are good. Check for powdery mildew - that can cause the leaves to wither, but usually will not kill the plant. You can spray w/ a 50/50 milk/water solution to control. Make sure the soil has good drainage and is not too wet (or too dry). Mulching helps, as does covering the main stems with soil so they can put down multiple roots. Right now my squash are in their regrowth phase w/ lots of male flowers but no females. I think temperature extremes can affect the flowering cycles.

Check also for squash bugs and/or vine borers. The borers are laid as eggs by a certain species of moth. When they hatch, they burrow into the stems and eat them from the inside. If you look closely you can see where they enter the stems - there is usually a wound in the plant tissue oozing frass (the excrement of the larva). To kill the grub you need to cut the stem lengthwise w/ a sharp knife and extract the larva, then cover the stem w/ soil.

Our winter squash will set some fruit (2-5)and stop blossoming until they are ripe and picked. a week or so after picking the fruit, the squash will set a second harvest.

Covering the stems at various places so it can root is a fair defense from the squash borer. That way, if you don't catch the little buggers, part of the plant will continue to live.

mindwing

Thanks for the replies, I'll try your suggestions.