Favorite crop for local deer population in the FingerLakes of NYS. Pumpkins are a key fresh market vegetable crop for NY producers, and are in the top five vegetable crops in terms of crop value. Pumpkins are produced for local direct-to-consumer sales and for large wholesale markets in the eastern US. Unlike other vegetable crops, pumpkins are grown almost exclusively for ornamental use and few are actually consumed. Because of the lack of registered herbicides, weeds are probably the most important pest of pumpkin production; the industry has a critical need for more registrations of weed control products. Like other cucurbits, pumpkins are susceptible to a very wide range of diseases such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, gummy stem blight, and Phythophthora fruit and crown rot. Deer will paw through the snow for corn, turnips, pumpkins, and other crops left after harvest.
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