From I have read on this B is very important to proper pollen formation and might be the cause of these shriveled tips and blossom end splits on the kins.
funny how the ph adjustment fixed the nutrient uptake of most but not the B, Mn or S
especially when the S and Mn are very high on the soil test.
After the original tests and the discussion I had with Ian at A&L labs I did an extreme pruning on all 5 gourd plants , I tested the ph of my water on the advice of Joel Jarvis and found it to be over 8. I have since only applied water treated to the ph of 6.0. At the request of Mike ( Zeke) Demars I took another leaf tissue off of the same plant in on tuesday ( 3 weeks after the first test ) and I was surprized by the results. I have also noticed the shivelled tips are filling out and firming up on the gourds that had not already started to rot. I will be applying Boron and Manganese today.
I hope this helps this helps in finding a solution to the problem. I have a new opinion of soil and leaf tissue test and would be interested in seeing the results of other growers test with the same problems to compare
The 'verbage' in the rules is 'rotten, shriveled or rubbery should be left at home'...what if there's no rot, theres no shriveling (starting to sound funny now;), and the gourd is firm? Not trying to be difficult but wondering if 'nipping the tip' at an early age of a pointy gourd (they seem to be the problem ones) may avoid the problem?...we do it on AG's if the blossom end looks like the're going to pose a problem. Will leave you with a scar on the bottom of the fruit but a solid fruit.
For the record i see non viable seeds in shriveled tips that would indicate a problem with pollen transfer or nutrient transport, not a genetic predisposition.
"The tip of the gourd must be firm and in good condition. Those with a tip that is rotten, shriveled, or rubbery should be left at home. If such a specimen does appear at a GPC site , it may be listed as damaged (DMG).
8) Recognizing that the perfect long gourd is a rarity, very minor surface cracks, soft spots and other flaws may be permitted at the discretion of the GPC judges.
I would say no Joel. The GPC rules are stated as follows; The tip of the gourd must be firm and in good condition. Those with a tip that is rotten, shriveled or rubbery should be left at home. If such a specimen does appear at a GPC site, it may be listed as damaged (DMG). That rule was brought in in hopes that if it was a genetic condition or genetic predisposition to the problem that it would eventually get weeded out of the gene pool.
If a gourd tip starts to 'wrinkle' and remedial action is taken and the progression of the 'wrinkle' is stopped, dries up and fruit remains firm ...can that gourd still be considered for competition?
Sounds interesting. I wonder just what size of plant is needed to stop this from happening. Maybe growing it along the ground would help it root more & be able to pick up extra Ca. It would be nice to hear from our 2 LG guru's Al Eaton & Todd Kline on their thoughts.
iI took a vine in with leaves , soil, root, and a wrinkled tip gourd and this is what they recomended and did
Ian believes that it is blossom end rot and was pretty much bang on with the tissue test results before they did the test
He seams to think that thre might be too much plant to support a fruit demanding more calcium then the root can supply
I have since foliar sprayed 1 ounce of borax in 2 gal of water and 2 oz of superman and just watering with no K or Ca still going to apply sea weed and fish
The plants have now been prune to 4 ft x 12 ft and have new sets on all 5 plants
any other suggestions would be helpfull
The leaf blight disease issue has been delt with successfully by applying headline amp
Was the tissue sample from a leaf or is it from the fruit it self? I wonder what the results would be if you sent in a tissue sample from the wrinkled up tip of the LG.
Although not an expert, my LG also has a wrinkled and now rotted growing tip. According to my soil report I also had a deficiency in Calcium, Boron and Manganese. It is not Manganese. I'm pretty sure it is either/or Calcium and Boron. I know a lack of Boron can cause splitting in field pumpkins.
From I have read on this B is very important to proper pollen formation and might be the cause of these shriveled tips and blossom end splits on the kins.
funny how the ph adjustment fixed the nutrient uptake of most but not the B, Mn or S
especially when the S and Mn are very high on the soil test.
after going back over my soil test and seeing the manganese levels i have not applied anything as of yet
a little more computor time and knowledge before applying anything
After the original tests and the discussion I had with Ian at A&L labs I did an extreme pruning on all 5 gourd plants , I tested the ph of my water on the advice of Joel Jarvis and found it to be over 8. I have since only applied water treated to the ph of 6.0. At the request of Mike ( Zeke) Demars I took another leaf tissue off of the same plant in on tuesday ( 3 weeks after the first test ) and I was surprized by the results. I have also noticed the shivelled tips are filling out and firming up on the gourds that had not already started to rot. I will be applying Boron and Manganese today.
I hope this helps this helps in finding a solution to the problem. I have a new opinion of soil and leaf tissue test and would be interested in seeing the results of other growers test with the same problems to compare
The 'verbage' in the rules is 'rotten, shriveled or rubbery should be left at home'...what if there's no rot, theres no shriveling (starting to sound funny now;), and the gourd is firm? Not trying to be difficult but wondering if 'nipping the tip' at an early age of a pointy gourd (they seem to be the problem ones) may avoid the problem?...we do it on AG's if the blossom end looks like the're going to pose a problem. Will leave you with a scar on the bottom of the fruit but a solid fruit.
For the record i see non viable seeds in shriveled tips that would indicate a problem with pollen transfer or nutrient transport, not a genetic predisposition.
GPC rules regulating long gourds section 7:
"The tip of the gourd must be firm and in good condition. Those with a tip that is rotten, shriveled, or rubbery should be left at home. If such a specimen does appear at a GPC site , it may be listed as damaged (DMG).
8) Recognizing that the perfect long gourd is a rarity, very minor surface cracks, soft spots and other flaws may be permitted at the discretion of the GPC judges.
I would say no Joel. The GPC rules are stated as follows; The tip of the gourd must be firm and in good condition. Those with a tip that is rotten, shriveled or rubbery should be left at home. If such a specimen does appear at a GPC site, it may be listed as damaged (DMG). That rule was brought in in hopes that if it was a genetic condition or genetic predisposition to the problem that it would eventually get weeded out of the gene pool.
If a gourd tip starts to 'wrinkle' and remedial action is taken and the progression of the 'wrinkle' is stopped, dries up and fruit remains firm ...can that gourd still be considered for competition?
Sounds interesting. I wonder just what size of plant is needed to stop this from happening. Maybe growing it along the ground would help it root more & be able to pick up extra Ca. It would be nice to hear from our 2 LG guru's Al Eaton & Todd Kline on their thoughts.
Thanks John
iI took a vine in with leaves , soil, root, and a wrinkled tip gourd and this is what they recomended and did
Ian believes that it is blossom end rot and was pretty much bang on with the tissue test results before they did the test
He seams to think that thre might be too much plant to support a fruit demanding more calcium then the root can supply
I have since foliar sprayed 1 ounce of borax in 2 gal of water and 2 oz of superman and just watering with no K or Ca still going to apply sea weed and fish
The plants have now been prune to 4 ft x 12 ft and have new sets on all 5 plants
any other suggestions would be helpfull
The leaf blight disease issue has been delt with successfully by applying headline amp
it is a great product to have in your arsenal
Hopefully this will help
but his soil isn't lacking Brad. Sufficient B and too much Ca. All the nutrients are high or very high. the plants not picking them up.
Was the tissue sample from a leaf or is it from the fruit it self? I wonder what the results would be if you sent in a tissue sample from the wrinkled up tip of the LG.
Although not an expert, my LG also has a wrinkled and now rotted growing tip. According to my soil report I also had a deficiency in Calcium, Boron and Manganese. It is not Manganese. I'm pretty sure it is either/or Calcium and Boron. I know a lack of Boron can cause splitting in field pumpkins.