PITTSBURGH Excessive rainfall squashes hopes for pumpkin crops

Late planting, underpollination and mildew all affect the yields.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Finding the perfect pumpkin may be more elusive along the East Coast than anywhere else in the nation this fall.
Farmers up and down the Atlantic are blaming excessive rainfall this year for unsightly fungi being found on their orange orbs. They say the constant gloomy weather deterred bees from pollinating flower buds, a process needed for pumpkins to grow, and insufficient sunlight prevented many of the fruits from ripening in time for the autumn harvest.
"They're not turning up the yield that we expect to normally have," said Ed Shenot, 54, operator of Shenot Farms, a vegetable and fruit farm about 15 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Average elsewhere
While most of the United States is experiencing average pumpkin yields, horticulturists say states from New York to Florida have lost significant portions of their crop as a result of the cold and rain. Even the pumpkins that survived aren't as smooth and vibrant as in previous years.
"Most of the western U.S. in 2003, even in the southwest and northwest, did much better than we did because of the rain -- and it was warmer," said Mike Orzolek, vegetable crops specialist at Penn State University.
Pumpkin growers got off to a bad start this spring when steady rainfall delayed seed planting by as much as a month. As the precipitation continued, bees didn't pollinate as many buds as normal. The problem was further exacerbated by fungi and other diseases attacking the fruits' rinds and tissues.
"In a wet year, we can't take the water out of the field. But in a dry year, we can put water in," Orzolek said.
Rainfall figures
He said State College, home to the central Pennsylvania university, has received 42 inches of rain so far this year, 25 to 30 percent above normal.
Orzolek estimated that the approximately 8,000 acres of pumpkins grown in the state will yield about 20 percent less this year than last year. Besides the shortage, he warned that the overall quality of the pumpkins is worse than it was last year.
"The stem is either going to be soft or brown or not there. Or you see blotches on the pumpkins and scars from insects," Orzolek said.
In Strasburg, Va., Monica Pangle, one of the operators of Faith Farms, says she had trouble planting pumpkin seeds in her garden because of excess rain. She ended up planting a fourth of an acre, down from her normal half-acre, because there weren't enough sunny days. When harvest time arrived, Pangle said a number of pumpkins went soft from too much water.
"It's rough when your income relies on it," Pangle said.
Fungi and mildew
Pumpkin farmers in Delaware reported their crops being attacked by two fungi, while Pennsylvania growers complained of mildew.
Small-time pumpkin farmer Larry Glessner, 65, said he was able to sell only half of his Somerset County, Pa., crop after battling rain and mildew. Because he planted his seeds in late June instead of late May, some of his pumpkins were still green during harvest time.
"We had to wait until some of them ripened out, and when that happens, the stems start to rot," Glessner said.
Bees needed
Meanwhile, Shenot said wet weather discouraged bees from pollinating. He said his eight-acre pumpkin patch in Marshall Township yielded about 30 percent less than normal because the bees never showed up to do their job.
Too much rain and lack of sun have some farmers hoping for a drier season next year.
"I'm just going to be glad this year is going to be over," Pangle said. "I almost prefer a drought. At least we can irrigate."