My zucchini plant produces tiny zucchinis then the fruit dies off right away. Is my plant infected?

Answer 1

If your plants look healthy, it's more likely that the plant either wasn't pollinated, or it aborted because of stress factors such as too much heat.

Poor pollination affects fruit set & even too much nitrogen can delay the setting of fruit on the vine. The most common is a mid summer heat wave. High day and night time temperatures will cause plant stress. The tiny pollinated fruit may abort as a result. A heat wave can also deter bees from their job, making hand pollination more important. Take the male flower and gently rub its pollen onto the stigma sections in the center of the female flower. Pollination will be more successful if several male flowers are used to pollinate one female flower.Do this before 10 a.m. because pollination carried out at the end of the morning during warm weather has very little chance of success because the pollen will have heated up and fermented and will no longer be viable.

Make sure you don't water overhead early in the morning so the male flowers can have a chance to pollinate the female flowers.
Male flowers are short lived. They will open up before dawn and will close completely by mid-morning.The male flowers possess both pollen and nectar, the female flowers only nectar. If the plants are watered from overhead early in the day, that may prevent all further pollination for that day. Everything gets washed off of the short-lived male flowers. Replacement flowers do not open then until the following morning.

Too much shade or not enough light is another cause of poor fruit set. Most fruiting vegetables do best in full sun all day --- they need at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight.
Extreme temperatures during flowering ( below 55 degrees or above 90 degrees), can reduce fruit set.
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Zucchini plants are very tempermental regarding soil pH. You should have a soil pH that is about 6.0-7.5. Get a pH tester and test the pH of the soil. Don't get the electronic ones (they don't really work), get the chemical test tube pH tester kit. Then test the pH of the soil. The kit will have a color scale that tells you what the pH of the soil is.

Your soil also might be lacking a little on nutrients. So you can either water it with some Miracle Grow, add some garden soil or compost, or add a bunch of rabbit manure.

Answer 3

They produce a tiny zucchini attached to the flower, if the flower is not fertilized or the bush gets to dry the zucchini fails to continue to develop and dries up. If you don't see many bees I would pull off a male flower (no mini zucchini attached) and do the fertilizing yourself and see if you fruiting increases. Good luck.

Answer 4

It sounds as if your soil is compacted and the roots have no room to spread. Try mixing your soil with compost or potting soil and also mix in a few nutrients (not too much, it will burn the plant) bone meal and manure.

When using manure, it's probably best to get sterilized manure from a gardening supply center.

Also be sure your plant is getting sufficient water.

Answer 5

first change the soil then u need to give it miracle grow