Watermelons are one of the best fruits to eat in the summers. Its refreshing taste is one of the reasons that people prefer it over many other fruits. Some people who have a gardening passion even grow their own personal watermelons.
If you’re one of these gardeners, you will know that watermelon vines require a lot of care, just like other plants. Watermelons need a longer growing season, additional space, and more heat to reach their optimal productivity.
If you find yourself asking the question: “Why is my watermelon vine dying?” Look no further as we have the answer to that in this article!
Problems That Can Occur With Watermelon Vines
Keeping the watermelons growing healthy and giving them the proper environment to prosper in is difficult because even if you put in your maximum efforts, chances are that your plant might even suffer from a pest infestation that will keep you from chewing on the juicy fruit.
To grow, watermelons need organically rich soil which is loose and moist as well. The plant needs a lot of sunlight to thrive. The fruit is itself 95 percent water. You need to give it around 1 or 2 inches of water weekly for it to be healthy.
If the soil is dried out, the leaves and the vines will start dying. This is just one of the reasons that a watermelon plant can die. Some other reasons are discussed below.
Pests
There exist some pests which feed on watermelon leaves. These pests primarily feed on the foliage of the plant, which causes the plant to die. These pests include aphids and beetles of a particular type known as Epilachna beetles.
You can sometimes see aphids on the underside of the watermelon plant. These are tiny insects that feed on the plant sap. These have piercing mouths and can be much on the leaves rather quickly if you take their size into consideration.
When aphids feed on a watermelon plant, the leaves start curling and yellowing. Unfortunately, the insects also introduce a lot of diseases in watermelons. The disease harms the vines and the fruit it produces as well.
The beetles feed on the vines, which causes them to dry up and die. It sucks out all of the moisture of the vine, which makes it die. There also exist some pests in the roots of the plant. These pests start feeding on the roots of the plant, which restricts the plant’s nutrient and water uptake.
This shortage of nutrients causes the leaves and the vines of the plant to dry up. As a result, the plant becomes immensely stunted and can become malnutrition. The vine doesn’t usually die from these pests. However, they are difficult to control and can only be killed with soil solarization.
Viruses
There also exist some viruses which can affect the growth of the watermelons immensely. These viruses are often carried by insects such as beetles and aphids. One of these viruses is the watermelon mosaic which causes the plant to die and hinders the plant growth rate.
The virus also causes the watermelon leaves to be yellowed and crinkling of leaves. The only effective way to deal with this virus is to use pesticides and to keep monitoring the plant for any signs of the virus. You can also try keeping the garden clean of any weeds that can attract insects.
Fungi
Another big reason why watermelon vines start dying is because of fungi. The leaves exhibit any signs of such an infestation. Another sign is oddly shaped fruits which are easy to point out.
The fungus attacks the roots of the plant and then starts traveling up through the stem. The affected plants show less growth and die at early stages. You should implement some sanitation techniques to keep your plants devoid of any such unwanted guests.
You can also use chemical controls to help reduce the fungus in watermelon plants. Finally, the last resort which you can use is to rotate the crops with any other vegetable for around two years to help reduce the fungus infestation in that area.
Watering Issues
If you’re still asking yourself the question of why is my watermelon vine dying, the problem is most probably the watering routine you follow.
Watermelon vines usually require a lot of care to grow in a healthy environment. The plant also demands a lot of water. Since it generally grows in the summers, the soil around the plant should be spacious and wet at all times. Only then can you ensure that your plant remains healthy.
The watermelon vine needs to stay cool. This balance is provided with all of the watering you do. Also, the fruit itself is 95% water.
So naturally the plant will need more water to grow the fruit. Watering issues are very common in watermelon vines because gardeners cannot judge how much they should water the plant.
To make sure that the plant is as healthy as possible, water it plenty and make sure that the same level of watering is consistent over a period of time.
Issues With The Soil
Watermelon plants need spacious soil. They cannot be grown in containers and any soil which does not have the breathing space the roots of this plant need. If you plant the vine in the wrong soil, that can seriously injure the plant, and it won’t be seeing a lot of growth and will eventually die.
It would be best if you switch to a loamy-sandy soil which has lots and lots of space for the roots to grow over time. However, you will also have to take into account all the pests that can attack the roots, as mentioned earlier in the article.
Conclusion
Watermelon plants require considerable care. Make sure you follow all the guidelines provided in the article.
I hope this article answered your question of “Why is my watermelon vine dying?” If you have any more queries, you can always reach out to us on the email provided below.
Best of luck!