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Ontario, Canada.

Gardeners know that blossom-end rot increases with dry soils. Since there is little you can do to increase sunlight or carbon dioxide in the garden, and nutrients are easily provided with applications of organic matter or commercial fertilizer, water may well be the key factor in producing a bumper crop.
When watering plants, you need to maximize the water that roots absorb and transpire through the leaves. Transpiration refers to the process that plants use to cool themselves. As water evaporates from specialized areas of the leaf called stomata, it cools the leaf, similar to the way perspiration cools humans. If plants did not have this ability the leaf temperature would soar on a sunny day, eventually shutting down its biochemical processes and leading to death. If water becomes limited due to dry soils, pumpkins, like most plants simply close the stomata and limit water loss. When plants do this they not only lessen transpiration but also prevent carbon dioxide from entering the leaf. With reduced water and carbon dioxide, growth slows and yields are reduced.

3/16/2005 9:29:22 PM

Ontario, Canada.

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/ask/irrigation.html

3/16/2005 9:30:00 PM