Germany: Farmers started harvesting pumpkins earlier than usual

Pumpkins like heat - so dry summers have little effect on yields. The pumpkin harvest in southern Germany starts about a week earlier than usual. Despite the dry summer, the Association of Bavarian Farmers expects an average harvest - only the size of the pumpkins could be slightly smaller. Unlike many other types of vegetables, pumpkin likes heat, said Franz Wöhrl, a member of the farmer's association. On good soil, the pumpkin is therefore relatively frugal and "tolerates" drought somewhat better. Still, the weather was too dry for pumpkins this year, Wöhrl said. In order to harvest pumpkins of the right size and good quality, additional irrigation was necessary. The weather was a "challenge," said horticulture expert Michael Koch of the Bonn-based Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI). If it stays this dry for the rest of the year, it could still show in slightly below average yields. According to the experts, the heat had the advantage that there were fewer diseases on ...