butternut spaush plants

[the1honeycomb]

I love butternut squash have several growing in my garden 1 of the vinesthe leaves have drooped to soft velvety limp as a handkerchief but the vine looks fine its just the leaves looked for signes of incects but found nothing any ideas?

 

[lesa]

Odd...do they need water?

 

[Smart Red]

I would suspect a boring insect somewhere in a stem. Look closely for an entrance hole. The leaves will droop above that hole. I used a razor blade to cut into the insect's body. Little damage to the plant stem.

 

[journey11]

I hope it's not a squash vine borer. They will wipe it out quick.

 

[baymule]

call the Doctor!

Hello, TEG?
Yes, this is TEG, what's the problem?
My squash plant is droopy.
Ahh.....look for brown nasty stuff in a glob on the vine. That is the sign of a vine borer. Then operate as the good Doctor Smart Red has advised.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I thought that all C. Moschata squashes were resistant to, or at less susceptible to, Squash Vine Borer? (I could be mistaken there.) Butternuts are C. Moschata squashes.

I had a C. Maxima squash not too long ago with a similar problem to yours. (It was a volunteer, got some rare squash sedlings from a freind so dug the volunteers out.) Given a heavy watering it would perk up, until the burning mid-day sun shined down on it (then it would flop over again). I would try giving it a good watering and them seeing what happens. If it perks up but flops back over maybe try covering some of the lower "branches" with soil in an attempt to improve it's root system, mulching it with something that would hold more water in, and then giving it a good watering.