Zucchini Plant Not Producing: 4 Common Reasons?

Fruit is usually the result of a flower but when the flower refuses to yield fruit even with some blooms it becomes a worrying situation. Zucchini plant not producing fruit can have any gardener worried. After all, it is our goal to have a successful yield whenever we plant.

This summer squash vegetable usually grows beautifully during warm temperatures and they don’t really like frost or chilly temperatures.

Even though zucchini can be quite easy to grow, growers may still face some challenges. It can be pretty frustrating when you’ve planted and had hopes for your vegetable to give rise to fruit then it refuses to produce.

Zucchini plant not producing fruit or producing less fruit may be caused by different reasons. We will be looking into some of these reasons and suggest things you can do to resolve the situation if possible.

Understanding Zucchini’s Mode Of Reproduction

Before we look into why zucchini may not be producing fruits, let’s first look into the reproductive mechanism of the zucchini plant.

Just like every other squash plant, the zucchini plant is a monoecious plant. This implies that the plant zucchini has both male and female flowers separately on the same plant. The reproductive part of a plant is present in the flowers of the plant.

Zucchini Plant Not Producing: 4 Common Reasons

Naturally, fruit production precedes flower so when your zucchini plant does not give rise to fruits after blooming, then something may be wrong. Below are 5 common reasons your zucchini plant may not be producing.

1.    Young Plant With Only Male Flowers

As we have explained above, the flower of zucchini is monoecious and tends to produce both male and female flowers on a plant.  However, it may happen that the young plants of zucchini give rise to only male flowers and no female flowers.

Usually, during the early growing season of zucchini, this squash plant often gives rise to more male flowers than female flowers. So, this may hinder the production of fruit because both the male flower and female flower are required for fertilization to produce fruit.

Therefore, don’t be surprised if you notice your zucchini plant producing only makes flowers for the first couple of weeks and you see no fruit set. So, if your zucchini plant is still at its young stage, not to worry because it will set fruit later.

2.    Pollination Not Successful – Zucchini Plant Not Producing

Honeybees are the major pollinators responsible for transferring pollen grain from the flower of the male zucchini to the female flower. When these pollen grains are successfully transferred, the process will lead to fertilization and result in fruit formation.

So, bees are important for pollination to be successful and if there is a little population of bees in your area, pollination may be poor and this can lead to little or no fruit production.

If this is the issue in your area, then you can help the situation by doing self-pollination. This can be done by locating the pollen that looks like yellow dust and dabbing the middle of a male flower using a small paintbrush. Then dab the same paint brush you used on the make flower again on the female flower.

Alternatively, just pinch off the male flower and take out the petals. Then lightly dab the center into the center or stigma of the zucchini female flower.

If you will be hand pollinating your zucchini flowers, we recommend you do this early in the morning. This is because the flowers of squash usually open early and only last for a day.

3.    Hot Weather – Zucchini Plant Not Producing

When the weather becomes too hot, it can cause unsuccessful pollination of the zucchini flowers. This is because too high a temperature reduces the germination of pollen grains. Hence, this can give rise to incomplete pollination of the zucchini female flower thereby resulting in fruit not setting the way it should.

Once the temperature during the day is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature during the night is more than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, this can depreciate the flower of zucchini. It can cause the zucchini plant to begin to drop fruit even before they get the chance of developing.

However, during this very hot period, you can help the zucchini plant by watering the plant frequently so the soil does not dry out quickly.

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4.    Over-watering

If you over-water your plant and your plant becomes soggy, it may result in the developing fruit becoming rotten. Hence, this can cause the zucchini plant not to produce adequately.

How To Further Help Zucchini Plant To Produce

We have listed some reasons why your zucchini plant may not be producing fruits. Let’s further discuss other things you can do to help your zucchini plant to reproduce:

• Water When Needed – Zucchini Plant Not Producing

It is important to water your zucchini, especially during the hot season so your soil doesn’t dry out. Also, zucchini usually requires more watering during their fruiting stage. However, make sure you don’t over-water your plant because it can lead to the rotting of fruit.

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• Fertilize

You can further boost the chance of your zucchini plant giving rise to fruit by fertilizing your plant. Nitrogen fertilizer should be supplied to the soil at the rate of half cup of 46-0-0 fertilizer or at the rate of 1 cup of 2-3-3 fertilizer per 25-foot row. This should be done during their midseason when the plant has grown fully.

Conclusion On Zucchini Plant Not Producing

Zucchini plant not producing fruits can be pretty discouraging for any gardener. If you’re experiencing this, there are some reasons why this is so and we have listed them in this post. We have also suggested some things you can do to help the situation.

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