Farmers report good-looking pumpkin crop

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI — Northeast Mississippi farmers say their pumpkin crop is plumping up nicely.

Mark Holley of Fulton tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal size, quality and color are good. But he expects to get less than his usual 1,000 pumpkins per acre.

He says there weren’t enough bees to pollinate all the flowers, even though they planted several acres of flowers around the pumpkins to attract bees.

He says temperatures above 93 degrees will prevent pollination.

Two years ago, rain was the problem. Pumpkins were floating in the fields. The Mississippi State University Extension Service said at least 20 percent of the state’s pumpkin crop was lost in 2009.