Pumpkin crop decimated by heavy rains

PORTLAND, Maine, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Farmers along the upper U.S. East Coast say heavy rains in the region throughout the summer have decimated their pumpkin crops.

Maine pumpkin farmer Al Berard said the heavy rainfall throughout the region in recent months has caused several of his pumpkins to simply burst from absorbing too much water, the Boston Globe said Thursday.

"Like I've said for years: They're going to grow, or they're going to blow, and both instances happened," the prize-winning pumpkin farmer said.

Also impacted by this year's decimated pumpkin crop are family farm stand operators like Ben Nottermann, who typically harvests at least 4,000 pumpkins annually to sell at Ben's Pumpkins in East Hardwick, Vt.

He told the Globe this summer's incessant rainfall has stopped the necessary pollination of the vegetables, leading to a decline in available products and countless unripe pumpkins before Halloween.

"Weather plays a very large factor because pumpkins are pollinated by bees, and bees don't fly when it's raining," he said.