The mosaic pumpkin virus is causing an epidemic for farmers all across the United States. Lumps, bumps and rings are just a few symptoms the virus causes, said Celeste Welty, associate professor of entomology at The Ohio State University.

“The fungus shows up under certain conditions. In 1993, the flood year, the pumpkins spoiled in the field,” said Dick DeMoss of DeMoss Pumpkin Farm in Ames. “The wet conditions caused the virus to spread rapidly.”

“In the summer you can’t tell what you’re getting,” DeMoss said. “The vines cover the field and it’s hard to tell what’s happening underneath.”

This year the mosaic virus, which is often spread by aphids, has had little effect on local crops due to the summer drought conditions.

“We lost a lot of small pumpkins to the drought,” DeMoss said. “Their root systems do not go as deep into the ground as with the larger pumpkins so they’re more susceptible.”

Doug Bloomquist, of Lost Grove Produce of Gowrie, was not quite as lucky — the virus began to attack some of his produce.

Bloomquist said his zucchini plants are dying and his summer squash has turned green and has warts.

He was forced to throw all of his zucchini out.

“[The zucchini is] hideous looking and people don’t want to buy it,” he said.

Norine Black of Blacks Heritage Farm in Ames, swears by her farm’s method of crop rotation as a means of prevention.

“Overall rotating crops keeps disease down,” Black said. “This was a bad year for bugs.

“We spray two to three times per year to keep the bugs from attacking our fields.”

Researchers at The Ohio State University have attempted to reduce aphid numbers by planting the pumpkins in beds of reflective mulch.

The aphids are repelled by light reflecting off the mulch. However, this method is only effective until the pumpkins grow and cover the mulch.

Another method to protect against aphids is row covers. This method is unrealistic with larger plants, Welty said.

Altering planting dates also aids in reduction of the virus. Researchers found that the virus was less severe when pumpkins were planted earlier in the season. The fruit had a chance to develop before the virus arrived and therefor reduced the damage to the pumpkins.