[karooba007]

I have a squash problem. the stem has split. like someone has taken a plastic straw and cut along its length and opened it up. so instead of the straw being cylindrical it is now flat.
the plant is still green. what caused it? will the plant still produce a good crop?

[Sadgit]

to be honest I have no idea what causes this, but it has happened to a few of mine over the years and the appear to carry on as normal and produce an abundance of fruit..

[lozenge]

i've got this - the stem looks really woody as well as being cracked. squash are coming on a treat though.

[andreadon]

happens to me all the time.
might sporadic watering...

but the plant'll grow fine and produce fruit, so it's all good.
 

[KT]

My dad always use's alittle sticky plaster to hold it together till it heals the plants usually recover and crop just fine.

[BigPaddy]

I find this really common as well. I have heard a suggestion that it is getting the stem wet, that it is drought and just about everything else. The chap on the local radio claimed that cucumbers, curcurbits like squash, wake up each day wondering how they can die today.

Plant a few and some will always survive.

[HLS]

Good to know they can survive with stem damage, as I noticed yesterday evening that some cheeky little slug has eaten a lengthwise strip out of the stem of one of my squash plants. 

The first flower is open on one of the others!  I'm quite excited - it's the first time I've grown squash.

[karooba007]

So who is in favour in agreeing that slugs are to blame?

[realfood]

It is damage caused by the wind or handling.
Wind damage. Obviously not a disease but it can cause physical damage through which other rots can start. It usually shows itself as a longitudinal crack up to 5 cm long through the main stem, caused by the wind catching the large leaves and twisting the stem backwards and forwards. It is easy for the young plants to become “leggy” while they are in a greenhouse or cold frame before planting out in their final position. Take great care while handling the plants at this stage to minimise this damage. Once planted out, peg the stems with a cane or better still, grow under cloches for the first month.

[PlymouthMaid]

That sort of thing has always looked like slug damage to me = this year I have had a courgette and a sunflower go like that. The sunflower I planted deeper than normal to cover it up and it has survived well. The courgette is trying to stay alive but not the end of the worls as I have too many really.