A dry spring and a cool, damp late summer are likely to have impaired the growth of pumpkins in the UK, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
Leigh Hunt, the RHS's principal horticultural adviser, said: "It's been a strange year. People were finding the flowers rotting off, other people were finding the fruits were coming but it was very slow, and where it got really soggy, they were getting some of the fruits rotting off."
Growers in the south of England struggled in damp conditions, while counterparts in the Midlands were short on sun.
The conditions also helped mildew to thrive.
