Illinois had the most acreage in 1992 with 8,297 acres. The heart of pumpkin production in Illinois was Tazewell County, which accounted for 2,730 acres.
Morton lies in Tazewell County and is considered the "Pumpkin Capital of the World." This designation comes from being the home of Nestle Food.
"Pumpkin varieties are changing rapidly with the hybrid varieties becoming more prominent. Varieties such as 'Spirit' and 'Half Moon' have performed well in trials in Florida. 'Munchin' and 'Jack-be-Little' are popular miniature varieties." -Dickinson
Many pumpkin varieties produce large plants with long vines. In general, the plants should be spaced 4 to 5 feet in the row with 8 to 9 feet between the rows. Smaller-fruited varieties can be grown at  higher populations.
 
Pumpkins are most commonly direct-seeded but for early spring crops, containerized transplants can be used. Plastic mulches can be used to speed crop development, conserve moisture and fertilizer, and control weeds. For spring crops, use black plastic; for October crops use white plastic. The white plastic is needed to help cool the soils for summer production.
 
Pumpkins require moderate amounts of fertilizer, the exact amounts determined by soil testing.Phosphate and other micronutrients should be incorporated in the bed at planting. Some nitrogen and potassium should be placed in the bed area with most being banded in several applications through the early part of the season. For double-cropping on mulched beds with drip irrigation, the N and K should be injected for the pumpkin crop.
 
One difficulty with pumpkin production is disease control. Viruses can be especially troublesome and can discolor the fruits. Diseases, such as downy mildew and powdery mildew, require timely fungicideapplication. Suitable weed control will require a combination of mechanical and chemical measures.  Pumpkins are also sensitive to nematodes so that field rotation will be needed.

Insect Pests
 
Aphids
 
Appearance: Winged aphids are 1/25 to 1/18 inch long with clear wings. Most aphids are green with black antennae and legs. They feed by inserting their mount parts into the plant and sucking out the  sap. Within 24-48 hours, aphids re-generate without mating. The offspring are able to reproduce in 5-7 days.
Damage: Leaves damaged by the aphid have a distorted, cupped appearance. The leaves curl downwardaround the colony. Aphids also excrete a great deal of sap, called honeydew. On top of the honeydew,  grows a sooty black mold causing a great eye sore. Aphids are also known to transmit several viruses  to infect plants. Virus infected plants have a mottled or mosaic appearance of dark and light green.
 
Control: Are hard to control once the population is large; the sprays will not penetrate the entire population. Aphids are subject to natural enemies such as lacewings, lady beetles and larvae,  syrphid fly larvae and parasitic wasps which eat aphids. Be sure to control inseciticides so no  sprays to harm the predators are administered.

Cucumber Beetles
 
Appearance: Both appear in later spring, but the striped has a worse effect all year round. Beetles are about 1/5 inch long and yellow-green along the forewing for the striped beetle. On the spotted cucumber there are an average of 12 spots. Cucumber beetles look very similar to corn rootworm  beetles. The underside of the beetle is black while the corn rootworm has a yellow belly. Become  active in mid spring and there are no current prediction methods available. There are two
generations per year.
Damage: Heavy feeding can kill small plants within 1-2 days. The beetles like to feed on the thick, fleshy cotyledon leaves. The striped variety often feed on stems, foliage and fruit, while the spotted beetles like to feed on the leaves. Often times, the bacteria carried by cucumber beetles causes bacterial wilt. Hubbard and butternut squash are the types susceptible to this virus.
Control: Usually appear in mid to late May, but the timing differs with the years. Systemic soil  insecticides are the best control for the early season out break of the beetles. Foliar  insecticides, such as pyrethroids and Sevin XLR provide the best control of the beetles because they have 5-7 days of residual activity. There is no real benefit to continuing application of  insecticide after the first generation has subsided. If the plants are not touching within the row,
treatment is justified if the field averages more than five beetles per plant.
 
Control: Squash bugs must be controlled when the plants are seedlings and during the early flowering stage. During the seedling stage, the root systems are not developed and the feeding by large  numbers of overwintered adults can kill plants. Another critical time to prevent squash bugs is  during early flowering. They will damage plants, reduce yield and become to large to control if they  are not monitored. Past this stage, the squash bugs are very hard to control because they feed on  the underside of plants. This way, the sprays cannot get to the insects.