Okay so now I have a SECOND pumpkin fruit growing (first one withered and died don't know why). It is 25" circumference this morning and looks very good. Surgically repaired vine has recovered beautifully and it seems to be a whole new ballgame here. My question is, there is a secondary vine sprouting forward right off the pumpkin's stem area, and I want to whack it so that growth energy is not diverted etc. How and where shall I accomplish this, and will the "wound" make the fruit vulnerable to infections or anything like that? Should I just leave these "extrea" vines alone? There are a few others at different points off the main vine, but like I say one of them is right on the stem of the fruit itself.