If the vine leader out past the pumpkin fruit is healthy, it MIGHT work to dive a short section of it back into the ground, with some rooting hormone applied. I’ve had pumpkin vines some distance from the main stem root back into soil they were touching, anyway.
How quickly and if such would root effectively this time of year, I have no idea. So, it might be a little risky, but, with the main stem on the way out...
Just because I have parts of the plant (with fruits developing) 20+ feet away from the root stem, I’ve “planted” and hopefully will be rooting two such vine leaders on my surviving (and how!) Opo plant. (They dive into the ground, and then back out for several inches, initially.) I just “dove” the 2nd one today. My idea was to create moisture and nutrition sources closer to the developing fruits, and have a backup in case the main stem failed, as they often do. That said, the 2 biggest fruits must have added 4” in length and doubled in volume in the last day. So, maybe the plant doesn’t need any help!
To clarify, “They dive” refers to the vine leaders.
The vine has some damage leading up to the one fruit, and their is leader in front of it that I have buried and is rooted. So hopefully the squash vines can transfer nutients and water toward the leader tip and back. It may be time to just remove the tip (about 8 or 9 feet away) so the plant can concentrate on the fruit.
Now...I just checked my sweet potatoes and found that chipmunks or mice have been digging up and devouring some of the tubers. Very disapointing! So, time to dig up anything that they have not eaten. (They were not large and I would have given them another week in ground.)
(Diving....you were a helmsman once I think on a ship that went up and down? Your viewing "port" hung on a metal bulkhead? ;)