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Midwest

This is a science question (sort-of) about growth and the stem. Let's say one night a pumpkin gains 25 lbs. Does this mean that 25 lbs of water/food passed through that stem that day? Now, when you put blankets on your pumpkin overnight, are you helping the growth because the pumpkin is warm?
Greg

8/19/2008 2:02:14 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

stem is more like a pipe...you can bet that if that pumpkin put on 40 lbs last night...40 lbs of water passed through that pipe...the pumpkin is getting pushed into rather then sucking it in...that is why when the nose blows out more went in then the pumpkin could accept... when it gets scary is when all the other pumpkins have been culled off....you fertilize...then water...and then a rain storm comes....you know you're gonna push it way to hard...

8/27/2008 9:20:50 PM

Western NY

chuck is right, although i do believe that the pumpkin pulls the juice in through a demand for water in the fruit, instead of a plant pushing on it.

8/28/2008 8:25:12 AM

President - GPC

I dunno Andy.....Joe Scherber and I were talking excactly this......I have to peel the sheet of my 1041 McKie...sap nodules all over the pumpkin...almost like the plant is pushing the sap and the pumpkin cant handle it fast enough....At least thats how our conversation went...would be nice to know for sure.....

I had to cull my 407 Armstrong off I sliced the stem diagonal and observed what appeared to be a string inside the hallow part of the stem that connected the vine to the inside of the pumpkin....sorta like a straw for the pumpkin...should of took a pic....

8/28/2008 9:22:42 AM

Sunnyvale, California

Plant botany suggests that the plant has both gas(air) and liquid plumbing throughout its structure, using different vessels.The rigid cell structure of the leaves ,fruit and vine (or stem )behave as tanks. As liquid is transpired due to metabolism within the tanks or drums(cells), negative pressure(or suction)is created which draws gas and liquid from adjacent cells and the plants vascular system, back into the cell to maintain equilibrium. The cells are also growing and being created throughout the plants life-again ,as cells grow (rigid cell walls)suction is created. Plant leaves ,Which have a fixed vascular system, wilt, when suction lags behind transpiration . My opinion is that since a fruit(pumpkin) cant wilt when it vascular system cant maintain cellular pressure equilibrium-its cells pull liquids and gas from nearby cells within the pumpkins tissues at rates which causes stress faults.These faults, and this condition is magnified at different cell type boundaries,such as flesh to skin cells and at structure ganglions like blossom and stem ends and ribs.This is what causes fruit to rip themselves to pieces in extreme circumstances.As Giant Pumpkins are genetic mutants,with mutant metabolisms,and not a few genetic defects,such as inadequate vascular systems, fruit grenadeing is very common in them. A hyperbaric or decompression chamber experiment might shed some light on this condition. Of course, I could be wrong.

9/21/2008 10:10:03 PM

Is the gas "air" if so where does it enter?

If it is just air wouldn't bacterial/fungus enter the interior as well?

Just asking since it has been bantered as to what the gas actually is in the hollow stem and the hollow part of the fruit.

9/21/2008 10:30:55 PM

Sunnyvale, California

At sea level atmospheric air pressure is about 15 PSI. Hold out your hand face up and its got 450 pounds of air trying to drive it into the ground.And it would ,but the pressure below your hand is equal to or greater(very slightly) than that ,so you cannot perceive it.That Air pressure is about the same as the liquid pressure within your body -and within the body of most life which exists at (or near)sea level. Most atmospheric gasses are elemental-Nitrogen, hydrogen ,oxygen and have very small(relatively) atomic structure. All liquids on earths surface are compounds and are made of molecules containing more than one element and are huge compared to gasses. Simply put the gas thru atmospheric pressure is forced into the tissues .When you breathe you are simply exchanging metabolized gas (mostly co2) for un-metabolized gas(air) by muscular diaphram manipulation.That just gets the air into or out of your lungs.The actual gas exchange occurs at the molecular level as the gas is diffused into or out of your blood within the lung.Life seeking to capitalize on these processes develope's a plumbing or vascular system to enhance and facilitate the process.Everything that ives metabolizes gas-we breathe in air ,metabolize the oxygen and exhale co2.Plants (and pumpkins) breathe exactly the same ,only without the lungs.Gas composition within the punpkins plumbing? Same as inside you-with areas of unmetabolized atmospheric gas and areas of metabolized gas(byproduct) either coming or going.The mechanism of entry and exit is different but the process which is a cycle is the same.Bacteria and fungus cannot penetrate the physical structure of your tissues(or the punks )unless damage exists due to simple size differences. If the smallest celled lifeform were the size of the earth- the gas exchange pores would be the size of tennis balls. Whats the gas within a pumpkin 's hollow leaf stem? Well ,it smells like chicken to me.

9/23/2008 12:39:47 AM

so you're saying the gas is "fowl"?

9/23/2008 5:38:13 AM