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Hinckley MN

Ok I want to clarify my last question without having to dig through other people's personal arguments.

I am curious if there are some genetic lines out there that may need more DAP than most current pumpkins. I am also wondering if if the typical 100 DAP to weigh off was the same 20 years ago. was it more typical to have 80 or 90 day old fruit? Were growers trying 120 day old fruit?

there are multiple ways to get to 2000lb fruit. One is grow big fast, another is grow steady longer. Which fruit over (or close to) 1500 lbs were long slow growers, putting on weight well into September and October?

3/20/2012 10:25:09 AM

South East

Ben, as a farmer you know that the growth cycle of a plant is dependent mainly on how you treat the plant and the weather. The only thing you can do is take care of plant as best you can trying to have a good and healthy plant with ample foliage late into the season. If the weather plays along, you time your fertilizing right, keeps bugs and disease off, and have that quality foliage late into the season then you might grow something special. Daily gaines are to much dependent on enviromental factors to be genetic. 90 days as a rule of thumb, if you do everthing right and mother nature plays along maybe 110 and on ocassion towards 120 days. For special pumpkins you need special circumstances where everything falls into to place.

3/20/2012 1:13:35 PM

Hinckley MN

I think genetics plays a big role. I can plant 90 day corn and 120 day corn on the same day and the 90 day corn will ripen and (this far north) the 120 day corn won't. I agree that nutrients and weather and pests play big roles, too. How do we explain that some fruit all but quit growing in Mid September, but another in the same patch keeps adding on the pounds?

a 2000lb pumpkin in 90 days is over 22 lbs a day and probably 3 times that at peak growth. a 2000lb pumpkin in 120 days is just under 17 lbs a day and a peak growth 1/3 less than the previous example (assuming a longer peakgrowth period).

3/20/2012 1:59:16 PM

Wi

Ben we all think about this.

I think it's widely known that pumpkins are growing at higher rates longer than 10 years ago. Without that we'd be stuck at 1000.

Obviously I had a prime example with 1810. I worked my butt off on that plant all year, but made a single major mistake. I didn't cover the plant and it froze September 24th. I know it cost me quite a bit of weight. Maybe 30# or more. Even the stump froze solid that night and proceeded to rot out very quickly.

So take that one and look at Russ's 1794. Those pumpkins wanted to grow and grow. Did they each have 1900 in them under even better conditions? I think so!

I don't think length of growth has ANYTHING to do with seeds. I cut one off a few years ago at 25DAP and the seeds sprouted after leaving the fruit in the shed a couple weeks.

3/20/2012 2:29:51 PM

South East

How do we explain that some fruit all but quit growing in Mid September, but another in the same patch keeps adding on the pounds?

I think Ben, like i stated above, sometimes everthing falls into place. That one storm misses your patch, temperatures are just right. Roots developement on that one plant, internal chemistry line up perfect. And the grower does everthing right. Maybe some tertary growth that helps maintain weight, or that one drench that kept the plant growing. The numbers of factors is staggering.
If there is a branch of ags that has developed that consistenly adds lots of weight in the final 30 days and grows constintently grows 100 days or more, then it would point to a single seed or cross or line. The chaotic way in wich seeds are selected and crossed thru out the community leeds to seeds with common ancesters. so identification is almost impossible.
Breeding such a line would be intresting but would take many many years to isolate, cultivate and then be consistant. Untill then my best guess is enviromental factors and shear LUCK. We can speculate bout genes, but the only thing we have control on, is the direct enviroment and care of the plant.

And after all. does an athlete run a world record each race,
Does a sports team win each championship over and over. Only when everthing falls in to place it happens. Something special happens.
In the end theres somethings we will never control, and all we can do is try and hope it happens to us.

3/20/2012 10:41:49 PM

Rhode Island

i have always maintained that what we grow is not normal. any fruit that can grow as fast or as long as the atlantic giant i consider a FREAK.thats what we grow freaks of nature.
its just not normal for a piece of fruit to grow that big.
in thge end? i think the genetics in that seed coupled with the facts mentioned by the cooks makes all the difference in the world.
likewise some have the legs for a longer run than others as well.

3/21/2012 7:45:18 AM

President - GPC

Weather patterns must have a significant play into this as well...World records seem to be pretty next to each other in locale...is it also location location location in parallel with the weather? WR Pumpkin/WR LongGourd...could be coinsidence....or not

3/21/2012 11:10:05 AM

Colorado

I think the 1161 rodonis line genetically has a longer fruit growth cycle. Weve been breeding for that (in effect) for years.Look at Mr. Pughs 1794 vs. his 1532.Both plants were healthy and both fruit were similar size start of september.The 1794 grew much more in september.Many other 1161's have behaved like that-not the fastest grower in the patch, but the extra 10+ days of growth has produced world class weights.

3/21/2012 12:13:39 PM