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West Michigan---Hasekg39@gmail.com

The genetics that your pumpkin has are only from the plant/seed that you started with and the seeds in the pumpkin are only related in that they share half of the genetic make up from the female that grew off the plant and the male has nothing to done with the current pumpkin being grown.

Is this correct ??? And if so does that mean that the the pumpkin does not need to be pollinated and the pumpkin that is growing will not be affected from shap, size, weight and color among other things ??? Is this the same with all fruits and veggies ???

I hate thinking and I'm sorry for trying to make you think......LOL

8/27/2012 11:18:51 PM

Rhode Island

?

8/28/2012 4:13:51 AM

Corryton, TN

That is not totally true. The pumpkin must be pollinated by a male to set. The male does not affect the color. A poor pollination on many fruits and veggies can cause odd shapes but not always.

In sweetcorn the male can and will change the seed color and flavor.

8/28/2012 6:54:09 AM

West Michigan---Hasekg39@gmail.com

I did not know that about the pumpkin but of course it makes sense with the corn because half the genetic make up from the male is in the seeds and of course the corn is the seed. Just was wondering since the pumpkin is just the shell would it be effected from the seeds on the in side.

8/28/2012 10:49:15 AM

its good thing pumpkin growers wifes dont change and look like male once there pollinated, my attempt at bad joke lol

8/28/2012 1:28:16 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

A Don Young with boobs? Haven't I seen that somewhere before?

8/28/2012 7:07:32 PM

Germany

Actually not an attempt at a bad joke, Don. I also compare pollination in the pumpkin world with "pollination" in our Homo sapiens world. The seed does not carry 50% of the male genetics, because the seed shell is part of the female body, it already existed before pollination (and therefore must comprise the set of genes of the female). The pumpkin is the belly, the seed shell is the uterus, and only the tiny part which will become the new plant (cotyledons and the little germ) carry the genetics of the new plant, only the cotyledons and the germ are the baby, and germination is the process of giving birth, thus leaving mom behind (...to say "good bye" to the seed shell). Vice versa, the expectation that the pollinator had influence on color of the seed, or further out on color of the pumpkin, would imply the parallel that the color of a pregnant belly would also depend on the "pollinator"...would be funny. On the other hand, it should be true that more or less efficient pollination have influence on the shape of the pumpkin...as it will also have great influence on a pregnant belly if there are twins inside or if only half that much "pollination" was successful.

8/30/2012 2:04:17 PM

West Michigan---Hasekg39@gmail.com

The male does NOT effect what the current pumpkin will look like:

One final point to keep in mind is that the pollen fertilizing the female flower has no effect on the growing pumpkin. The DNA contained within the pollen is passed on to the seed of the pumpkin. Therefore, the traits exhibited by a growing pumpkin are the direct result of the female’s parents. When making a cross, you are actually preparing the genetics of the next generation of pumpkins

10/17/2012 8:06:28 PM