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Tasmania Australia

Hi, i am planing on growing a pumpkin on the more competive side this year, the other years have just been to see what happens and just run of the mill seeds.

The question i have is: when growing a pumpkin for weight, do you always plant two different seeds and use one to pollinate the other, or can you just plant the one seed and use its flowers to pollinate itself? hope that makes sense.

Or do you get better weight results by growing two plants and cross pollinating them?

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

3/22/2014 12:00:43 AM

England, essex

you can just plant 1, and use its own pollen.
not sure if there is any proof of size gains by crossing,,
crossing is done more for future generations, to improve on certain aspects, or to help breed out bad traits,

3/22/2014 6:10:02 AM

Rhode Island

first things first blue silver

a pumpkins final size the initial year that seed is planted is determined only by that seeds potential coupled with how its grown,how its protected,how its feed and how well insects and disease are eliminated.

any and all types of pollination will only show up in the off spring pumpkin seeds second year planting.that first years pumpkin genetics is determined from the initial seed only.

the next generation (the seed from year one pumpkin) is geneticly determined (in part) by the pollen and genetic history of the pollination plant and host pumpkin combined)

several pollination methods used
a. self pollination (you pollinatde with female pollen from same plant)
b. open pollination (pumpkin is pollinated by the bees)
c. sib pollination (pollination is done with female pollen from a second plant with has the same genetic makeup(from same mother pumpkin) as the pumpkin being pollinated)
d. cross pollination (introducing pollon from a pumpkin plant whos seed genetics are different from the host pumpkin)ie --- introducing a trait you want added into your genetic line.

example (d) is done to bring certain genetics (history) from one pumpkin and introduce it into a different genetic line. this is the favorite method for growing bigger and better pumpkins over the years.

pap

3/22/2014 10:31:02 PM

Tasmania Australia

Cheers, some very good information there, and spot on for what i was asking.
Thanks again awesome1 and pap, good forum to find out information no matter how silly the questions seams.

Appreciated.

3/23/2014 3:54:49 AM