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I feel like it would be so much cooler if everyone was actually growing for the biggest pumpkin rather then then heaviest, I much rather see a really huge pumpkin instead of a really heavy one, we are mainly just breeding them to hold more and more water weight, its almost like a water balloon at this point, probably one of the reason they tend to split easily. It wouldn't be hard to measure for actual size, we can just use a displacement tank that's full of water and lowered the pumpkin inside and see the actual size measured in liters or gallons. Does anyone know what the record is for the biggest (size) pumpkin?

2/20/2020 12:24:14 PM

Central NY

They only split easy when you are growing for size...

2/20/2020 12:37:06 PM

The pumpkins would be very different if they had been bred for size instead of weight, all of them are very watery because they were bred for a long time to hold as much weight as possible. They split when they suck in water faster then they can grow. to avoid splitting many people will reduce water intake.

2/20/2020 12:54:15 PM

President - GPC

Size Matters, but the scale tells the tale....

2/20/2020 1:08:18 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

The problem with a water displacement tank is that pumpkins float. i have a rough idea of using a sealed chamber. Placing a pumpkin inside and then pumping air in. Volume would be determined by the rate the pressure changes as compared to the amount of air added. I too would like to see a record both by weight and volume. Worlds biggest pumpkin right now is actually worlds heaviest not largest.

2/20/2020 1:22:38 PM

Boscawen, NH

I think we are almost there with 3d scanning. There are high priced scanners & software out there right now that could accurately give the volume of a giant pumpkin. When I was in NY with the 2528 an engineering grad. student explained that she could easily get the exact volume with the scanners they were working with. There are free scanning apps for phones, but I don't believe they are that accurate at this point.

2/20/2020 1:41:16 PM

Colorado

It would be interesting to get scans of different shaped large fruit and compare actual volume to our charts 3 way measurents say. I suspect low pumpkins get inflated inches versus tall pumpkins -the scan would answer that question.

2/20/2020 1:50:44 PM

@bnot , yeah floating would be an issue, you could have the tank half full, put the pumpkin in, put a lid on the tank and pump in the rest of the water until its full up to the lid, you can have a meter on the pump so you know exactly how much water it took to fill to the top and you can use all the data to calculate the exact volume of the pumpkin.

2/20/2020 1:52:57 PM

Colorado

Oh and big is for show,weight is for dough.

2/20/2020 2:03:44 PM

President - GPC

....lol

2/20/2020 2:57:24 PM

Imagine if someone uses a syringe needle hooked to a hose and fills the inside of the pumpkin with water... lol i hope not, you never know though, humans are always trying to cheat unfortunately.

2/20/2020 3:27:23 PM

Central NY

I heard that’s what Karl Haist did....

2/20/2020 4:56:05 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I don’t care how big they are, as long as the weigh heavy.

2/20/2020 6:04:34 PM

Plainville, Connecticut 06062

I agree with you Truman. Size in inches OTT is rarely mentioned. I believe 496 inches is the largest over the top from the 2624 in 2016. It is quite a feat to get one to tape 470 inches. Quite a few in the past two years have gone 2,000 plus that taped in the high 450’s -460’s not many are grown each year that make it past 470 inches. It seems that not much attention is paid to how big the pumpkin is which would be normal considering weight determines the final results. However when you compare the results at a weigh off an example would be the winner weighed 1,966 and went 456 OTT, second place went 1,920 with a 468 OTT who really earned top honors? I have always said not enough attention is paid to the size that some growers can achieve during a season of growing and an award from the GPC should be given to the top three biggest pumpkins not heaviest that are grown each year. Pumpkins have gotten much heavier the past three or so years but in comparison to overall inches they have not kept the pace in weight. 500 inches has never been reached and only a handful have made it to 490 or above. I said enough and this is only my opinion that I wish other growers would give some serious thought to.

2/20/2020 7:22:20 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

truman, using a displacement tank, I have considered using a mechanical plunger to push the pumpkin under water. Unfortunately, a secondary problem arises, pumpkins by their shape can trap air. Think of big cavity under many of the pumpkins. So it would have to be rolled under water enough to release the trapped air to get an accurate reading.

I am unsure how a 3d scanner would be able to get the pumpkin from all directions. This is technology I am not familiar with.

I am glad this discussion has been brought up again. I have been meaning to contact the mechanical engineering department of the college I attended to see if they would be interested in pursuing this challenge. Because of this thread, I finally have sent an email to the head of that department. Hoping for a response.

2/20/2020 8:59:18 PM

@Pooh-bear Yeah, I think they should still do awards for weight but I think Largest Size should be equal to or a greater achievement then heaviest. I think there would be many physical changes over time in the pumpkin if we bred a lineage for size rather then weight. It might even be able to get twice as big or more and the structure of the pumpkin would become very different, thinner walls that are tougher and lighter, but for so long we have been breeding it to be like a big water balloon sponge and soak up as much water weight as possible, I definitely think this is limiting its dimensional size.

2/20/2020 9:14:26 PM

@bnot Yeah, with technology today, they could definitely make a 3d scanner specifically for measuring pumpkin size, that's a good idea. you should be able to do it with just a camera and have the pumpkin on a turntable and spin it 360 degrees to get a full 3d image, I bet you could make a phone app, but of course have something official for scanning at competitions.

2/20/2020 9:24:26 PM

Westmoreland, KS

Size matters would be interesting for growers but would this be fun for the spectators? I think we all want to grow the sport this happens by making the weigh offs as exciting as possible. If people are able to tell that one pumpkin is larger than another one I think it would take a lot of the excitement away from the weigh off. There's nothing like seeing a smaller pumpkin weigh in with a huge number!

2/20/2020 11:18:25 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

I think that it would be interesting for the spectators...imagine bring pumpkins to a weighoff that require a wide-load sign to get them down the road. I think if there was the option for biggest volume that it would take awhile for things to change quickly. Breeding for heavy has taken out most of the genetics that would be valuable for volume. The light genetics have been breed out for dense.

Truman, I could see the turntable with scanner, but how do you scan the bottom. Most bottoms are not flat.

2/21/2020 5:34:52 AM

Germany

Size can only be used as a measure as long as size equals volume. OTT measurements do not reflect the size of a pumpkin, because a one and only fruit (i.e., of constant shape and volume) can have so many different OTT values depending on its positioning relative to the ground.

2/21/2020 6:07:45 AM

Germany

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=230682

This is just an example to show that fruit of exactly the same size and shape may give different OTT data, depending on the relative orientation of this shape with respect to the ground.

2/21/2020 6:18:20 AM

Bethlehem CT

Pumpking that is an interesting observation you made. I figured the measurements would be the same.

2/21/2020 7:42:27 AM