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Stanwood, Washington

Some Pumpkins such as the 1495 produce a wide variety of fruit. I have seen some Orange, Some Yellow and Some Green my question is if you were to use a 1495 as a pollinator, would the fruit on the pollinating plant be any indicator of what traits will be passed on? For instance if the plant that you got the pollen from ends up producing an Orange fruit can you assume that that Pollen that you used will pass orange traits on to the next generation, or is it just a crap shoot as to what traits will get passed on.

8/11/2014 12:03:36 PM

Colorado

Thats why I liked the aggc site. It had a lot of pictures with the genetic info. The answer to your question is yes. The traits you see in the pollinator and the mother are a tell on what genes were in the seed you grew and what will be in the seed your creating. Theres dominant and recessive interactions which do make surprises.

8/12/2014 1:22:56 AM

Rhode Island

captain

certainly to some degree traits do get passed on from the pollinator plant, if not there would be no need to hand pollinate.
if a pollinators genetics are strong on the orange side for example - then yes you could expect some additional orange to be passed into the pollinated pumpkin (but it does not always happen-sometimes it comes out after a second generation occurs)
if your pollinator is known to grow over chart pumpkins then thats is the result you are hoping for in the next generation.
unfortunately some less wanted genetics also can be passed on for many seasons. the more you mix these genetics( which is and does happen all the time)the more question marks we create.
for example --- rons 2009 has produced all shapes and colors.
as growers we try and grow the top seeds each year. so that genetic milk shake can provide just that

pap

8/12/2014 9:08:38 AM

Joliet, IL

so far this year i havent seen one of my 1546s that look the same out of 8 that i know of grown or still growing including my own, i can see both visual traits passed along though. mine looks very similar to the pumpkin produced on the 1381 male pollinating plant. George J has similar shape to the 1546 i grew on the 1421.5 stelts but more lighter color like my 1381 pumpkin last year. Kristian Lambiase in Italy has one that has a nice combo of both. Hank H has one same color and similar shape of my 1546 but longer and blossom end going over. its fascinating to see all the shapes and sizes produced and glad the vigor has come through on most. it really is a crapshoot. look at those who have grown 3 of the same plant and how different each plant and pumpkin can be.

8/26/2014 5:49:32 PM

Joliet, IL

just a thought.....has anyone taken pictures of sprouts from both female and male plants that contributed and then took pictures of the off spring sprouts and noticed any similarties to whether the sprout looked more like the pollinating plant sprout or female. maybe if someone sprouted 20 seeds from same pumpkin and let them get to 2 leaf or mini 3 leaf stage in small pots and put the most similar cot leaf shape and early veining look....almost like identifying killer whales.....stay with me lol.....end of a long story....has anyone noticed a stronger genetic trait of a sprout and said it looked more like mama sprout or daddy sprout.....and most importantly did those similar pumpkin shapes show up similar to its parent.......can we hand pick from multiple sprouts from same cross and increase our odds even just a little bit to hope for the half that had the desired traits you are seeking. amen. lol. ..

....budweiser induced....go easy on me

8/26/2014 7:59:00 PM

Joliet, IL

last thought....in the above example....if you had a large shell pumpkin crossed with a thick walled pollinator i personally would want the sprout most similar in look and characteritic as the mother and hope the heavier walls genes from pollinator is also present. shape or color prediction from early sprout characteristics. thats a nice thesis or experiment idea for any AG majors out there.......free of charge

8/26/2014 8:13:09 PM

Joliet, IL

p.s.s.s. angular pattern and color of 3rd or 4th true leaf and i usually have a feeling which parent the plant most resembles when growing my own crosses. has anyone else noticed these early plant indicators of more dominant male or female sprout similarities and how the pumpkin final shape color and weight characteristics play out?

8/26/2014 8:29:46 PM

Colorado

Shaz, i've factored in leaf shape, color,vigour and size when picking seedlings.I grow to a three and one half true leaf(in 2 gallon buckets) size before they get planted.I am trying to go for one parents traits over another.One reason to grow ones own crosses. Its a educated guess at best-but prob. better than no guess. Kind of like looking at young race horses,except they dont cost millions and peta doesnt care when you cull one.

8/28/2014 10:22:45 PM

Joliet, IL

lol Joe.....glad someone replied to that long winded babbling.... it was late night ponderings with beers in hand and feet up in garage looking out at the patch.....a typical closing to my day on cooler nights....lol

8/29/2014 11:10:33 AM