SAG LINES OR DILL RINGS?
In support of the Dill ring post.
This was provided to me by Chris Andersen for the PNWGPG Newsletter, dated July 1998
It was recently pointed out to me by Al Eaton that the term dill ring is actually quite an offensive insult to the inventor of our wonderful hobby & sport, Mr. Howard Dill. Considering the offensive nature of dill rings and in keeping with Al's tasteful comment I have taken to calling dill rings - sag lines. As a new grower I was quite confused by this odd term and could not quite picture in my mind what a sag line visually looked like, let alone what a sag line was? So, what is a sag line? A sag line is an internal stress crack which develops during the fruit growth stage and runs horizontally across the inside of a pumpkin from side to side. A sag line is visually obvious from the external view of a pumpkin by a continuous sag from one side of the pumpkin to the other, typically in a straight line. In some cases the sag line may not extent completely to the other side of the pumpkin. Inevitably sag lines can spell disaster for many a grower. With a internal crack in the !
pu!
mpkin which can actually extent to just below the surface of the pumpkin skin, the weight of the pumpkin combined with gravity will begin to cause the pumpkin to cave in upon itself. In addition with a internal crack developed in the pumpkin flesh it becomes difficult for the pumpkin to store more carbohydrates past the point of the internal crack or sag line resulting in limited weight gain past this point. More often than not the infamous sag line results in small hole at the juncture of the sag and a rib which has developed from stem to blossom. The cause of sag lines is believed to be genetic in nature. Although some growers contest that sag lines are the result of exposure to direct sunlight and subsequent heat when the fruit is very immature. Subsequently the immature fruit dry's out internally in a specific area, later resulting in the sag line. While there may be some merit to this theory I do not believe any grower as taken the steps to grow a pumpkin in total da!
rk!
ness. Personally I believe in the genetic theory. With care!
ful cross breeding by pedigree growers it is my hope that sag lines will someday be bred out of Giant Pumpkins.
Chris Andersen
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