So how many growers already knew all this in the first place?

I would like to know how many growers pay attention to what a male pollinator plant produced [weight wise] when determining what seeds to grow?
Everyone looks at the weight of the pumpkin... see what the mother seed is... and after noticing just what male pumpkin was used, most think that they can figure out what is a good genetic seed. I used to do this, until brushing up on my genetic research. Now I have realized there is one more detail to research.
What characteristics did the plant that was used to be a pollinator exhibit? Did it grow as well or better than the female it was crossed with or was it a "runt"? Also, what did the male plant grow for fruit size? Perhaps the male plant had a less fortunate chromosome map as most of its siblings, [since no Atlantic Giant can breed similar chromosome mapped seeds, as it has been so outbreed forever and ever].
Say that a "runt" seed of a 801 Stelts was planted, grown, used as a pollinate, and then discovered by fall that it just wasn't like most of the other seeds growers had. This has happened with many "proven" seed strains. Say for example that it was used to pollinate the world record Stelts pumpkin. Chances are high that the seeds grown the next year are not going to grow anything near what the grower envisioned! Go to the AGGC web site and do some research if you have not thought about why certain seed strains just do not produce what they look like they would on paper. There are several examples if you do a little homework.
So how many growers already knew all this in the first place? I have lost several great growing years and wasted a lot of time not actually ever thinking twice about it. I guess, as the saying goes..." you can never learn too much."
Marc
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