Re: Which to cull

Thanks, Don.  I have one of your new books on order, I believe.  I'm
looking at culling plants at this point as opposed to fruit -- but an
interesting question arises from the part about multiple fruit on one
plant:  would it be better to have 2 fruit on one plant in one hill - OR
- 1 fruit on each of 2 plants together in one hill?  I mean, if the
fruit only gets nutrients from the vine its on, does it matter if two
vines share the same main root system (one plant) or separate foot
systems (two plants)?  Unconventional thinking I know -- what do you
think?

Regards,
Chris Wilbers

-----
Annedawn@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Chris,
> This following is an excerpt from my new book, How-to-Grow World Class Giant
>  Pumpkins, II (available for $17.95 plus $4 shipping and handling, US funds to
>  anywhere in North America by calling 800-985-7878 or sending check or money
>  order to Annedawn Publishing, Box 247, Norton, MA 02766 - Visa and Mastercard
>  accepted, please include card number and expiration).
> 
> Chapter 9 - Fruit Selection
> 
> A few years ago, the commonly accepted rule on growing giant pumpkins was that
>  there should be only one pumpkin on a plant. This rule has been challenged
>  many times over the last few years, and gradually, growers are coming to the
>  realization that the Atlantic Giant pumpkin plant has “energy to burn.” Some
>  growers have even questioned the need to cull-out pumpkins at all, while
>  others have modified the way in which they select pumpkins for final growing-
>  out. Most now believe, and I am in agreement with them, that the Atlantic
>  Giant can sustain and achieve maximum potential of multiple fruit on a plant.
>  I have seen situations where four and five fruit were left to mature, and each
>  reached respectable size. John Castellucci of Smithfield, RI grew a plant in
>  1997 from his 682.4-pound pumpkin of 1996 in which four pumpkins were allowed
>  to grow. Each attained a weight of over 600 pounds with one official entry
>  weighed-in at 733 pounds. He had close to 2800 pounds of pumpkin on a single
>  plant. Of course, the skeptic would say, “What would his weights have been if
>  he had culled to one or two fruit?” I say, probably the same. There has been
>  ever increasing confirmation that a fruit receives its energy from only the
>  primary vine it is on. Other primary vines do not effect its growth, and the
>  inference is that you can have multiple fruit on a plant as long as they are
>  on separate primary vines. If you have three primary vines (the main vine plus
>  two other strong vines emerging within 18" of the base of the plant) then you
>  can potentially grow three pumpkins on the plant.
> Which of these pumpkins you choose for the final push can be helped by
>  applying some common sense, intuition and evaluation of the fruit based on:
>  rate of growth, shape, vine location and position and the number of segments.
> 
> Rate of Growth
> 
> If you measure the circumference of each of your pumpkins beginning at a size
>  that is slightly larger than a basketball, you will accumulate data, over
>  time, that will effectively tell you which fruit is growing the fastest on the
>  plant or vine. You must take into consideration the time of pollination of
>  each, because the earlier pollinated pumpkins will be larger. You will be able
>  to determine at a very early time, which is growing the fastest. In the early
>  part of the season, you will be collecting data only. No culling should be
>  done until fruit reach at least 50 pounds and you have had sufficient time to
>  evaluate all of the pumpkins on a plant or vine. Having 8-10 pumpkins on a
>  plant in mid-July will in no way affect the final weight of your largest
>  pumpkin. In fact, some believe that having more fruit on the vines at this
>  time, in which vegetative growth is still particularly strong, acts as a
>  moderating force on reducing fruit aborts or splitting from excessive, quick
>  growth. If you’ve grown giants before, you probably have experienced a pumpkin
>  that splits in two overnight, as if someone had hit it with a hatchet. With
>  more fruit on the vines commanding needs, I think less of this splitting
>  should occur, especially with multiple fruit on a vine early in the season.
> Cull gradually through the season, first eliminating slow growers and then
>  evaluating other factors.
> 
> Fruit Position
> 
> The position of the fruit, in relation to the vine, is an important
>  consideration when making a determination if a fruit should be culled or be
>  left to continue to grow. All fruit will need some adjustment early in their
>  life to achieve their best position relative to the vine (we cover this in
>  Chapter 10 - Training, Pruning and Fruit-Protection). Some will have better
>  positions than others. Also, short-stemmed pumpkins may have later problems
>  that can occur when the shoulders of the pumpkin enlarge to such size that
>  they begin to touch the vine and push it until the vine tightens forcing
>  enormous pressure on the stem. Having a fruit on the outside of a curving vine
>  is better than having one on the inside of a curving vine. Vines that curve
>  away from the fruit are less likely to experience stem stress.
> It is interesting to note that the shape of these large-shouldered pumpkins,
>  although they present problems related to stem stress, are the preferred shape
>  for heavy-weighted pumpkins.
> 
> Segments
> 
> As we touched on earlier in Chapter 8, Pollination, segments are female flower
>  parts which tell us how many ovaries a particular fruit will contain. The
>  basic premise is that the more ovaries (and subsequently more seeds) you have,
>  the bigger the pumpkin will become. In my first book, I presented an argument
>  that may have discouraged growers from considering 4-segment fruit if 5- and
>  6-segment fruit were available. In the past couple of years I have noted the
>  appearance of many 4-segment fruit in the top pumpkins grown annually; and
>  therefore, I cannot discourage anyone from choosing one if his instincts tells
>  him that this is the best pumpkin they have. Looking at the data for 700+
>  pound pumpkins for 1996 and 1997, I found that out of 122 pumpkins, 64% were
>  5-segment fruit and 24% were 4-segment. This does not prove that 4- and
>  5-segment fruit are preferred, but suggests that they are more
> likely to occur in 700+ pound pumpkins. I would
> still tend to want to keep a 6-segment fruit over a 5-segment one (or a
>  5-segment over a 4), but its emphasis in the decision making process should be
>  treated with less significance based on what has occurred the last two years.
> 
> Shape
> 
> I have seen heavy pumpkins that were tall and beautiful, and I have seen heavy
>  pumpkins that were flat and ugly, so including a section on shape has me
>  wondering whether it will do more to confuse a new grower than to instruct.
>  Nevertheless, there are some shape preferences that can help in determining
>  which fruit you will cull and which you will grow-out if you have two on the
>  same primary vine. Tall pumpkins are much preferred to short pumpkins if their
>  total measurements (circumference combined with over-the-top measurements) are
>  equal. In fact, many growers have observed that estimates of weight derived
>  from the tables can be skewed in either direction simply by the height of the
>  pumpkin. Pumpkins that have heights (ground to the highest level that the
>  pumpkin stands) below 30" will weigh less than the tables, pumpkins that have
>  heights between 30" and 36" will be very close to table estimates and pumpkins
>  with heights above 36" will weigh heavier than the tables. This generality is
>  not true in all instances, but with most pumpkins it will help a grower in
>  deciding between two pumpkins that have similar total measurements but differ
>  in shape and height.
> 
> Skin Type
> 
> Another rule that has garnered much acceptance in the past five years involves
>  skin type, and how it effects the divergence of a pumpkin’s actual weight from
>  an estimated one derived from the tables. If two pumpkins measure exactly the
>  same, then the one with the ruddier complexion will weigh more. Pumpkins with
>  shiny, soft skin will weigh less than pumpkins with rough hardened exteriors.
>  Many times, the roughened specimens will exhibit skin patterns that resemble
>  the netting on cantaloupes. “Cantalouping” seems to indicate that actual
>  weight will exceed estimates. These are only general rules and actually, the
>  condition of skin may be more indicative of the stage of life the fruit has
>  entered. The longer the fruit is on the vine, the harder the skin appearance
>  will be. Skin appearance may very well indicate the stage of maturity that a
>  pumpkin has attained — and since most growers believe that end-of-season
>  weight gains are more the result of wall thickening than actual increases in
>  measurements of the exterior, hardened-skin pumpkins may just be pumpkins that
>  have attained a higher level of maturity than their fair-skinned competitors.
>  These fair-skinned rivals may have had several more weeks of growth left in
>  them.
> 
> Primary or Secondary Vine
> 
> The goal should be to set a fruit on a primary vine. Many times you will
>  pollinate and set fruit on secondary vines and the question begins to emerge
>  about which place is ideal for maximum pumpkin growth. In 1996 and 1997, of
>  all of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth’s 700-pound and over pumpkins, only 9%
>  were on secondary vines. 91% of the world’s largest pumpkins in 1996 and 1997
>  were grown on a primary vine. This is strong statistical evidence that you
>  have a much better chance of growing a world class giant pumpkin on a primary
>  vine. At times, you may not have this luxury, but if you do, and you have a
>  choice between two pumpkins, fairly equal in all respects, then the primary
>  vine pumpkin is the better of the two. If the secondary vine pumpkin is on a
>  vine that comes off of the primary vine which contains your other candidate,
>  then the secondary vine pumpkin should be culled from the plant.
> As you can see, you will use many different variables to determine final fruit
>  selection, and all of these can improve your chances of selecting the best
>  fruit to grow-out. Along with evaluating the rate of growth, shape, vine
>  position, skin type and number of segments, your own intuition will have to be
>  used as well. This may be the most important part of the analysis, for in the
>  end, you must make the decision. As probability and chance have it, you may
>  make a wrong decision, or you may make the right one.
> 
> End
> 
> I hope this helps you out,
> 
> Don Langevin
> Author and Publisher
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS

-- 
Regards,

Chris Wilbers
Sioux Falls, SD
---------------------------------------------------------------------
n*@ideasign.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index