Re: Indeterminate/determinate

Shaun,
   My guess would be that the A.G. is indeterminate. i have seen vines 60 feet
long and still setting fruit. If the climate didn't turn bad in the Fall, it
might be possible to keep at least parts of the plant going for 200 days.
Leaves tend to start getting old and dying off as they get old. Just because
you get a plant to stay alive for 200 days doesn't mean that a fruit that was
set on day 60 will continue growing for 140 days. Some fruit do grow for a
longer period of time than others when all the other factors are equal.
Climate seems to affect the number of days that a fruit will grow more than
anything else. In warm to hot areas, pumpkins seem to grow rapidly for a
shorter # of days.....maybe 60 days and they stop growing. In cooler areas
like the Pacific Northwest or Canada, the pumpkins grow at a slightly slower
rate, but grow for a much longer period of time. And from some of the photos
I've seen, it looks like it is easier to keep the leaves in good shape late in
the season in the cooler areas. It has been my observation that the pumpkins
growing in hot climates very rarely can equal the ones grown with a cool slow
grow of the northern climes. got off the track a little there. If we assume
that the A.G. is indeterminate, would it help to make it naturally
determinate? Dr. Loy of U.N.H. has been breeding determinate pumpkins for
years.....maybe semi-determinate. I know he has done alot of work with small
and mid-sized pumpkins. It is a possibility that when you have a determinate
pumpkin vine, you may sacrifice fruit size. Determinate pumpkins on the market
now tend to be hybrids that set many fruit per plant, tend to be very uniform
and the fruit tend to be smaller than a Howden or a Gold Rush, which is a full
vine plant. I grew a Goldrush field pumpkin that was 103 pounds 2 years ago.
The yields per acre on some of the new determinate hybrids remain high for the
plant spacing can be closer (without crowding the plant) . So there are more
plants per acre, more pumpkins per plant, but the average weight of an
individual is lower. So , I guess I would say the A.G. is indeterminate, I
don't think it would help pumpkin size to try to breed in
determinance.........although a little pruning won't hurt.
                                                 pumkinguy 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
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