Pumpkin size - Seed size
Just wanted to throw out a few comments so you guys can add what you
think....
First, about small pumpkins producing big fruit. Yeah it happens, but in the
end I think it is simple plant evolution. Seeds from bigger pumpkins should
produce bigger fruit, in the end, when it all is calculated. The problem is
probably that there isn't near enough data to go by, so these
inconsistancies show up. But if you look, the weights of pumpkins from which
the best seeds come from are getting higher and higher, on average.
About seed size....well I never really thought this made much difference,
since it is really all in the genes. For example, look at a tiny seed like a
mustard seed, or a seed from a pine cone, hardly visible. But they will grow
into a MASSIVE plant!
But then again, when you compare seeds from the same pumpkin, they have
closer genetic properties to each other, so if you take that into
consideration, an also consider that the seed size is related to how big the
embryo is, which is basically the baby plant, it COULD mean something. I
mean a bigger baby plant seems like it would lead to a bigger plant in
general, when "bigger" means larger, relative to it's siblings. Although I
don't know what this would mean for fruit size, it still seems that bigger
seeds would be more likely to produce bigger plants, for whatever that is
worth.
Seed size and pumpkin size *is* sort of backwards related though, since
compare a good A.G. seed to those from say, a Burpee Prizewinner. Big
difference! And the seeds do seem to keep getting bigger, to me anyway.
What does everyone else think?
-Steve
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