Re: 2004 Clarence NY Weigh-Off Sept 25th

There is a ring of truth in this post......
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Toby" <mr-sprout@sbcglobal.net>
To: <pumpkins@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 9:05 PM
Subject: RE: 2004 Clarence NY Weigh-Off Sept 25th


> Well, I hope this doesn't get anybody super mad, but I have a definite
> opinion, and I want to voice it.  I see a problem and it has everything
> to do with discouraging careful and efficient breeding of our giants...
> 
> "Whats colour anyways?"
> 
> For some reason, people who get 75+% orange ones get rewards ($$$).
> People who get 74% or less orange get nothing but smiles.  
> 
> So, color is only what *you* make it, Ray (and anybody else that runs a
> weigh-off event).  In this case, color=money.  The existing rules at
> most weigh-offs do not maximize AND encourage our corporate efforts to
> purify our breeding results world wide.
> 
> I'm not sure I understand this.  It does nothing to encourage people to
> breed purely orange fruit, or purely green fruit, and the rule
> potentially disqualifies winners who grow for weight (could the next
> World Record be less than 75% orange?  Yes.  Of course, if it was 74%
> orange, would it break the pumpkin record?), thereby discouraging people
> from crossing green with orange even if it might produce an enormous,
> heavier to the charts, fruit.  This is anti-productive from every
> perspective.  
> 
> Case in point:  Zunino's Baby Beluga (933 Zunino 03) last year has the
> genes to challenge a first place ribbon at almost any weigh-off.  Will
> the majority of the top growers out there plant it?  Probably not.  Why?
> Other than the satisfaction of having a darn big rainbow-squash, there
> is little reward to be had.  Only one grower will achieve the top prize,
> but only if their fruit is 75% orange.  Baby Beluga started off white
> and slowly turned every color and shade of AG known to man.  It was
> mostly orange when it was weighed.  I believe it ended up mostly green,
> long after it was harvested.  It had unpredicted color characteristics.
> Reason tells us its progeny will also have unpredictable color, too.  So
> who wants to show up at the weigh-off with a 1000+ fruit and be told you
> can't compete for prize money because your whale is green around the
> gills?  Top growers who consider the end result will usually overlook
> this seed, even though it has great contest potential.  I wonder how
> many other quality seeds in the gene pool have been overlooked because
> growers need to grow a "real pumpkin" to be able to compete.  
> 
> Maybe us growers/breeders have different goals than the weigh-off
> officials who make these rules?  Feedback from weigh-off officials would
> be helpful, here.
> 
> IMHO, the suggested "three category weigh-off" that has been mentioned
> by others here is best as it encourages people to breed fruit based on
> color and weight (1. all orange category, 2. all green category, and 3.
> an unlimited category).  Set up a reward schedule for each category that
> honors the efforts of every type of grower equally, and everybody will
> be happy.
> 
> Hope I don't get kicked off the list for this post.
> 
> Toby
> 
> mr-sprout@sbcglobal.net
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
> Of LGOURD@aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 6:52 PM
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Subject: Re: 2004 Clarence NY Weigh-Off Sept 25th
> 
> In a message dated 9/18/2004 6:31:18 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
> apapez@cogeco.ca writes:
> waynekennedy@sprint.ca writes:
> > Well Ray what about Squash ??????
> > Gas money - $25 US - Have you got a world record - maybe more?  Ray
> > Thats about what their worth. Who in their right mind would want to
> grow
> one anyways. lol
> I've got a pretty nice one myself!  Whats colour anyways?  Ray
> 
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