Pumpkins grown for Halloween and other decorative purposes continue to be an important crop for many Midwestern vegetable farmers. Breeders are developing new varieties with improved appearance and disease resistance or tolerance. This paper reports on yield and fruit size of nineteen varieties evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Ag Center in Wanatah, Indiana

Maynard, Elizabeth T.

English

Pumpkins grown for Halloween and other decorative purposes continue to be an important crop for many Midwestern vegetable farmers. Breeders are developing new varieties with improved appearance and disease resistance or tolerance. Trials were conducted at Meigs Horticultural Facility, Throckmorton Purdue Ag Center in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and on farms in Allen and Whitley Counties in northeastern Indiana to evaluate new cultivars and lines and compare them with older cultivars. This paper reports on yield and fruit size of 31 varieties grown at one or more of the trial locations

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Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2004

Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Research Reports Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Connection 2005 Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005 Elizabeth T. Maynard Purdue University - Main Campus, emaynard@purdue.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/fvtrials  Part of the Agricultural Science Commons, and the Horticulture Commons Maynard, Elizabeth T., "Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005" (2005). Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Research Reports. Paper 20. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/fvtrials/20 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for additional information. Acknowledgments: N. Linder, Throckmorton Purdue Ag Center, and crew, managed production of pumpkins and assistedwith harvest; B. Gillem and R. Rhoda assisted with fieldwork. Rupp Seeds, Seedway, Abbott & Cobb, and Harris Moranprovided financial support and seed; Rispens Seeds donated seed.Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005Elizabeth Maynard, Purdue University, Westville, Indiana 46391Pumpkins grown for Halloween and other decorative purposes continue to be an important crop formany Midwestern vegetable farmers. Breeders are developing new varieties with improved appearanceand disease resistance or tolerance. A trial was conducted to evaluate new and old varieties.Materials and Methods. The trial was established at the Meigs Horticultural Facility of ThrockmortonPurdue Agriculture Center in Lafayette, Indiana. Sixteen jack-o-lantern varieties and 3 pie-sizedvarieties were grown in side-by side trials each set up as a  randomized complete block design with 2 replications. Each plot consisted of two 48-ft. rows on raised beds centered 8 ft. apart. On May 25 seedswere hand-planted 2 ft. apart. On June 10 plants were thinned to 12 per row (average 4 ft. apart).Pumpkins were managed using standard production practices. Rainfall was supplemented with dripirrigation. At harvest on Sept. 1, pumpkins were graded into marketable and cull categories. Marketablefruit were further separated into “orange,” if over 50% of the surface was orange, and “turning,” if thepumpkin had begun to turn orange but less than 50% of the surface was orange. Orange pumpkins wereweighed. Average weight per orange pumpkin was calculated. Pounds and number of fruit per plot wereconverted to tons and number per acre based on a plot area of 1152 sq. ft. Analyses of variance wereconducted, with mean separation using Fisher’s protected LSD at the 5% level for jack-o-lanterns andthe 10% level for pie types.Results and Discussion. Results are presented in Table 1. Yields reported in this table are based on aplant population of 908 plants per acre. Optimal plant population varies with vine growth habit andaverage fruit size. Varieties with restricted vines and small or medium-sized pumpkins would very likelyproduce higher yields at higher populations.Nine varieties produced orange pumpkins with an average size over 20 lbs. Dependable,averaging 23.2 lb./pumpkin, produced the highest yield of 23.2 tons/acre. Harvest Time and RPX 768followed at 19.3 tons/acre, which was not significantly different from Dependable. Howden Biggie,Gold Medal and RPX 771 produced between 13.3 and 15.2 tons/acre. Super Herc, Phat Jack, andSpartan produced less than 10 tons/acre. Super Herc and Phat Jack were somewhat late to mature, with75% and 55% of pumpkins orange at harvest, respectively. Spartan had a lower plant stand than othersdue to low emergence. Of these larger varieties, Gold Medal, Phat Jack, and Super Herc had vines thatwere rated the most vigorous at harvest (data not shown).Fruit appearance varied among the large varieties. Both Dependable and Harvest Time producedtall pumpkins that were a light, bright orange in color. They seem particularly well-suited for directmarketing. Phat Jack and Spartan had distinct ridges. These two varieties, along with Super Herc areworth another look. If yields were higher, they would also be good candidates for large pumpkins.Four varieties produced orange pumpkins with an average size between 14.8 and 18 lbs. RPX764, the largest of those at 18 lbs., also produced the highest yield of 18.5 tons/acre. RPX 761, Aladdinand Gold Gem produced yields between 12.2 and 14.2 tons/acre.Varieties that produced pumpkins averaging between 12.4 and 14.1 lbs. included RPX 763, RPX760 and Magic Lantern. Yields ranged from 10.8 to 13.4 tons/acre, but did not differ significantly. RPX760 and RPX 763 had less than 85% orange fruit by harvest. Of the 12 to 18-lb. varieties, Aladdin, RPX763, and RPX 764 had the most vigorous vines at harvest (data not shown).Hybrid Pam produced pumpkins averaging 4.5 lb.; Iron Man and RPX 089 both averaged 3.1 lb.Hybrid Pam produced 10.7 tons/acre, nearly double the yield of Iron Man. RPX 089 producedintermediate yield of 8.2 tons/A. RPX 089 and Iron Man had more vigorous vines at harvest than HybridPam (data not shown).Originally published in Midwest Vegetable Variety Trial Report for 2005. Compiled by Elizabeth T. Maynard and Christopher C. Gunter. Bulletin No. B17810. Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Office of Agricultural Research Programs, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana. December 2005.Yield Ave. PumpkinCultivar Seed Source** (tons/acre) Wt. (lb.) (1000s/acre) (% by no.)Jack-o-Lantern TypesHarvest Time AC 19.3 24.6 1.6 87Spartan SW 2.9 24.3 0.2 79RPX 768 RU 19.3 24.2 1.6 94Phat Jack SI 4.7 23.3 0.4 55Dependable AC 23.2 23.2 2.0 92RPX 771 RU 13.3 22.5 1.2 86Howden Biggie RI 15.2 22.3 1.4 90Gold Medal RU 13.6 21.5 1.3 88Super Herc HM 9.5 21.3 0.9 75RPX 764 RU 18.5 18.0 2.1 93Aladdin HM 12.2 17.0 1.4 86Gold Gem RU 12.8 15.8 1.6 85RPX 761 RU 14.2 14.8 1.9 92RPX 763 RU 10.8 14.1 1.5 82RPX 760 RU 13.1 14.0 1.9 69Magic Lantern HM 13.4 12.4 2.2 86LSD .05 4.5 3.2 0.5 9Pie TypesHybrid Pam SW 10.7 4.5 4.8 87Iron Man HM 5.9 3.1 3.9 80RPX 089 RU 8.2 3.1 5.4 85LSD .10 2.6 0.2 0.9 2Orange PumpkinsTable 1. Yield, average pumpkin weight, number of pumpkins, and percent orange fruit for 16 jack-o-lantern and 3 pie-type pumpkin cultivars,Lafayette, Indiana, 2005*.*Seeded 5/25 and harvested 9/1/2005. 908 plants per acre, except Spartan which had 208 plants/acre.**AC=Abbott&Cobb, HM=Harris Moran, RI=Rispens, RU=Rupp Seeds, SI=Siegers Seeds, SW=Seedway.

Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005

Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Connection 1-1-2005 Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005 Elizabeth T. Maynard Purdue University - Main Campus, emaynard@purdue.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/mwvtr  Part of the Agricultural Science Commons, and the Horticulture Commons Recommended Citation Maynard, Elizabeth T., "Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005" (2005). Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports. Paper 58. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/mwvtr/58 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for additional information. Acknowledgments: N. Linder, Throckmorton Purdue Ag Center, and crew, managed production of pumpkins and assistedwith harvest; B. Gillem and R. Rhoda assisted with fieldwork. Rupp Seeds, Seedway, Abbott & Cobb, and Harris Moranprovided financial support and seed; Rispens Seeds donated seed.Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005Elizabeth Maynard, Purdue University, Westville, Indiana 46391Pumpkins grown for Halloween and other decorative purposes continue to be an important crop formany Midwestern vegetable farmers. Breeders are developing new varieties with improved appearanceand disease resistance or tolerance. A trial was conducted to evaluate new and old varieties.Materials and Methods. The trial was established at the Meigs Horticultural Facility of ThrockmortonPurdue Agriculture Center in Lafayette, Indiana. Sixteen jack-o-lantern varieties and 3 pie-sizedvarieties were grown in side-by side trials each set up as a  randomized complete block design with 2 replications. Each plot consisted of two 48-ft. rows on raised beds centered 8 ft. apart. On May 25 seedswere hand-planted 2 ft. apart. On June 10 plants were thinned to 12 per row (average 4 ft. apart).Pumpkins were managed using standard production practices. Rainfall was supplemented with dripirrigation. At harvest on Sept. 1, pumpkins were graded into marketable and cull categories. Marketablefruit were further separated into “orange,” if over 50% of the surface was orange, and “turning,” if thepumpkin had begun to turn orange but less than 50% of the surface was orange. Orange pumpkins wereweighed. Average weight per orange pumpkin was calculated. Pounds and number of fruit per plot wereconverted to tons and number per acre based on a plot area of 1152 sq. ft. Analyses of variance wereconducted, with mean separation using Fisher’s protected LSD at the 5% level for jack-o-lanterns andthe 10% level for pie types.Results and Discussion. Results are presented in Table 1. Yields reported in this table are based on aplant population of 908 plants per acre. Optimal plant population varies with vine growth habit andaverage fruit size. Varieties with restricted vines and small or medium-sized pumpkins would very likelyproduce higher yields at higher populations.Nine varieties produced orange pumpkins with an average size over 20 lbs. Dependable,averaging 23.2 lb./pumpkin, produced the highest yield of 23.2 tons/acre. Harvest Time and RPX 768followed at 19.3 tons/acre, which was not significantly different from Dependable. Howden Biggie,Gold Medal and RPX 771 produced between 13.3 and 15.2 tons/acre. Super Herc, Phat Jack, andSpartan produced less than 10 tons/acre. Super Herc and Phat Jack were somewhat late to mature, with75% and 55% of pumpkins orange at harvest, respectively. Spartan had a lower plant stand than othersdue to low emergence. Of these larger varieties, Gold Medal, Phat Jack, and Super Herc had vines thatwere rated the most vigorous at harvest (data not shown).Fruit appearance varied among the large varieties. Both Dependable and Harvest Time producedtall pumpkins that were a light, bright orange in color. They seem particularly well-suited for directmarketing. Phat Jack and Spartan had distinct ridges. These two varieties, along with Super Herc areworth another look. If yields were higher, they would also be good candidates for large pumpkins.Four varieties produced orange pumpkins with an average size between 14.8 and 18 lbs. RPX764, the largest of those at 18 lbs., also produced the highest yield of 18.5 tons/acre. RPX 761, Aladdinand Gold Gem produced yields between 12.2 and 14.2 tons/acre.Varieties that produced pumpkins averaging between 12.4 and 14.1 lbs. included RPX 763, RPX760 and Magic Lantern. Yields ranged from 10.8 to 13.4 tons/acre, but did not differ significantly. RPX760 and RPX 763 had less than 85% orange fruit by harvest. Of the 12 to 18-lb. varieties, Aladdin, RPX763, and RPX 764 had the most vigorous vines at harvest (data not shown).Hybrid Pam produced pumpkins averaging 4.5 lb.; Iron Man and RPX 089 both averaged 3.1 lb.Hybrid Pam produced 10.7 tons/acre, nearly double the yield of Iron Man. RPX 089 producedintermediate yield of 8.2 tons/A. RPX 089 and Iron Man had more vigorous vines at harvest than HybridPam (data not shown).Originally published in Midwest Vegetable Variety Trial Report for 2005. Compiled by Elizabeth T. Maynard and Christopher C. Gunter. Bulletin No. B17810. Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Office of Agricultural Research Programs, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana. December 2005.Yield Ave. PumpkinCultivar Seed Source** (tons/acre) Wt. (lb.) (1000s/acre) (% by no.)Jack-o-Lantern TypesHarvest Time AC 19.3 24.6 1.6 87Spartan SW 2.9 24.3 0.2 79RPX 768 RU 19.3 24.2 1.6 94Phat Jack SI 4.7 23.3 0.4 55Dependable AC 23.2 23.2 2.0 92RPX 771 RU 13.3 22.5 1.2 86Howden Biggie RI 15.2 22.3 1.4 90Gold Medal RU 13.6 21.5 1.3 88Super Herc HM 9.5 21.3 0.9 75RPX 764 RU 18.5 18.0 2.1 93Aladdin HM 12.2 17.0 1.4 86Gold Gem RU 12.8 15.8 1.6 85RPX 761 RU 14.2 14.8 1.9 92RPX 763 RU 10.8 14.1 1.5 82RPX 760 RU 13.1 14.0 1.9 69Magic Lantern HM 13.4 12.4 2.2 86LSD .05 4.5 3.2 0.5 9Pie TypesHybrid Pam SW 10.7 4.5 4.8 87Iron Man HM 5.9 3.1 3.9 80RPX 089 RU 8.2 3.1 5.4 85LSD .10 2.6 0.2 0.9 2Orange PumpkinsTable 1. Yield, average pumpkin weight, number of pumpkins, and percent orange fruit for 16 jack-o-lantern and 3 pie-type pumpkin cultivars,Lafayette, Indiana, 2005*.*Seeded 5/25 and harvested 9/1/2005. 908 plants per acre, except Spartan which had 208 plants/acre.**AC=Abbott&Cobb, HM=Harris Moran, RI=Rispens, RU=Rupp Seeds, SI=Siegers Seeds, SW=Seedway.

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Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005

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