Yield and Fruit-Size Distribution of 17 Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Cultivars Grown in Northern Utah
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 9, Issue 1 - June 2016
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Jack-O-Lantern type pumpkins are a locally grown commercial crop in northern Utah. We organized a 2 year trial of 15 hybrid cultivars and 2 open-pollinated cultivars and gauged yield, color, stem strength, height, and width of marketable fruit. Plants were arranged into a randomized complete block design (n=3). We initially grew 15 hybrid cultivars (‘Camaro’, ‘Challenger’, ‘Charisma’, ‘Corvette’, ‘Cougar’, ‘Gladiator’, ‘Magic Lantern’, ‘Magic Wand’, ‘Magician’, ‘Mustang’, ‘New Moon’, ‘Orange Rave’, ‘Racer’, ‘Sorcerer’ and ‘Summit’) and two open-pollinated cultivars (Connecticut Field and Howden). After year 1 harvest all had acceptable color and stem strength except New Moon (50% of stems broke). ‘Camaro’, ‘Challenger’, Connecticut Field, ‘Corvette’, ‘Cougar’, Howden, ‘Magic Lantern’, ‘Magician’ and ‘Mustang’ all yielded greater than 23 tons per acre (TPA) with ‘Challenger’ producing 32.4 TPA. Additionally, 75% of ‘Magic Lantern’ fruit weighed between 15-25 pounds and measured between 10-15 inches high and wide, a size required by many grocery chains. Seventy-six percent of ‘Challenger’ fruit weighed above 25 pounds. ‘Howden’ produced a variety of fruit sizes on the same plant and is potentially useful for roadside-stand style businesses. In year 2, we planted all cultivars that yielded 23 TPA or greater in year 1, except ‘Connecticut Field’ and ‘New Moon’, for further evaluation. Due to unforeseen circumstances plants received approximately 50% of the water they received in year 1. Most varieties yielded 30%-50% of year 1. Exceptions to this included ‘Camaro’ and ‘Mustang’ which produced 20.4 and 18.6 TPA respectively.
View/Download Full Article