From

Location

Message

Date Posted

No Place Special

size of the pumpkin it polinated?
Say you planted two 980 Kuhns. One (#1) was polinated by the 673 Kilbert, and the other (#2) by the genetically smallest AG ever, or a Jack O' Lantern if possable. Would #1 always be bigger than #2, or would only the pumpkins grown from the SEEDS from #1 & #2 be different? Grown under the same circumstances, could #2 ever be bigger than #1? I hope I didn't make that too confusing!!!!! Thanks
Mike

1/8/2002 5:36:37 PM

canal winchester ohio

The pollination will have no affect on the size of this years fruit. It will affect next years............Paul

1/8/2002 5:40:26 PM

Myrtle Creek, Oregon

And thats the truth <;-)

1/8/2002 8:57:37 PM

Deer Park, WI

There is one small glitch in Paul's explanation- If a lobe is incompletely pollinated, often times there will be somewhat of a noticable effect in the fruit shape. Do not confuse this with genetics however. Paul is correct in that the pollen GENETICS have no effect on the developing fruit, but the degree of success of the pollination does have some effect. Give it a whirl if you have some extra space in the garden. Try pollinating only 3 of 4 lobes, and watch the result.

1/9/2002 11:46:56 AM

Deer Park WA

I quite disagree, I believe the male polinator plays a huge role in the qualities of the pumpkin it pollinates. I have seen numerous aborts when trying to cross polinate with a given male, yet when I use a different male it "takes" everytime, even if I use old crappy male flowers! I found in some crosses the pumpkin was shinier, more robust, and grew at a faster rate than other pumpkins on the same plant crossed with different males. I have been helping out a commercial pumpkin grower with twenty acres of all types of pumpkins for the past few years and he also believes male flowers play a huge role in the female it pollinates. I for one believe there is still a lot to be learned about Cucerbita Maxima.

1/10/2002 8:56:28 PM

No Place Special

oh no!!!! What do I think now? Hopefully a few more people express their opinions. This could get interesting......
Mike

1/10/2002 9:24:43 PM