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California High Desert [email protected]

I have wondered this question for a really long time. Now I am going to ask it because I get so confussed when I am reading post about making crosses. Does your choice of pollen effect the growth of the pumpkin? In the How To section on this board I read Pumpkin Genetics by Joe Ailts. He says....


One final point to keep in mind is that the pollen fertilizing the female flower has no effect on the growing pumpkin. The DNA contained within the pollen is passed on to the seed of the pumpkin. Therefore, the traits exhibited by a growing pumpkin are the direct result of the female’s parents. When making a cross, you are actually preparing the genetics of the next generation of pumpkins!

6/10/2008 11:03:41 AM

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia

Look at it this way, the Pumpkin is the Mother, the seeds the children. Regardless of the Male used, it will not effect the mother, the genetics for the mother came from the seed that was sown. If you think of it in an animal situation, it makes it easier to understand. The seeds inside the mother will obviously be effected by the polinator.

6/10/2008 1:00:55 PM

Newton. KS

Pollen is the key which opens the lock for last years cross.
The genetics of the pollen will be contained in the harvested seeds.

6/10/2008 1:05:53 PM

Picton,ON ([email protected])

It's pretty easy. The choice of pollen has absolutly no effect on the growing pumpkin!

6/10/2008 1:31:25 PM

California High Desert [email protected]

So what does this post refer to?

"I'm sure its been done but has anyone here selfed and crossed on the same plant and chose the faster grower?"


The next years pumpkin? I am lost. Also when people talk albout something being a good cross or proven cross, are they talking about the pumpkin (mother) or the future offsping (seeds) in the pumpkin?

6/10/2008 3:21:27 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

The pollination itself will....make sure all lobes from top to bottom are covered...IMHO...losing girths and flat side conditions don't allow the pumpkin to grow to it's fullest...I've never heard a conversation on the topic of complete pollination as a topic...but in watching these things grow and what the heavy guys do ..all the true monsters had a pretty nice shape to them...meaning it was pretty round....meaning that all ovaries bloomed and the pumpkin was healthy. Am I off base there...I could be knowing that several large pumpkins also had only a few mature seeds...What do you think?

6/10/2008 3:32:41 PM

Napa Valley, CA

Punkin's Oma..... some pumpkins on the plant are going to grow faster than others regardless of what pollinated them.
It is hard to say exactly what was being referenced in that quote.

As far as good crosses go, the mother pumpkin may be the result of a "good cross" from a previous year.
Also the term good cross can refer the cross that you are planning on doing with the mother pumpkin that you are currently growing.

When the seeds from the mother pumpkin have produced offspring is when the word "proven" is used.

Alexsdad.... Not all the true monsters have a pretty nice shape. ie. 1412 Mckie and 1556.5 Werner ..... and there have also been some others..... fortunately the nice ones seem to outnumber the odd shaped ones.

6/10/2008 4:27:37 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Carol,
Let's say you want to add color to the 1068 Wallace genes. The 801.5 Stelts is a known color producer. If you grew the 1068 Wallace this year, and pollinated it with the 801.5 Stelts, the pumpkin on the 1068 wouldn't reap the color benefits of the 801.5 pollen. The seeds from the pumpkin would. The 1068 pumpkin would still exhibit the expression of the genes from the 845 X 898 this year.

6/10/2008 10:49:36 PM

California High Desert [email protected]

Thanks for all the help. I will understand this. I am good with genetics (I think). I have been a animal breeder (mostly color breeds) most of my life. As you can tell from my spelling I do have some leaning disabilities but I am pretty smart is some areas like this if I can just wrap my pea brain around it.

One more question on reading pedigrees. I will use a seed from Howard Dills site. Tell me if I am reading it right. I copied this from the site.

1388 lbs. J. LaRue 1068 Wallace ‘03 * 1017.5 LaRue ’05

The 1388 LaRue is the mother pumpkin of the seeds that are for sell. Right?

Now this is where I get confused. Is the 1068 Wallace the grandmother pumpkin? And is the 1017.5 the father (polinator) to the seed for sell or the polinator to seed that produced the 1388 La Rue pumpkin?

6/11/2008 1:06:09 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

As in any Male chauvinistic ideas.....It's always ladies first....so the first one listed is the female then pollinated by the second listed.

addtional info can be included usually the year grown.

Female weight name year X male weight name year.
items with a * are telling you they're squash.
hope that helps

6/11/2008 1:42:32 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

1068 is the mother and the 1017.5 is the father.

6/11/2008 3:43:31 PM

California High Desert [email protected]

Thank you I am finaly getting it.

6/12/2008 8:23:08 AM