Interest in pumpkins and squash peaks today on Halloween and slowly fades as we head toward Thanksgiving. While thoughts of cucurbits are still fresh in your head, take a few minutes to watch the results of our 2019 pumpkin and squash hybrid trial at the Western Ag Research Station in South Charleston.
In keeping with the principles of IPM, most of the hybrids selected have tolerance to powdery mildew, which allows for a healthier less diseased plant through the growing season. This is not to say these hybrids can go without protection from fungicides for the whole season, as there are many diseases that attack the foliage and fruit, but sprays can be delayed or have longer intervals without significant damage to the plants.
The trial consists of 27 hybrids from Harris Seeds, Harris Moran, Rupp, Johnny’s, and Siegers. Fruit size ranges from small to extra large, and colors include orange, white, blue, and pink; some even have bumps and warts. Estimates of average fruit weight and fruit number per plot are given during the narration. Hopefully you see something worth trying in 2020!
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These videos were partially shot and edited with the help of Brooke Beam, Highland County Extension Educator.
For those people who want to see all the trial data in one table, here it is.
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the video and data about your pumpkin results this year.
Because I am not too smart I have some questions.
1. Do most commercial pumpkin producers direct seed or transplant their pumpkins?
2. Did you mechanically transplant or hand transplant yours?
3. Since we do not know the season’s weather before we start the season, could we see your cumulative data for more than one year for the varieties that you grew more than one year?
Thanks,
Todd Gordon
Logan County