Pumpkins are a unique vegetable crop in that they are grown not only for consumption, but also for their ornamental characteristics. All U.S. states produce some pumpkins for commercial markets but in 2012, about half were grown in just six states and about 80 percent were grown in just 16 states (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2017). Illinois is the largest producer, harvesting two to four times as many pumpkin acres as any of the other top states. It should be noted that most of these pumpkins are grown for the processing market for use in products including baby food and puree. In Pennsylvania, 6,871 acres were devoted to pumpkins on 1,305 farms in 2017, ranking second and first in the nation, respectively (USDA, 2017) with the majority destined for the ornamental market as carved pumpkins.

About 70% of Americans planned to celebrate Halloween in 2018 (Statista, 2019) with 45% planning to carve a jack-o-lantern (National Retail Federation [NRF], 2018), slightly down from 46% in 2017 (NRF, 2017). Carving pumpkins are available in many sizes with most in the range of 10 lb to 50 lb. They are typically rounded in shape with variations resulting in some being oblong. There can be differences in the degree of ribbing on the fruit with a preference to various shades of orange although yellow, white, and pink are available. Customers wanting a quality carving pumpkin are advised to pay attention to handle (peduncle) quality (Boeckmann, 2018).

Farmers growing carving pumpkins have numerous varieties to select from on traits such as fruit quality, yield, and disease resistance. It is not uncommon for a variety to perform well in one region or state and poorly in another. This can make selection time-consuming and leave farmers unsure about how new varieties will perform on their farms. In a participant survey at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, 70% of respondents (n=139) stated that variety trials were important to very important for their success (Butzler et al., unpublished data). Seventy-two percent also stated that it was important to very important that variety trials be conducted in areas like theirs. 

We evaluated 21 varieties of 15-25 lb orange, smooth-faced pumpkins in 2016-17 at three locations, using varying production practices, to provide farmers with recommendations for selecting carving pumpkins. Top rated varieties can be considered widely adaptable to the Mid-Atlantic region as they exhibited consistent yields and quality regardless of site, year, and production methods.

Methods

Twenty-one pumpkin varieties (Table 1) were grown in conventional systems in 2016-17 in southwestern Pennsylvania at Yarnick’s Farm in Indiana (lat. 40°39'30.9"N, long 79°16'05.4"W), in central Pennsylvania at the Russell E. Larson Research and Education Center in Pennsylvania Furnace (lat. 40°42’45.04”N, long 77° 57’12.44”W), and in southeastern Pennsylvania at the Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Manheim (lat. 40° 07’05.11”N, long 76° 25’45.69”W). Locations were selected to represent major production areas across the state representing different soil types and climatic conditions (Table 2).

Table 1. Varieties, seed sources, maturity date of cultivars evaluated at three locations in Pennsylvania in 2016-17.

¹Based on seed catalogs, days from planting to harvest

²All seed were FarMore treated.

Table 2. First and last frost dates for three locations in Pennsylvania.

¹USDA, 2012
²Plant Maps, 2019b
³Plant Maps, 2019a
⁴NWS, 2012

Each site used different production systems. The southwestern site production methods were determined by the farmer cooperator: a raised bed system, six feet apart center-to-center, three feet in-row spacing, and without plastic mulch. When beds were formed, 70 lb/acre nitrogen (N), 15 lb/acre phosphorus (P), and 54 lb/ potassium (K) were applied in 2016 and 60 lb/acre N, 34 lb/acre P, and 65 lb/acre K in 2017. Seed were planted on June 25, 2016 and June 20, 2017. A single line of drip tape was installed over each bed in 2016 to facilitate germination but was not used in 2017.

Pumpkins were hand harvested on October 8, 2016 and October 10 and 13, 2017 and were categorized as fully orange, turning orange, mature green (full sized and dark green) and unmarketable.

At the central site, a plasticulture system, using a single line of drip tape (T-Tape model 508-12-450; John Deere, Moline, IL) centered on beds and black embossed plastic mulch (Sigma Plastic Groups, Allentown, PA) was used. Beds were shaped, and plastic and drip tape were installed on June 10, 2016 and June 12, 2017. Beds were 8 feet apart center-to-center. In 2016, 50 lb/acre of K was added, and based on soil test results no P was applied. In 2017, no K was applied but 65 lb/acre of P was added.  Additionally, 50 lb/acre N was broadcast preplant on May 23, 2016 and June 12, 2017. An additional 25 lb/acre N was fertigated throughout the growing season. Plants were provided with 1-1.5 acre-inches of water each week. Pre-emergent herbicides were applied on June 10, 2016 (S-metolachlor at 1.5 pt/acre and ethalfluralin and clomazone at 4 pt/acre) and June 6, 2017 S-metolachlor at 2 pt/acre and ethalfluralin and clomazone at 5 pt/acre (Medal EC; Syngenta Crop Protection, Wilmington, DE and Strategy; Loveland Products, Loveland, CO). Seed were planted on June 13, 2016 and June 22, 2017 using a plant spacing of 4 ft between plants in a single row.

Pumpkins were cut from vines on September 16 and 20, 2016 and harvested on September 29.  In 2017, harvest took place on October 5. Pumpkins were counted and weighed in these categories: fully orange, turning orange or mature green and unmarketable. Immature green fruit were left in the field.

At the southeastern site, glyphosate (Credit 41; Nufarm Americas Inc., Burr Ridge, IL) was applied on May 25, 2016 and 2017 for burn-down of winter rye (Secale cereal).  Pre-emergent herbicides were applied on May 31, 2016 and 2017 with bensulide (Prefar 4-E; Gowan Company, Yuma, AZ) and clomazone (Strategy; Loveland Products, Loveland, CO). Seed was planted into a no-till system using winter rye residue on June 7, 2016 and June 8, 2017 with 8 ft bed spacing and 4 ft between plants in a single row. Based on soil test recommendations, P and K were not applied. Nitrogen was applied at a rate of 90 lb/acre with 50 lb broadcast preplant and the remainder fertigated throughout the growing season. A single line of drip tape (T-Tape model 508-12-450; John Deere, Moline, IL) was centered on each row.  Plants were provided with 1-1.5 acre-inches of water each week.

Pumpkins were harvested on October 14, 2016 and October 11 and 16, 2017. At this site, harvest occurred when all fruit were fully orange (no fruit were turning orange).

Diseases and insect pests were managed locally using recommendations from the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide (Sánchez et al, 2016).

Quality of the handles (peduncles) was visually rated at this site using a 1-5 scale with 5 indicating the highest quality. Quality criteria included color, thickness, uniformity, and strength of attachment.

All treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications, six plants per replication, at each site. Data were combined by site and year and analyzed using SAS’s mixed procedure. When Variety x Year interactions were observed, data were analyzed separately by site and year. Means were separated at the 5% level using pdiff.

Results 

Yields

Gladiator was the standard variety to which all other varieties were compared. Mean marketable yield in weight is presented in Table 3 with marketable numbers in Table 4.

Table 3. Marketable yield (lb/6 plants) of 21 pumpkin varieties grown at three locations in Pennsylvania in 2016-17¹

¹Values are the mean of 4 replications; data were analyzed using GLIMMIX. Means were separated at the 5% level using pdiff. Variety x Year interactions for marketable weight were significant at the Southwestern site and data were analyzed separately by year. Variety x Year interactions were not significant for marketable weight at the Central site and Southeastern site; therefore, data for year were combined. Different letters following values in a column indicate significant differences.

Table 4. Marketable yield (no./6 plants) of 21 pumpkin varieties grown at three locations in Pennsylvania in 2016-17¹

¹Values are the mean of 4 replications; data were analyzed using GLIMMIX. Means were separated at the 5% level using pdiff. Variety x Year interactions for marketable number were significant at the Southwestern and Central site and data were analyzed separately by year. Variety x Year interactions were not significant for marketable number at the Southeastern site; therefore, data for year were combined. Different letters following values in a column indicate significant differences

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