Small Pumpkin Cultivar Trial Using No-Till
Culture in Southern Illinois
S. Alan Walters, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
Introduction
Although small diameter ornamental pumpkins are often referred to as “pie pumpkins,” they are
not grown for consumption purposes. These small pumpkins are becoming an important part of
the industry, especially in those markets that cater to school groups during the autumn months,
since they are a perfect size for small children to hold and carry. Therefore, a small trial was
conducted to compare several “pie pumpkins” for yield and quality characters.
Materials and Methods
This study was conducted during 2006 at the Southern Illinois University Horticulture Research
Center in Carbondale, Illinois. The test was set up as a randomized complete block design with
four replications. Five pie pumpkin cultivars were evaluated: Cannonball, Ironman, Mystic Plus,
Pik-A-Pie, and Touch of Autumn.
Pumpkins were grown in a greenhouse until the 2 to 3 leaf-stage and then transplanted on June
30 into a no-till harvested wheat field. Plots were 20 feet long with plants spaced 2 feet apart in
the row, allowing 10 plants per plot. Center-to-center row spacing was 5 feet. Prior to pumpkin
transplanting, all weeds were killed with 0.78 lb./A a.e. glyphosate; and, two days later, Strategy
(clomazone + ethalfluralin) was applied pre-emergence at 2.5 qts./A. Pumpkins were
transplanted the day after Strategy application. Pumpkins were fertilized with 40 lbs./A N, 48
lbs./A P, and 88 lbs./A K on July 15 and with 50 lbs./A N on August 10. Admire was applied as
a drench at 20 oz./A during transplanting to provide insect control for the first month. Starting 30
days after transplanting, insect and disease pests were controlled by spraying recommended rates
of Asana and Cuprofix MZ Disperss + Topsin M once a week for the duration of the experiment.
No supplemental irrigation was used.
Foliar diseases were rated in early September each year with 0 = none, 1 to 3 = low, 4 to 6 =
moderate, and 7 to 9 = high. Pumpkins were harvested on September 12, with fruit numbers and
weights recorded for each plot. The diameter of each harvested pumpkin was then measured in
inches and recorded. An overall fruit quality rating based on shape and appearance for each plot
was then determined ranging from 1 to 3 = poor, 4 to 6 = average, and 7 to 9 = excellent.
Data were subjected to analysis of variance procedures using the general linear models procedure
of SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.) appropriate for a randomized complete block design to
determine the effects of cultivar on the various variables evaluated. Fisher’s Least Significance
Difference (LSD) at P ≤ 0.05 was used to make comparisons among cultivars.
Results
Although Mystic Plus and Pik-A-Pie had high foliar disease symptoms, Touch of Autumn had
the most with several dead plants observed in each plot (Table 1). Conversely, Cannonball and
Ironman had the least amount of foliar disease.
Pik-A-Pie, Ironman, and Cannonball provided the highest quality fruits, while Mystic Plus and
Touch of Autumn had similar lower ratings (Table 1). Pik-A-Pie typically produced fruits that
were flattened in shape, light to medium orange in color, and had a longer handle than most
others evaluated. Cannonball and Ironman were hardshell types with rounded, medium to dark
orange colored fruits having a short-thickened handle. Mystic Plus produced medium to dark
orange rounded fruits that were somewhat flattened at each end having a nice straight, sturdy
handle. Touch of Autumn fruit were typically small, light to medium orange, and round to
elongated in shape with a long, thin handle.
Table 1. Evaluation of pie pumpkin cultivars for foliar disease resistance, fruit quality, and
yield parameters, and fruit per plant during 2006.
Cultivar (seed source)z
Foliar
Diseasey
Fruit
Quality
Fruit
no./A
Mystic Plus (SW)
Pik-A-Pie (RU)
Ironman (SW)
Cannonball (SW)
Touch of Autumn (SW)
6.8 ab
6.6 ab
5.0 a
5.4 a
8.1 b
6.3 a
7.7 b
7.8 b
7.3 ab
6.1 a
8,422 ab
8,712 b
7,841 ab
5,663 a
9,293 b
Fruit
Wt.
(lbs.)/A
27,907
26,615
22,107
14,931
13,417
b
b
b
a
a
Average
Wt.
(lbs.)/frt
3.3
3.1
2.8
2.6
1.4
b
b
b
b
a
Fruit
no./plant
1.9 ab
2.0 b
1.8 ab
1.3 a
2.1 b
z
Cultivars are ranked according to fruit weights (lbs./A). Means followed by the same letter
within a column do not differ significantly at P ≤ 0.05.
y
Foliar disease: 0 = none, 1 to 3 = low, 4 to 6 = moderate, and 7 to 9 = high.
Touch of Autumn, Mystic Plus, Pik-A-Pie, and Ironman produced similar high numbers of fruit
per acre (Table 1), whereas Cannonball had the least. Mystic Plus, Pik-A-Pie, and Ironman had
the highest weights per acre (> 22,100 lbs./A), while Cannonball and Touch of Autumn produced
the least (< 15,000 lbs./A). Due to high fruit numbers and low weights generated per acre,
Touch of Autumn had the lowest average fruit size at 1.4 pounds; all others produced fruit
between 2.6 and 3.3 pounds in size. Cannonball had the lowest fruit numbers per plant, although
it did not differ (P > 0.05) from Ironman and Mystic Plus. However, besides Cannonball, all
cultivars evaluated produced around two fruit per plant.
Touch of Autumn and Cannonball produced the smallest average diameter fruit at 3.7 and 4.0
inches, respectively; whereas Mystic Plus, Pik-A-Pie, and Ironman were all similar with fruit
having an average diameter of about 5 inches (Table 2). All cultivars produced more than 90%
of their fruit in the medium category, which was between 3 and 5 inches in diameter. All fruit
produced by Cannonball and Ironman were in the medium-diameter classification. Although
almost 95% Pik-A-Pie fruit were medium-sized in diameter, the rest were split between small
and large diameter categories. Mystic Plus produced 93% medium-sized diameter fruit, with the
other 7% in the large-size classification. For Touch of Autumn, 91% of fruit were medium-sized
based on diameter, while the other 9% were in the small-size category.
Table 2. Average fruit diameter and percent of small, medium, and large diameter fruit for the
pie pumpkin cultivars evaluated during 2006.
Cultivarz
Pik-A-Pie
Mystic Plus
Ironman
Cannonball
Touch of Autumn
Average Fruit
Diameter
(inches)
5.1
5.0
4.9
4.0
3.7
b
b
b
a
a
% Fruit Within Each Diameter Classificationy
Small
Medium
Large
2.5 a
0.0 a
0.0 a
0.0 a
9.0 b
94.7 a
92.8 a
100.0 a
100.0 a
91.0 b
2.8 a
7.2 b
0.0 a
0.0 a
0.0 a
z
Cultivars are ranked according to highest average fruit diameter. Means followed by the same
letter in a column do not differ significantly at P ≤ 0.05.
y
Small diameter is < 3 inches; medium diameter is 3 to 5 inches; and large > 5 inches.
Discussion
This study detected differences in foliar disease resistances, fruit yield and quality, and fruit size
between the “pie pumpkin” cultivars evaluated. All cultivars would probably be acceptable to
grow in southern Illinois, depending on the target market. The attributes and disadvantages of
each cultivar evaluated will briefly be discussed.
Although Touch of Autumn produced the highest fruit numbers per acre, it had the lowest yields
and smallest-sized pumpkin based on both weight and diameter. This cultivar also produced a
moderate quality fruit with an elongated, thin handle. This pumpkin would probably be a good
choice for a grower who is marketing directly to small children or school groups. However, due
to its high susceptibility to foliar diseases, it would most likely need to be maintained on a
rigorous fungicide spray schedule.
Both Cannonball and Ironman are rounded, medium to dark orange, hardshell pumpkin types
with a short-thickened handle that are often prized for painting purposes. Fruit size averaged
slightly less than 3 pounds for both cultivars. Each was highly consistent with respect to fruit
diameter with all fruit within the 3 to 5 inch range. Cannonball produced less fruit yield than
Ironman. Cannonball only generated 1.3 fruits per plant, and was next to the lowest for numbers
and weights produced per acre. Ironman produced 1.8 fruits per plant and more than 7,800 fruit
per acre. However, both had the lowest amount of foliar disease development compared to the
other cultivars evaluated.
Mystic Plus and Pik-A-Pie produced similar high yields, numbers of fruits per plant, average
pumpkin weights, and fruit diameters (Table 1). These two cultivars produced high fruit
numbers (> 8,400/A) and the greatest weights per acre (> 26,600 lbs./A) of all cultivars
evaluated in the trial. Both produced approximately 2 fruit per plant, with fruit averaging
slightly more than 3 pounds. Although most fruit diameters were in the medium category for
both cultivars, Mystic Plus produced 7.2% large-diameter fruit, while Pik-A-Pie was more
variable with 2.5% and 2.8% in the small and large categories, respectively. The overall fruit
quality of Pik-A-Pie was higher than Mystic Plus. Fruits of Pik-A-Pie were squatty or flattened
in shape with a light to medium orange color and long handle. Mystic Plus produced rounded,
medium- to dark orange-colored fruit that were somewhat flattened at each end and had a nice
straight, sturdy handle. Both Mystic Plus and Pik-A-Pie had fairly high disease ratings and
would need to be placed on a fairly rigorous fungicide spray program to prevent foliar disease
development.