Harris Moran Seed Company pumpkins yielded well and exhibited superior quality in recent trials.

"Harris Moran cultivars that appear to have superior yield and quality traits are Magic Lantern and Merlin, HMX 4694 and Mystic," said Dr. Ron Morse, extension vegetable specialist at Virginia Tech.

Morse conducted the trials at Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Education Center in Glade Spring, Virginia. Trials were conducted in late September and early October. That time of year saw heavy rain and low temperatures – yields were slightly lower than usual.

The trial included 16 cultivars. Trial was no-tilled into rolled rye and sprayed with Roundup in June.

In the trials, Magic Lantern totaled 808 cwt/acre – which topped the trial. It weighed in at 15-17 pounds. Merlin totaled 749 cwt/acre – second highest – and weighed in at an average of 15.7 pounds. Also yielding well were HMX 4694 and Mystic Plus (HMX 6688).

In addition to the performance of Magic Lantern and Merlin, Dr. Morse found that plots with high plant populations and equidistant spacing in twin rows resulted in production of a higher number of pumpkins per acre.

"An ideal pumpkin crop would be where all plants produce only one or at the most two pumpkins per plant over a short period (less than seven days), resulting in high number, yield, and uniform size and quality," said Morse.

He also discovered that with low plant populations, staggered fruit set generally occurs, resulting in non-uniform pumpkin maturity, color, and size.

He recommends combining this planting method with the cultivar Magic Lantern to produce an ideal pumpkin crop. In addition to yield and quality, Merlin and Magic Lantern offer powdery mildew tolerance.

Said Morse: "Better quality and more uniform sized pumpkins can be achieved most effectively by growing different cultivars that produce high quality pumpkins for each size needed rather than attempting to use undersized, poor quality pumpkin fruit from large-sized cultivars to meet your small pumpkin needs."