How much does the largest pumpkin in the world weigh. The largest pumpkins in the world. Edible-inedible: what to do with a giant pumpkin

Autumn is the time of the year when every self-respecting summer resident is preparing to harvest his huge harvest. Vegetables are a product without which no person can live, vegetables include a bunch of vitamins, This is especially true for fresh vegetables, and not processed, collected from personal suburban area or a greenhouse tended to organic or mineral fertilizers purchased from Agroyal. It is these vegetables, grown with love, that achieve certain records. Every year at various fairs around the world there are competitions for the largest food products, some of them fall into the Guinness Book of Records. Let's see what...

For example, the Japanese farmer Koji Ueno grew a huge pumpkin weighing 485.1 kg, thus Koji became the owner of the title, or rather, his pumpkin became the largest in Japan. By the way, this is Koji's second victory in a row. Such competitions are organized by the International Federation of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs and have been held for 27 years in a row. The winners of the competition in their country are sent to the world championship

As mentioned above, such competitions are held everywhere, so in the USA, more precisely in the state of Oregon, Thad Starr won with his 700 kg pumpkin. Thad is a professional grower of giant pumpkins, travels with them to various fairs in the country. The most big pumpkin, grown by Tadam, reached a weight of 800 kg.

Englishman Joe Atherton won at the fair in Yorkshire for the largest zucchini weighing 44 kg.

But Joe Atherton is engaged in various types of gardening. In the photo you can see how he holds a cucumber - 80 cm, and a potato weighing 1.5 kg.

At the same fair in Yorkshire, a head of cabbage weighing 30 kg received the title of the largest cabbage.

And for the first time in 18 years of holding the competition for the largest vegetable, 10-year-old Kevan Dinkel won the competition in Alaska, who grew cabbage weighing 42 kilograms. For this achievement, he received $2,000.

A resident of China, Yan Hua, bought a raincoat mushroom weighing 4.5 kilograms from a vegetable seller, and it turned out to be quite edible.

This beet crop is harvested in Hungary, the beets are not grown for competition, so the weight and length are not known.

Philip Wauls grows different kinds vegetables, including pumpkins, cabbages, and cucumbers. In the photo, he is just with a cucumber weighing 7 kg., Which got into the Guinness Book of Records.

On this photo again, Vauls, but already aged with another giant - a squash weighing 51 kg., Grown in just 1.5 months.

In this photo, Peter Glazebrook with an eight-kilogram bulb.

Yitzhak Izdanpana from Israel grew a 1.2 meter cucumber, and he assured that he did not use any preparations. Cucumber grown on organic fertilizer for 3 months.

In this photo, a radish weighing 21 kilograms, also grown in Israel.

But a resident of China, Liu Fengbin, grows oranges in his field, and they are, to put it mildly, huge. As Liu himself shares, there are a huge number of orange trees on his plantations and only one gives such huge fruits.

In the photo below, a little girl Avishag from Israel, who shows us a huge avocado fruit weighing 2 kg. Such avocados do happen and are not inherently record holders, but very rarely.

The huge fruit of the Bramley apple tree.

This 119 cm cucumber was supposed to become a record holder among its counterparts, but the Englishwoman Claire Pierce applied late to the Guinness Book of Records and the cucumber, unfortunately, rotted.

Yorkshire has apparently the most popular horticultural fair, and this tomato deserves the title of the largest in the competition.

This gourd is smaller than Koji Ueno from Japan but still in Sydney at 392kg. she took first place in the competition of large fruits.

In almost every garden located in our country, you can find a growing pumpkin. A feature of this culture is that some varieties (large-fruited) allow you to get a giant fruit. This article will tell you what was the largest pumpkin in the world and how to grow a worthy competitor for it in your garden.

History and origins

To date, there are about 20 species of this culture in the world. In our country, the species Ordinary is very popular. However, in other countries of America, Asia and Africa, gardeners grow Giant pumpkin. This variety fully justifies its name, as it is able to form a huge crop.

Giant species began to occupy the attention of gardeners since 1979, when farmer Howard Dill brought a fruit weighing more than 200 kg to the fair. In the future, he managed to grow an even larger specimen from the seeds of his record holder. After that, active breeding work began on the cultivation of large-fruited varieties.

Most often, farmers from the state of California managed to grow the largest fruits. In this region there is enough light and heat for the maturation of large specimens.

The real record holder was a pumpkin, which in coverage was 4.7 m. She, weighing 821 kg, was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Farmer Chris Stevens from Wisconsin managed to grow such an instance. His result was 40 kg heavier than the previous record holder.

10 giant record holders

The real champions among this culture are large-fruited varieties. It is they who are capable of forming a huge crop in size and dimensions. To date, the record holders include 10 varieties. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

The most common is the Titan variety, one of the largest varieties. A whole pumpkin can weigh about 120-180 kg. And this is the average weight. Record holders reached a weight of about half a ton. However, in order to achieve such a large harvest, plant care must be carefully planned. With conventional agricultural technology, Titan produces fruits weighing about 50 kg. It is considered a medium-sized variety. Harvest ripens in 120 days. It is worth noting that the Titan pulp does not differ in pronounced taste characteristics.

Rossiyanka secured the attention of gardeners with stable fruiting and a large harvest. It is characterized by excellent keeping quality and easy care. She has a beautiful appearance. If care was normal, then up to 20 kg of crop can be harvested from one plant. To obtain a large harvest, planting care must be comprehensive and accurate.

Another popular variety of large-fruited varieties is the hundred-pound variety. How large the fruits will turn out here also depends on the correctness and usefulness of the agricultural technicians performed by the gardener. With normal care, the plant forms several fruits with an average weight of 15–20 kg. This variety is characterized by excellent resistance to various ailments. This variety is grown for pet food.

A fairly popular large-fruited representative is Marble. It belongs to the late-ripening varieties. One copy, grown without proper care, weighs about 4 kg. However, larger ones were also noted, the weight of which was many times greater.

Large-fruited differs Centner. The variety has excellent taste. Due to the fact that the plant forms rather large specimens (about 60 kg), its use in cooking is difficult. With due diligence, you can grow fruits that will weigh about one centner. Hence the name of the variety - Centner is characterized by early maturity and high yield.

An excellent large-fruited variety is the Grand Slam pumpkin. It takes 120 days to form a crop. One plant can create up to 4 fruits that weigh about 5 kg. Due to the excellent taste of the pulp, this variety is actively used in cooking.

Large fruits are formed by Big Max. Differs in medium late ripening. The maximum weight is about 18 kg. Usually, if the care was standard, they grow up to 6 kg. Ripening occurs after 2.5 months. Has a universal purpose. The variety has a high yield. However, it is worth noting that how much, ultimately, the crop will be formed depends on the correctness of the agricultural technology performed.

Giant pumpkin is very popular among gardeners. The weight of its fruits varies in a fairly wide range - from 30 to 500 kg. A large-fruited crop gives the Atlant variety. It takes 136 days to mature. Usual weight the harvest is 8.5 kg, and the champions - up to 70 kg.

The record holders also include the Amazon and Volzhskaya gray 92 varieties. These varieties, with properly organized care, are capable of producing large fruits, the weight of which varies over a wide range.

  • for breeding, seeds taken from large champions should be used;
  • apply controlled pollination;
  • apply the right amount of fertilizer. To do this, you need to do a soil analysis. According to him, use certain types of dressings;
  • continuous supply of plants with water;
  • temperature compliance. It is best to plant record holder plants in greenhouses. It is quite easy to maintain the desired temperature level here;
  • removal of ovaries from the plant. As a result, all nutrients will go only to one fruit, which will significantly increase its weight and size;

To grow a giant pumpkin in your garden, you must not only adhere to the correct agricultural practices and know certain secrets, but also have a certain amount of luck. If all factors converge, then a huge pumpkin will be a reward for your efforts.

Video “In Belgium, a pumpkin weighing 1.2 tons was grown”

From this video you will learn about the Belgian farmer who grew the largest pumpkin in the world.

Pumpkin is a very common vegetable that can be seen on many household plots or huge plantations. This plant is not too demanding on climatic conditions, which contributed to its spread throughout the world. In addition, pumpkin is widely used in cooking, as it is rich in many useful trace elements and vitamins, and has excellent palatability. This vegetable is highly valued in America. It is a symbol of one of the most popular holidays - Halloween. Not surprisingly, the largest pumpkin in the world was grown by a gardener from the USA.

The real queen of vegetables was presented at the annual Half Moon Bay International Festival, which has been held in the US state of California since 1973. Here, farmers from the USA, Canada and other countries present grown pumpkins to the court of a special commission and the public. The first place was taken by a local resident who presented the largest pumpkin for weighing. The mass of the giant vegetable was 933 kg.


Happy owner of the world's largest pumpkin

John Hockley managed to grow a giant pumpkin, who had long dreamed of winning first place at the Half Moon Bay festival. The happy gardener has at his disposal small plot land, the area of ​​​​which is only 4 acres. John diligently cared for six pumpkins for almost 4 months. Thanks to his perseverance, the vegetables reached enormous proportions. The largest of the pumpkins grown and became the winner of the competition. Moreover, it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the heaviest and largest pumpkin on the planet.


John Hockley does not consider his victory an accident. He developed a whole system of vegetable care. The gardener knows perfectly well what to apply chemical substances to stimulate plant growth is strictly prohibited, because of this, the vegetable presented for weighing will be disqualified. But using only organic fertilizers and proper watering, Hockley achieved an excellent result: the pumpkin he grew daily gained more than 20 kg in weight.

Inspection of the record holder

Winning at the Half Moon Bay festival, timed to coincide with the end of the harvest, is not so easy. The pumpkin presented for weighing should not only lead in terms of volume and weight. Members of the commission very carefully inspect the vegetable, and if any damage is found, exclude it from the competition. In addition, laboratory tests are immediately carried out here to determine whether the farmer used prohibited fertilizers, trying to grow huge pumpkins.


Much attention is paid to weighing the vegetables brought to the event. Judges carefully monitor that no mistakes or falsifications are made. The pumpkin is carefully, not without the help of lifting equipment, placed on a weight, and the result is recorded. After evaluating all the vegetables, the winner is announced.

Achievement Award

Participants of the Half Moon Bay Festival, who won prizes in the pumpkin weighing competition, are awarded cash prizes, the amount of which largely depends on the volume and weight of the pumpkins presented. John Hockley for the first place received 12.5 thousand dollars. He was happy that his labors were so generously rewarded. The gardener noted that he uses this money to repair the house, which was damaged by the earthquake.


Despite the fact that Hockley managed to grow the world's largest pumpkin, he is not going to stop there. A gardener from California plans to continue growing these vegetables in order to be able to enter them for the competition and win prizes. It is worth noting that John will have to compete with very strong competitors. The pumpkin grown by him is only 12 kg ahead of last year's record holder, who weighed 921 kg. In addition, new participants arrive at the festival every year, who manage to grow excellent specimens.

The cultivation of representatives of melons and gourds was no exception. Let's find out how much the largest pumpkin in the world weighs? In which country was it grown and who is recognized as the pumpkin king?

Recorded record holders

The originally officially registered world record was set back in 1900. William Warnock became its owner. He managed to grow a pumpkin weighing 181 kg on the farm.

After 4 years, the achievement was beaten by himself: the new grown fruit turned out to be 1.5 kg heavier than the previous one.

A new record holder appeared only 72 years later: in 1976, Bob Ford from Pennsylvania raised a giant weighing 204 kg in 3 months. His prize then amounted to US$5000.

Other record holders were:

  • 1980 - Howard Dill (208 kg);
  • 1981 - he (223 kg);
  • 1984 - Norm Gallagher (277 kg);
  • 1986 - Robert Genkenz (304 kg);
  • 1989 - Gordon Thomson (342 kg);
  • 1990 - this year the mass of pumpkin reached 370 kg;
  • 1993 - a new record of 400 kg is broken.

The threshold of 1 ton was crossed in 2012. But gardeners are not going to stop there: new records appear with enviable regularity.

Reference: the largest pumpkin in Russia was grown by Andrey Gusev from Lukhovitsy in 2018. She weighs 645.5 kg and was nicknamed "Her Pumpkin Majesty Dusya."

Pumpkin John and Kelsey Bryson

In 2011, a couple from Quebec (Canada) took part in a pumpkin festival held in Prince Edward County.

The fruit grown by them weighed 824 kilograms. The record lasted only 1 year: in 2012, he was beaten by a farmer from the state of Rhode Island (USA, New England), Ron Wallace.

Pumpkin Ron Wallace

At the fair in Topsfield, held in the fall of 2012, Ron Wallace won the weigh-in competition. He delivered to the holiday his creation - a pumpkin, the mass of which was 911 kilograms.

It is worth noting that this is not Wallace's first victory. In 2006, he already became the winner of the competition. Then the weight of his gourds was 680 kilograms.

Pumpkin by Tim Matheson

In 2013, at the annual competition held by UesugiFarms (California, USA), an American timber salesman and farmer, Tim Matheson, was recognized as the record holder.

The vegetable grown by him stopped the mark at 921 kilograms. According to him, the fetus grew 105 days. Contributed to growth moderate temperature regime. The prize was $14,000.

This is interesting: because of their original shape, the bred gourds are called "Flying Saucers".

Pumpkins by Benny Meyer

It was for the Swiss Beni Meyer, a resident of the commune of Pfugen (Zurich), that the title of “pumpkin dad” was assigned. He repeatedly participated in various competitions for weighing gourds.

In 2014 they presented:

  • in Brandenburg - a vegetable weighing 951 kg;
  • in Ludwigsburg - a fetus that has reached a weight of 1056 kilograms.

Meyer had every chance to win back in 2013. Then he brought a pumpkin weighing 1053 kilograms to the competition. But a 2-centimeter hole was found in it, due to which the fetus was disqualified.

Many are sure that a vegetable can only reach this size thanks to the introduction of aggressive harmful fertilizers and poor environmental situation. Meyer claims that all his pumpkins grow on their own, and as a top dressing he makes:

  • seaweed;
  • natural fertilizer - manure.

In addition, good watering and a sufficient amount of sunlight contribute to the growth.

Pumpkin by Matthias Willemains

In 2016, the Belgian Matthias Willemains arrived in Ludwigsburg (Germany) to participate in the European Weighing Championship. He presented the audience and the jury with a pumpkin that weighed 1 ton 190 kilograms - at the moment it is considered the largest in the world.

To deliver the "giant" to the venue of the holiday, it took a large amount of equipment: tractors, lifting edge. Moving the hulks was carried out by more than a dozen loaders.

FYI: Amazing giant varieties of pumpkin seeds are sold online. The cost of 1 seed is 100 €.

The largest pumpkin weighing 907 kg.

Belgian farmer grows pumpkin weighing 1.2 tons

Are these vegetables edible?

The taste of these huge vegetables is no different from their smaller relatives. They are edible, have the same useful properties and nutritional value. The fruits make very delicious soups, cereals, fillings for pies, jam.

Even if your pumpkin has not reached the highest world values ​​- do not worry! A gourd culture of any size can be an excellent and healthy dish.

There is probably no person in the world who is not familiar with the magical story of Cinderella. And everyone knows the role that a pumpkin played in the fate of an orphan who became a happy princess. A small amount of magic was enough - and an ordinary vegetable turned into a luxurious carriage. Today, instead of magic, fertilizers are used to grow a real giant.

pumpkin record holders

The first pumpkin world record was set by William Warnock. In he was able to grow a fetus weighing 181 kilograms. Four years later, William Warnock broke his own record by growing a pumpkin 1.5 kilograms heavier. It was possible to bypass the leader of farming art only in 1976. Bob Ford presented to the audience and the jury a pumpkin weighing 204 kilograms. Four years later, a new leader appeared in the pumpkin competition - Howard Dill. For two years in a row, the fruits grown by the farmer became the winners of the exhibitions. In 1980, the world's largest pumpkin weighed 208 kilograms, and a year later the same farmer appeared at the exhibition with a fruit 15 kilos more!

However, this record was short-lived. Three years later, Howard Dill was beaten by Norm Gallagher. The result of his labors was a fetus weighing 277 kilograms. The palm in 1986 was won by Robert Genkenz. The pumpkin presented by him weighed 304 kg. Three years later, Gordon Thomson was able to grow a pumpkin 38 kg more. But this figure did not become the final world record. Three hundred and seventy kilograms weighed pumpkin-record holder in 1990. And in 1993 there was a new achievement - a fetus weighing 400 kg! By 2012, monster pumpkins weighed over a ton! Leaders include Ron Wallace and Tim Matheson. However, the title of "pumpkin dad" was assigned to the Swiss Beni Mayer. According to the results of 2014, the largest pumpkin in the world weighs more than 1000 kilograms.

Benny Mayer: how did the gardener become the pumpkin king?

In 2014, 15 farmers from Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries gathered in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The delivery of huge pumpkins required a lot of effort - tractors, a crane and several dozen loaders helped to transport the giant fruits. Each pumpkin was carefully checked and weighed on special scales. A resident of the commune of Pfugen in the canton of Zurich has repeatedly put gigantic pumpkins to the public court. The Swiss vegetable grower became the champion of the unique championship three times. Therefore, his victory surprised no one. Benny Mayer could win the first place back in 2013 - the pumpkin presented then weighed about 1053 kilograms. However, the "baby" turned out to be flawed - due to the presence of a two-centimeter hole, she was disqualified. But the farmer is not one to give up. The winner weighs - the largest pumpkin in the world - 1056 kg. After the victory, Beni shared the secret of growing giants.

Miracle fertilizers or special seeds: how to grow a vegetable anomaly?

While someone writes off the active growth of the golden berry for aggressive fertilizers and poor ecology, farmers assure that growing pumpkins does not require anything Mayer admits: his pumpkins grow by themselves. The gardener uses seaweed and manure as fertilizers. Abundant watering and a large amount help sun rays. The largest pumpkin in the world was carefully selected - initially, the farmer planted 21 seeds of the Atlantic Giant variety in his greenhouse, and Benny Meyer selected six of the most promising from the sprouts. In turn, half of these six are eliminated. And only three sprouts can become a huge fruit.

The photo of the largest pumpkin in the world is amazing: the heavyweight resembles a golden flat ball that the giants played with! By the way, giant pumpkin seeds can be bought online. One seed will cost one hundred euros.

Edible-inedible: what to do with a giant pumpkin?

The pulp of a huge fruit does not differ from the pulp of small pumpkins. It is just as delicious and nutritious. Due to its sweet taste and low fiber content, pumpkin is ideal for making cereals and soups. In addition, it can be preserved or used as a filling for pies. Even if your pumpkin failed to get the title of "world's largest pumpkin", do not be upset. From any pumpkin you can cook delicious dishes!

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