Atlantic Giant

An Atlantic Giant grown in Osaka Prefecture, Japan (photograph taken July 2007).

Atlantic Giant is the common name for a pumpkin variety bred publicly to produce huge fruit. More precisely, it refers to the round phenotypes of the giant squash variety of the species Cucurbita maxima, bred from simple Hubbard squash material.

The uniqueness of this variety lies in its production of fruits more massive than those produced by any other plant in the world. Fruit can exceed 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter. The heaviest Atlantic Giant on record weighed 1,810.5 pounds (821.2 kg) and was grown in Wisconsin in 2010.

History

As the germplasm of such a giant squash variety is commercially provocative^{[clarification needed]}, the name Atlantic Giant came from a U.S. legal protection that was granted for the rounder phenotypes. Numerous labels were created for this variety over the past two centuries. This phenotype recently graduated back to the public domain, retaining the "Atlantic Giant" label. After the Atlantic Giant right expired, an ensuing filing was made in September 1985 and accepted, purportedly for the oblong phenotypes of the variety.^[1] This 18-year right expired in 2004, leaving all phenotypes of this originally public variety back into the public domain.

See also

• Barnesville Pumpkin Festival
• Hants County Exhibition
• Pumpkin Fest
• Windsor Pumpkin Regatta

References

1. ^ Plant variety protection proceedings USDA #8500204

Further reading

• Susan Warren, Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking, and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1596912782

External links

• Great Pumpkin Commonwealth
• BigPumpkins.com
• Genetic information on specific pumpkins
• Mere Brow Giant Pumpkin Competition - Growing and showing Giant Pumpkins