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Deer Park, WI

Scott Holub and I each presented on genetics and seed nomenclature in Niagara recently. When it comes to selecting seed, the family tree plays an important role in that process. Essential aspects of a seed's family tree are typically included on seed pack labels, however there is room for improvement.

We have been trained to include a seed's direct lineage (female x male) on seed pack labels. Scott, myself, and a handful of others are strongly advocating for the addition of the pollinator's progeny to be listed on seed pack labels as well.

As such, I am asking for the growing community to help this cause by including this info on your seed pack labels. Obviously those of us in the Northern hemisphere are at the opposite end of the calendar for this to be relevant, but our friends down under are in the zone.

Changes of this type require that our nomenclature is universal and standardized. Here's an example of how we add this to our system:

2075 Connolly (1961 Sperry x 2230 Wallace) [1944 Connolly]

Where the pollinator's progeny is included in brackets immediately following the (female x male) parentage.

The GPC info page is a treasure trove of data for off-season genetic research. I will work with Ken to explore the possibility of having this included moving forward. If there are other datasets where this would be useful, lets chat.

Thank you for your contributions. I welcome any pro/con discussion points below.

3/29/2017 12:00:04 PM

Woodward, Oklahoma

I would like to see zones grown in put on them.

3/29/2017 12:31:36 PM

Westmoreland, KS

This would all be helpful.

I also agree with Baker. Zones grown and if it was grown in a green house or outside would be helpful. Especially come auction time. If we could see all of this info before purchasing seeds.

3/29/2017 2:08:24 PM

Utah

good idea.
what about the year?

3/29/2017 4:06:46 PM

Hamilton - New Zealand

A standard way with all relevant information on the labels is a great idea, we just to all agree on what info will be on the labels and a standard format.

3/29/2017 5:06:12 PM

Newcastle, CA

I just want to make sure it is clear in my head. When you say pollinator's progeny does that simply mean the fruit grown from THE plant that was used to pollinate. Or is it the largest fruit ever grown from the 2230? In your example I believe it is the same pumpkin. Obviously that won't always be the case.

3/29/2017 5:19:40 PM

Woodward, Oklahoma

Jake is right indoor or outdoor matters a lot to. If we are going all out I really want to know how long the grower has been growing.

3/29/2017 5:50:11 PM

Deer Park, WI

Tom- pollinator's progeny means the fruit grown from the plant used to pollinate in that gardener's garden. In my example, Steve's 2230 plant produced his 1944 (pollinator progeny).

3/29/2017 6:11:31 PM

Rapid City, SD

gonna have to make monster size labels for all this info...i say look em up like we all do now....keep it simple keep it fun

3/29/2017 6:32:43 PM

Mtn. Green, Utah

I completely agree with this proposal. Makes perfect sense and it'd be easy to implement. My labels will reflect this change moving forward.

3/29/2017 6:55:49 PM

Springfield, Missouri

I really like this idea. I'd include % to chart.

2075 Connolly (1961 Sperry x 2230 Wallace) [1944 Connolly] +11/+16.

3/29/2017 7:02:57 PM

Glosta

This is a neat idea, but not for me. Maybe I'm just a crazy person who enjoys the act of the data hunt. Trying to track down info not only stimulates one's mind but also leads to personal contact with others.

3/29/2017 7:38:29 PM

Bauernhof

This all makes me miss the old AGGC web site all the more. Easy to navigate and all the good data was right there. Anyone want to bring that site back?

3/29/2017 8:52:55 PM

Middleton Ma

Here's a monkey wrench how about soil test results . I think here lies the answer to all are ?

3/29/2017 9:07:18 PM

Walhalla, ND.

When the list comes out for the upcoming auctions, I use pumpkinfanatic, it gives me the whole progeny. There are some, like damaged ones that don't make the list. But the grower can input his pumpkins information.

3/29/2017 9:53:05 PM

Deer Park WA

When we research seeds we really want to grow the current system is all we need. year + grower + weight + female x male. IE 2016 Gadberry 1965 Brandt x 2230 Wallace. If your interested in the seed email me and I will talk your ear off about soil tests, weather, lobes, plant size etc. Half the fun is researching the genetics ( IMHO).

3/30/2017 12:44:30 AM

Deer Park WA

Forgot the 1405 weight after Gadberry...but its late.

3/30/2017 12:46:36 AM

Central Illinois

I think you could double the size of the label folding it over the seed packet,regular info on the front then this newer info on the back, it would save time not using two envelopes when packing seeds

3/30/2017 9:36:28 AM

Central Illinois

using two labels*

3/30/2017 9:37:10 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

All this info could be entered and more into pumpkin fanatics along with pictures. Very few growers are taking the time to enter their info in. Many seed buyers of seeds are not even checking it either.

3/30/2017 10:08:53 AM

Buffalo, MN ([email protected])

I like most of the ideas mentioned above, but I suggest just a simple change to the seed label. Lets not make more work for the top 50 growers every year that have thousands of seed requests. All other changes if implemented should be done on the GPC results page so they can be filled out at the weight-offs. The other option is like bnot said lets make more use of the pumpkin fanatics site.

3/30/2017 10:47:14 AM

Ohio

Personally, I like doing the research. Very simple to find info from Pumpkin Fanatic or the GPC info page. If I can't find what I'm looking for, then I e-mail or call the grower, then I can really get good info on how the plant and pumpkin were during the growing season. Just my 2 cents...

3/30/2017 4:28:13 PM

Saegertown Pa.

I thought this was a great Idea when Scott Holub had it in a news letter a few years back, I also talked to Joe some on the subject at Niagara. This will take some of the guess work out when trying to pick a seed that has a good potential to grow something big. Will it help the guy that does a lot of research? Probably not but it would save some time and there is a lot of growers out there that aren't going to do the research. is a big pollinator going to guarantee a good cross ? Not necessarily but it's a piece of the puzzle that helps you decide what seed to plant. I think it's a great Idea.

3/30/2017 5:59:06 PM

Bethlehem CT

Joze, naming the seed this way would help me out a lot. Sometime it is very hard to find info on what the pollinator did.

3/30/2017 8:08:41 PM

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Thanks for posting Joze. The key reason to include the pollinating plant info in some way, is that the pollinating plant is where 50% of the seed's genes come from. The other 50% comes from the mother of the seed, which is the fruit/plant with the same name as the seed and who contained the seeds.

From a fruit perspective the names inside the ( ) are grandmas not genetic parents.

3/30/2017 9:09:36 PM

Colorado

Good idea fellas

3/31/2017 2:26:18 AM