In Search of the GREAT PUMPKIN

UF/IFAS Researching New Breeds of Pumpkins and Calabazas as Next Niche Crop

- LOURDES RODRIGUEZ

PEANUTS CARTOONIST Charles M. Shultz yielded popularity to an almighty pumpkin in the 1966 animated TV Special “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”

Today, pumpkin popularity for holiday decor, healthy snacking, and scrumptious recipes during fall and winter months has given rise to innovative research led by Geoffrey Meru, assistant professor of vegetable breeding, genetics and genomics at Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

The goal is to develop varieties of pumpkins varieties that are attractive to growers because they produce high-yielding, superior quality (flesh sweetness, texture, flavor, and color) that can withstand hot, humid, and wet conditions of South Florida all year round.

An additional component to the research focuses on the calabaza, also known as the Cuban pumpkin, in South Florida’s Latin community, which lends itself to tasty traditional holiday and winter recipes for Latin American cuisine.