Abstract
Consumers are increasingly interested in buying local vegetables in the fall and winter. Winter squash is an important vegetable crop for local and regional fall and winter markets, and consumers are increasingly seeking high-culinary value Cucurbita maxima types such as kabocha and buttercup. Although consumer demand for kabocha and buttercup squash is increasing, Oregon farmers report they are marginally profitable. The goals of this project were 1) to identify productive kabocha and buttercup varieties for western Oregon when grown with or without overhead irrigation and 2) to describe the effects of planting density on yield, fruit weight, number of fruit per hectare, and fruit per plant. Seven varieties of C. maxima winter squash, including kabochas and buttercups, and one interspecific ( C. maxima × C. moschata ) hybrid ‘Tetsukabuto’ were grown in a split-split plot randomized complete block design experiment with irrigation as the main plot, planting density as the subplot, and variety as the sub-subplot. Four replications of four different planting densities for eight varieties were grown in 2016 and 2017. Irrigated planting densities ranged from 8611–32,292 plants/ha (0.86–3.2 plants/m 2 ) and dryland planting densities ranged from 3827–14,352 plants/ha (0.38–1.4 plants/m 2 ) in 2016 and 5741–21,528 plants/ha (0.57–2.2 plants/m 2 ) in 2017. The seven C. maxima types had statistically comparable yield under both irrigated and dryland production, with an average yield of 33.9 t·ha −1 with irrigation and 19.4 t·ha −1 without irrigation. Dryland yields in 2016 and 2017 were 76% and 37% of irrigated yields, respectively. ‘Tetsukabuto’ had the greatest yield (mean, 51.4 t·ha −1 ), the greatest number of fruit per hectare (mean, 12,080), and the greatest number of fruit per plant (mean, 1.94) when grown with irrigation, and yielded comparably with other varieties when grown in dryland production. Planting density impacted the fruit weight, number of fruit per hectare, and number of fruit per plant, although it did not impact yield statistically in both irrigated and dryland production. Average fruit weight decreased linearly from 1.89 to 1.30 kg for the irrigated trials, from 2.04 to 1.56 kg in the 2016 dryland trial, and from 1.42 to 0.93 kg in the 2017 dryland trial as planting density increased from 0.86 to 3.2, 0.38 to 1.4, and 0.57 to 2.2 plants/m 2 , respectively. The number of fruit per hectare increased linearly from 6660 to 10,590 as the number of plants per hectare increased from 8611 to 32,292 plants/ha for the irrigated trials, because even at the lowest planting density, plants did not produce more than two fruit per plant on average across varieties when grown with irrigation. Farmers can manipulate squash fruit size to suit market preferences by changing planting density. The very low 2017 dryland yields were likely a result of unusually high summer temperatures in western Oregon. Increasingly hot summers may render dryland squash production unfeasible in this region.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 17
Claim · model-written summary
Seven C. maxima types had statistically comparable yields under irrigated and dryland production.
- Taxon
- C. maxima
Cucurbita maximae0 - Treatment
- with irrigatione0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- statistically comparablee0
- Value
- 33.9 t·ha −1e0
- Qualifier
- 19.4 t·ha −1e0
- Comparator
- without irrigatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The seven C. maxima types had statistically comparable yield under both irrigated and dryland production, with an average yield of 33.9 t·ha −1 with irrigation and 19.4 t·ha −1 without irrigation.”
Claim · model-written summary
Dryland yields were 76% of irrigated yields in 2016.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Outcome
- Dryland yieldse0
- Value
- 76%e0
- Qualifier
- 2016e0
- Comparator
- irrigated yieldse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Dryland yields in 2016 and 2017 were 76% and 37% of irrigated yields, respectively.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Dryland yields were 37% of irrigated yields in 2017.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Outcome
- Dryland yieldse0
- Value
- 37%e0
- Qualifier
- 2017e0
- Comparator
- irrigated yieldse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Dryland yields in 2016 and 2017 were 76% and 37% of irrigated yields, respectively.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigated Tetsukabuto had the greatest yield, averaging 51.4 t·ha −1.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Material
- ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Treatment
- with irrigatione0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- greateste0
- Value
- 51.4 t·ha −1e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Tetsukabuto’ had the greatest yield (mean, 51.4 t·ha −1 ), the greatest number of fruit per hectare (mean, 12,080), and the greatest number of fruit per plant (mean, 1.94) when grown with irrigation, and yielded comparably with other varieties when grown in dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigated Tetsukabuto had the greatest fruit number per hectare, averaging 12,080.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Material
- ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Treatment
- with irrigatione0
- Outcome
- number of fruit per hectaree0
- Direction
- greateste0
- Value
- 12,080e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Tetsukabuto’ had the greatest yield (mean, 51.4 t·ha −1 ), the greatest number of fruit per hectare (mean, 12,080), and the greatest number of fruit per plant (mean, 1.94) when grown with irrigation, and yielded comparably with other varieties when grown in dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigated Tetsukabuto had the greatest fruit number per plant, averaging 1.94.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Material
- ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Treatment
- with irrigatione0
- Outcome
- number of fruit per plante0
- Direction
- greateste0
- Value
- 1.94e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Tetsukabuto’ had the greatest yield (mean, 51.4 t·ha −1 ), the greatest number of fruit per hectare (mean, 12,080), and the greatest number of fruit per plant (mean, 1.94) when grown with irrigation, and yielded comparably with other varieties when grown in dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Tetsukabuto yield was comparable with other varieties in dryland production.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Material
- Winter Squasht0
- Treatment
- dryland productione0
- Outcome
- yielded comparablye0
- Direction
- comparablye0
- Comparator
- other varietiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“and yielded comparably with other varieties when grown in dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Planting density affected fruit weight, fruit number per hectare, and fruit number per plant.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- Planting densitye0
- Outcome
- fruit weight, number of fruit per hectare, and number of fruit per plante0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Planting density impacted the fruit weight, number of fruit per hectare, and number of fruit per plant, although it did not impact yield statistically in both irrigated and dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Planting density did not statistically affect yield in irrigated or dryland production.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- Planting densitye0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- did not impacte0
- Qualifier
- both irrigated and dryland productione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Planting density impacted the fruit weight, number of fruit per hectare, and number of fruit per plant, although it did not impact yield statistically in both irrigated and dryland production.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigated fruit weight fell from 1.89 to 1.30 kg with increasing density.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- planting densitye0
- Outcome
- Average fruit weighte0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 1.89 to 1.30 kge0
- Setting
- irrigated trialse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Average fruit weight decreased linearly from 1.89 to 1.30 kg for the irrigated trials, from 2.04 to 1.56 kg in the 2016 dryland trial, and from 1.42 to 0.93 kg in the 2017 dryland trial as planting density increased from 0.86 to 3.2, 0.38 to 1.4, and 0.57 to 2.2 plants/m 2 , respectively.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit weight fell from 2.04 to 1.56 kg with increasing density in the 2016 dryland trial.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- planting densitye0
- Outcome
- Average fruit weighte0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 2.04 to 1.56 kge0
- Qualifier
- 2016 dryland triale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Average fruit weight decreased linearly from 1.89 to 1.30 kg for the irrigated trials, from 2.04 to 1.56 kg in the 2016 dryland trial, and from 1.42 to 0.93 kg in the 2017 dryland trial as planting density increased from 0.86 to 3.2, 0.38 to 1.4, and 0.57 to 2.2 plants/m 2 , respectively.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit weight fell from 1.42 to 0.93 kg with increasing density in the 2017 dryland trial.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- planting densitye0
- Outcome
- Average fruit weighte0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 1.42 to 0.93 kge0
- Qualifier
- 2017 dryland triale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Average fruit weight decreased linearly from 1.89 to 1.30 kg for the irrigated trials, from 2.04 to 1.56 kg in the 2016 dryland trial, and from 1.42 to 0.93 kg in the 2017 dryland trial as planting density increased from 0.86 to 3.2, 0.38 to 1.4, and 0.57 to 2.2 plants/m 2 , respectively.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigated fruit number per hectare rose from 6660 to 10,590 as density increased.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Treatment
- number of plants per hectaree0
- Outcome
- number of fruit per hectaree0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 6660 to 10,590e0
- Qualifier
- irrigated trialse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The number of fruit per hectare increased linearly from 6660 to 10,590 as the number of plants per hectare increased from 8611 to 32,292 plants/ha for the irrigated trials”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants produced no more than two fruit per plant on average across varieties with irrigation, even at the lowest density.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Outcome
- fruit per plante0
- Direction
- did not produce more thane0
- Value
- two fruit per plante0
- Qualifier
- lowest planting densitye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“even at the lowest planting density, plants did not produce more than two fruit per plant on average across varieties when grown with irrigation.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
Farmers can adjust squash fruit size by changing planting density.
Verbatim
e0“Farmers can manipulate squash fruit size to suit market preferences by changing planting density.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors attribute very low 2017 dryland yields to unusually high summer temperatures in western Oregon.
- Taxon
- Winter SquashCucurbita maximat0
- Outcome
- very low 2017 dryland yieldse0
- Direction
- very lowe0
- Qualifier
- unusually high summer temperaturese0
- Setting
- western Oregone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The very low 2017 dryland yields were likely a result of unusually high summer temperatures in western Oregon.”
t0“Winter Squash”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors warn that increasingly hot summers may make dryland squash production unfeasible in western Oregon.
Verbatim
e0“Increasingly hot summers may render dryland squash production unfeasible in this region.”