Latest Cucurbitaceae Stories

By Karin Welzel Chef Danielle Cain knows what it's like to be thrown into the fire. She had just started an internship at Casbah restaurant in Shadyside to earn her remaining credits from the Pittsburgh Institute of Culinary Arts (now the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute) for graduation in 2000. Having been an art history major at the University of Pittsburgh before entering culinary school, she had had little experience in a professional kitchen. Derek Stevens -- who helped to found Eleven...

By Dawn Hinshaw, The State, Columbia, S.C. Aug. 1--As they hoped, a Lexington couple's giant backyard pumpkin has indeed set a state record for weight. Frank and Tina Finders' pampered pumpkin weighed in this morning at 897 pounds, beating the previous best of 737 pounds. "I was hoping for 1,000 but 900 pounds is awesome," Frank Finders said. The newlyweds have been waiting for this day for nearly four months, keeping their pumpkin moist and shady. Two plastic hoot-owls scared curious...

By LARRY CAPLAN As is usual for this time of year, numerous insect, disease and weather-related problems are creating problems for local gardeners. One interesting injury I'm getting a surprising number of calls on deals with the fruit of blackberries. Some of the drupelets (the tiny "bumps" on the fruit) are failing to turn red and black, but instead remain white. Sometimes the drupelets turn brown and shrivel. There is no rot, signs of mold or insects. This is a condition known as "white...

By Kasey Fowler, Enid News & Eagle, Okla. Jul. 3--Carmen residents wanted a festival to celebrate this summer, and they chose to honor the zucchini. "Zucchinis are very misunderstood," said Margaret Goss, festival coordinator. Other towns have such things as watermelon festivals and strawberry festivals, but Carmen wanted something a little different. "We wanted something unique to our area," Goss said. "They are very plentiful. They are unique, and almost anyone can grow one." So now,...

By Barry Shlachter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Jul. 1--This is not an Aggie joke. Someday watermelons might have Viagra-like properties, researchers at Texas A&M University predicted Monday. That said, much study and much breeding remain. One problem is that the beneficial ingredient in good-eating varieties -- citrulline -- is now mainly found in the rind. Researchers such as A&M's Steve King are trying to find melon with citrulline in the fruit's flesh. "We will have to...

By Anonymous Ireland-based Total Produce, which distributes fresh fruit and vegetables from some 90 locations across the globe, has acquired 60 per cent of Dutch salad producers Haluco and Nedalpac. The firms were bought in a deal that could be worth up to euro23m (Pounds 18m) - the initial cash consideration is euro9.5m (Pounds 7.5m). payable on completion, and an additional consideration of no more than euro13.5m (Pounds 10.6m) becomes payable in 2011 if certain profit targets are met by...

By Leslie Garcia, The Dallas Morning News Jun. 16--How we love summer. Too hot to do much else besides freeze some Snickers bars, sneak them into the cool movie theater and while away the hours munching. Yeah, right, honey. Like we in Healthy Living are going to let you get away with such nonsense. That said, we have our own goal: to get you (yes, you) through the summer, not only relatively unscathed, but healthier. Or at least as healthy as when you started. So take your name off...

By Leslie Garcia, The Dallas Morning News Jun. 15--How we love summer. Too hot to do much else besides freeze some Snickers bars, sneak them into the cool movie theater and while away the hours munching. Yeah, right, honey. Like we in Healthy Living are going to let you get away with such nonsense. That said, we have our own goal: to get you (yes, you) through the summer, not only relatively unscathed, but healthier. Or at least as healthy as when you started. So take your name...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Agriculture was taking root in South America almost as early as the first farmers were breaking ground in the Middle East, new research indicates. Evidence that squash was being grown nearly 10,000 years ago, in what is now Peru, is reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science.A team led by anthropologist Tom D. Dillehay of Vanderbilt University also uncovered remains of peanuts from 7,600 years ago and cotton dated to 5,500 years ago in the floors and hearths of...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Halloween lovers hoping to create the perfect jack-o-lantern might want to shop carefully this year because of a pumpkin fungus that has put a dent in some crops.Two types of fungus or rot have affected crops from the Midwest to New England, causing pumpkins to develop mold in some spots and then begin decomposing, said Daniel Egel, a Purdue University Extension plant pathologist. The entire inside of the pumpkin eventually rots until the shell falls apart.A combination...