How to grow a giant pumpkin, with help from science

WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The pumpkin in Tony Scott's backyard weighs almost as much as a small car.

He's been tending to it for months, feeding it fertilizer and covering it with a blanket at night to keep it at a stable temperature. A roll of measuring tape wrapped around the pumpkin gives him a rough estimate of its size.

“I've never seen anything grow this fast,” said Scott, a semiconductor engineer from upstate New York.

Every year, growers like Scott push their pumpkins to the limit. They compete in annual weigh-offs with colossal fruits that are well over 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). Scott's pumpkin took third place this year, coming in at 1,931 pounds (876 kilograms).

Pumpkins aren't the only crops that can get giant. Other members of the gourd family like squashes, cucumbers and watermelons are capable of a similar feat. But the orange behemoths are especially massive and have earned a place of honor at fall festivals and Halloween fairs.

A giant pumpkin starts off as the perfect seed. Growers choose seeds that have yielded large pumpkins in the past or test new ones. Scott and many other growers rely on the tried-and-true Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds.

After that, it comes down to the right combination of water, nutrients and care.

Giant pumpkins can guzzle hundreds of gallons of water in a day and make their own food from sunlight just like regular-sized plants do. Their internal plumbing system is more robust, allowing them to drink up sugary water and nutrients faster.

As the leafy patch begins to expand, growers remove smaller pumpkins so all the water and nutrients funnel into a single fruit.

“That helps make it extra big in a way that you might not see in the wild," said Aleca Borsuk, a plant scientist at the New York Botanical Garden.

Because of gravity, giant pumpkins grow wide but not tall. They often resemble lopsided, lumpy pancakes. Scott's pumpkin is also lighter in color because he covers it with a tarp during the day, protecting it from sunlight which can ripen and harden the skin. He waters it using an overhead sprinkler system.

“The answer is no,” Borsuk said. No matter how big a pumpkin gets, it'll eventually mature and its natural aging cycle will kick in.

Scott has nurtured giant pumpkins for eight years. It still blows his mind watching them inflate, putting on around 40 pounds to 50 pounds (18 kilograms to 23 kilograms) a day. He sets up reflective panels and even a fake wolf cutout to ward off hungry deer and other intruders looking for an orange-colored snack. Woodchucks have nibbled on the pumpkin's vines in previous years.

After the all-important weighing competition, Scott shows off the giant pumpkin at various themed events and drives it around on a trailer. Eventually, he donates it to be displayed or carved.

On the way to events, he often gets stopped by people who ask what he's got in the back.

“The first question they ask is, ‘Is it real?’” Scott said. “Where would you buy a fake pumpkin this big?”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Tony Scott stands with the pumpkin he grew in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

A measuring tape encircles Tony Scott's pumpkin he grew in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Tony Scott's pumpkin sits in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Tony Scott stands with the pumpkin he grew in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire ripped through a popular nightclub in India’s Goa state, killing 25 people, including tourists, the state’s chief minister said Sunday.

The blaze occurred just past midnight in Arpora village in North Goa, a party hub, some 25 kilometers (15-miles) from the state capital, Panaji.

Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said most of the dead were the club’s kitchen workers, as well as three to four tourists. Six people were injured and are in stable condition, he said. All the bodies have been recovered.

The fire was caused by a gas cylinder blast and has been extinguished, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting local police. However, witnesses told the agency that the fire began on the club’s first floor, where nearly 100 tourists were on the dance floor. Several rushed to the kitchen below in the chaos and got trapped along with staff, it said.

Fatima Shaikh said the commotion began as flames erupted, according to the news agency. “We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames,” she said.

The nightclub, located along the Arpora River backwaters, had a narrow entry and exit that forced the firefighters to park their tankers about 400 meters (1,300 feet) away, delaying the efforts, the news agency said.

Sawant said the club had violated fire safety regulations. The state government ordered an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the fire and responsibility, he said, adding that authorities would act against the club management and officials who allowed it to operate despite the violations.

Local village council official Roshan Redkar told the news agency that authorities had earlier issued a demolition notice for the club, which didn't have construction permit from the government. But higher officials rolled back the order, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a social media post called the fire "deeply saddening# and said he spoke with Sawant. Modi said the government “is providing all possible assistance” while offering condolences to the victims’ families.

Accidents, particularly involving gas cylinders and electric short circuits, aren’t uncommon in India and often result in casualties, underlining the need for authorities to implement stringent safety protocols.

“This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance,” Rahul Gandhi, a top leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, wrote in a social media post. He called for a transparent probe to "fix accountability and ensure such preventable tragedies don’t occur again.”

The western coastal state of Goa is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its sandy beaches.

The charred interiors of a nightclub, which caught fire early Sunday, are seen in Arpora, Goa, India, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)