PUMPKINS BURSTING OUT ALL OVER AREA

This may be the Halloween of "The Great Pumpkin."

Pumpkins are everywhere this year. Home-grown pumpkins can be found at local farmers' markets, roadside stands, orchards and pick-your-own operations.

"There is an adequate supply of them," said David Diebold of Diebold Orchards near Benton. "We have pumpkins from a pound up to more than 100 pounds."

Ken Doberenz assessment was the same. "We have a larger supply and better quality of pumpkins this year," said Doberenz, manager of Pioneer Orchards near Jackson.

This is the general consensus of pumpkin growers everywhere.

The McNitt Garden and Greenhouse in Southern Illinois reported a good crop and good sales. In fact, the McNitt operation is "sold out" for 1996. The McNitts ship out several semi-tractor-trailer truckloads of pumpkins every year but last year, when the McNitts failed to produce one truckload.

Last year was a bad year for pumpkins producers nationwide.

Many growers realized less than 25 percent of a normal crop due to heat, drought and early frost. Early pumpkin blooms dropped off followed by early frosts that further damaged the crop.

Weather conditions have been more ideal for the pumpkin crop this year, and even Linus may have success in his search for "The Great Pumpkin."

"There are a lot of big pumpkins out there," said Diebold. "The biggest one we had this year was 170 pounds. Over the past two years we've had a lot of pumpkins in the 100-to-150-pound range."

Some pumpkins are in the giant category -- ranging from 500 to 700, even 1,000 pounds.

"They can hold the porch down," said Diebold. "We never hit the 500-pound. The largest pumpkin we ever raised was a 234-pounder a few years ago."

Diebold had a good crop of pumpkins during ther 1995 pumpkin shortage.

"But they were late," he said

Pioneer Market, which purchases the majority of its pumpkins, also has a wide variety of sizes ranging from the small, fist-size decorative pumpkins to the giant variety.

Prices are down this year, about half of the 1995 prices, said Diebold and Doberenz.

Coloring is great for jack-o-lanterns.

Most consumers look for big, round pumpkins with bright orange coloring for jack-o-lanterns, and most pumpkins are sold for that purpose.

"We have another variety that is great for commercial processing," said Diebold.

The Dickinson, or Kentucky field variety, is smooth, tan in color and great for pumpkin pies, said Diebold.

Pumpkin growers also grow what is referred to as the baby bear variety, miniature pumpkins that weigh 1 to 2 pounds each.

"These make great decorating pumpkins," said Diebold. "You can string up a vine containing a half-dozen of the small pumpkins, and they add a good decorating touch."

Pumpkin farmers have had only two good pumpkin years in the last four. In 1993, many pumpkins patches were victims of a number of viruses which distorted leaf growth and caused the pumpkins to be abnormally shaped and oddly colored.