2026-10-15 11:11:06
Pumpkin fans have had barely enough time to catch their breath after the world record was broken for a second time in just one week.
Ron Wallace, 60, claimed the crown with his enormous 1,431.5kg (3,156lb) pumpkin, which was officially confirmed as the world’s heaviest by Guinness World Records just weeks before Halloween.
The staggering squash was weighed at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off in Rhode Island, seven days after Hampshire twins Ian and Stuart Paton became the first Britons to hold the title.
The brothers’ 1,296kg (2,857lb) pumpkin smashed the previous record on October 3.
But Wallace’s gourd dwarfed it, coming in almost 200kg heavier and weighing roughly the same as a small car or three concert grand pianos.
It could also provide enough pumpkin to make more than 3,000 pies.
Wallace, who has spent 35 years growing giant pumpkins, won £2,650 ($3,500) at his local contest.
Other competitions have offered prizes worth around £53,000 ($70,000), but the veteran grower said he wanted to celebrate the achievement surrounded by his hometown supporters.
Describing the moment his pumpkin was weighed, Wallace said: “I was just ecstatic, the place just exploded.”
He added: “The only way you create a 3,000-pound pumpkin is a community working together.”
The giant gourd was inspected by officials from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth before Wallace was officially declared the winner.
Matthew DeBacco, the event’s head judge, said: “It is astonishing to see what nature can produce under the helping hands of an expert horticulturist.”
Wallace is no stranger to the record books.
According to GWR, this is his third time holding the heavyweight pumpkin title.
He first claimed the record in 2006 with a 681.3kg (1,502lb) pumpkin, before taking it again in 2012 with a 911.27kg (2,009lb) specimen.
Despite his latest triumph, Wallace is already considering a break.
He said: “I’m contemplating taking next year off to finish some projects around my farm.”
For now, though, the giant pumpkin crown is firmly back in Rhode Island.
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