What pumpkin variety holds the record for the heaviest fruit?

The pumpkin variety associated with the heaviest fruit record is the Atlantic Giant.

Atlantic Giant was developed by Canadian breeder Howard Dill of Windsor, Nova Scotia. Dill selected and crossed exceptionally large pumpkins over many years, producing a cultivar that became the foundation of modern competitive giant-pumpkin growing. The variety was patented in 1979 and quickly became dominant at weigh-offs.

These pumpkins are Cucurbita maxima, a species that also includes several other large squash types. Growers usually remove competing fruits and give one pumpkin a plant’s water and nutrients, while carefully managing soil, sunlight, and pollination. Under elite growing conditions, Atlantic Giant fruit can gain dozens of pounds in a single day during peak growth.

The record is not a permanent property of one seed line: growers continually improve Atlantic Giant genetics, so the measured world record changes over time. Guinness recorded a 2,749-pound fruit grown by Travis Gienger in 2023, and later competitions have produced heavier Atlantic Giant pumpkins. Cheese Pumpkin, Sugar Pie, and Jack-o’-lantern are distinct varieties or market types, not the standard record-setting cultivar.