THE battle of the bulge was apparent at Kyogle on Saturday with the official weigh-in of entrants in the Summerland Giant Pumpkin festival.
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Long standing mentor of the "sport", Dale Oliver from Tintenbar, beat all comers with a 674.5kg behemoth that actually lost 10kg since it was cut from the vine just before Christmas.
It was a cross between Giant Atlantic varieties, including Mr Oliver's own southern hemispheric 867kg record holder and the North American 1529 pound (694kg) Miller (Miller descends from the 2145 pound (973kg) McMillan variety), leading to a rare genetic combination among crazy cucurbit circles.
"I really wanted this seed for the vigour of different genetics," said Mr Oliver, a commercial nurseryman who is regarded as the hero of the discipline.
A very early plant in July under a poly-tunnel was intended to benefit from electric soil warming but the system failed and a long, cool and cloudy spring wreaked havoc on the intended outcome.
"I think I'll go back to planting in our local sweetspot - late August, early September," he said.
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Rukenvale dairyman John Leadbeatter placed second with an Oliver descendant weighing 452.5kg, significantly greater than his first attempts more than a decade ago which weighed a mere 60kg. The keen grower also struggled with discouraging seasonal conditions capped by a bout of hail.
"I've grown a bigger pumpkin hut it never made it to the official weigh-in," he said.
Third place went to the founding father of the Summerland festival Chris Pike at 142kg. The heaviest watermelon at 68kg came from champion Ekka grower Geoff Frohloff, Minden, Qld.
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