Giant pumpkin

A Rhode Island grower's pumpkin weighed in at 3,156 pounds in October 2026, the first to pass the 3,000-pound mark. Giant pumpkins are among the heaviest fruits ever grown.

Record holders change most autumns, so re-check each October.

Context

Reports from October 2026 name the grower as Ron Wallace of Rhode Island, and give the weight as 3,156 pounds, which is about 1,432 kilograms. News coverage and Guinness described it as the first pumpkin to pass 3,000 pounds, a long-chased milestone in competitive growing.

Giant pumpkins are usually Atlantic Giant varieties of Cucurbita maxima, bred for size over generations. Growers feed and water the plants heavily and shade or protect the fruit, which can add many pounds in a single day at the peak of summer. Botanically a pumpkin is a fruit, which is why such a pumpkin counts among the heaviest fruits ever grown.

Weights are confirmed at weigh-offs on certified scales, and the record can be broken in any season, so this entry should be rechecked each autumn. Very large pumpkins are fragile and can split under their own weight.

Giant pumpkin growing is a seasonal sport with weigh-offs across North America and Europe each autumn, and records have steadily crept upward over the decades as seed lines and techniques improved.