Consumer-oriented exploitation and conservation of genetic resources of pumpkins and squash, Cucurbita

Abstract

Pumpkins and squash, Cucurbita species, are valued horticultural products almost everywhere. They have been cultivated and subjected to consumer-oriented selection for thousands of years. Under this consumer orientation, they have been improved culinarily and diversified into the wonderful array of fruit sizes, shapes, and colors that are seen today. Besides their value as food items, pumpkins and squash are associated by people with abundance, warmth, sexuality, and life itself. My current objective is to provide a succinct perspective on the process of consumer-oriented exploitation of pumpkin and squash genetic resources. I briefly review the etymology, taxonomy and gross morphology of Cucurbita plants. A view is presented of how gathering, nurturing, domestication and cultivation of Cucurbita, species-specific and consumer-driven, maintained some of the parallels among species but also magnified the phenotypic differences among them. At greater length are considered the differences in resource allocation required for the preferential consumer-driven production of mature versus young fruits. Environmental effects, abiotic and biotic, are briefly mentioned, as are some of the potential benefits of biotechnology, genetic engineering, mapping, genomics, and gene editing as cognates for breeding. Finally, I consider the processes and needs for collection, maintenance, characterization, and availability of Cucurbita genetic resources and the dangers imposed by under-informed administrators in academia and cavalier governmental regulatory statutes toward future consumer-oriented improvement of pumpkins and squash.