Where Pumpkins Come From

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10/21/2012

Where Pumpkins Come From

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds). It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America. They typically have a thick, orange or yellow shell, creased from the stem to the bottom, containing the seeds and pulp. Pumpkins are widely grown for commercial use, and are used both in food and recreation.

Pumpkin pie, for instance, is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in the United States, and pumpkins are frequently carved as decorations around Halloween. A pumpkin that has a little face carved in it and hollowed out and decorated with candles inside is known as a jack o'lantern; these are often used at Halloween, for example, to decorate windows.

_{Pumpkin/Squash Production By Country}


_Rank	_Country	_{Metric Tons}	_{% Of World}
₁	_China	_6,666,978	_32.90%
₂	_India	_4,424,200	_21.83%
₃	_Russia	_988,580	_4.88%
₄	_{United States}	_792,700	_3.91%
₅	_Iran	_695,600	_3.43%
₆	_Egypt	_658,234	_3.25%
₇	_Mexico	_522,388	_2.58%
₈	_Ukraine	_516,900	_2.55%
₉	_Italy	_508,075	_2.51%
₁₀	_Turkey	_430,402	_2.12%
₁₁	_Indonesia	_369,846	_1.83%
₁₂	_Spain	_364,100	_1.80%
₁₃	_Bangladesh	_351,739	_1.74%
₁₄	_Cuba	_347,082	_1.71%
₁₅	_Philippines	_342,345	_1.69%
₁₆	_Argentina	_326,900	_1.61%
₁₇	_{Republic of Korea}	_302,868	_1.49%
₁₈	_Pakistan	_258,200	_1.27%
₁₉	_Japan	_220,800	_1.09%
₂₀	_Rwanda	_210,400	_1.04%
_World		_20,263,254

**Source: FAO. Prepared By; Rob Cook

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