Crushed pumpkins on the farm after harvesting
Nancy Poh
-The varieties of pumpkins selected is only good for human consumption about a month before harvest. However, the seeds of the pumpkins are ripe only when the pumpkin flesh starts to rot.
-Moty approached local university and farmers to find a good usage for the flesh, but they all reported that more energy will have to be invested in transporting of the pumpkin flesh.
-The water content of the flesh is above 90 %. In very dry regions, the crushed pumpkins are collected for animal feeding and as a cheap source of water.
From: Luc Rauchs <rau...@moty.at>
Date: Wed, May 2, 2018 at 4:04 PM
Subject: AW: [Website feedback] Crushed pumpkins on the farm
To: greenbe...@gmail.com
Hello Nancy,
Thank you for your question.
At the first glance, it looks like all this pumpkin flesh is wasted to the field, but let me explain you what is the story behind.
The seeds of the pumpkins are ripe, when the pumpkin flesh starts to rot. The flesh is degrading very fast. These varieties of pumpkins were selected for the characteristics of the seeds, since the seeds are used for oil production, snacking and bakery purposes. The flesh has a quite poor taste, but is only good for human consumption about an month before harvest.
There were lot of projects conducted by the local university and farmers to find a good usage for the flesh, but all of them came to the same result: you invest more energy in transport of the pumpkin flesh, than you can take out. The water content of the flesh is above 90 %. Therefore it is common in our area to leave the crushed pumpkins on the field and give the water and the nutrients back to the soil for further crops (organic fertilizer).
In very dry regions, the crushed pumpkins are collected for animal feeding as a cheap source of water.
I hope this answers you questions.
Don't hesitate to contact me for more details!
Kind regards
Luc Rauchs
Product specialist
Moty GmbH
+43 664 21 300 90
UID: ATU 67767829
