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World's Heaviest Pumpkin Tips the Scales at 2,096 Pounds

A Swiss gardener has grown the world’s heaviest pumpkin — and it weights almost as much as a small car.
Image: Pumpkin championship
Beni Meier, a pumpkin grower from the Zuericher Oberland in Switzerland, celebrates his winning pumpkin of 951 kilograms in Klaistow (Brandenburg), Germany, on Sunday.EPA

MAINZ, Germany — A Swiss gardener has grown the world’s heaviest pumpkin — and it weighs almost as much as a small car. Beni Meier, 30, had to use a special vehicle to transport the fruit, which tipped the scales at 2,096.6 lbs. An official from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth association was at the weighing, which broke a world record previously held by California couple Tim and Susan Mathison.

"We were told that lots of watering and daily care was necessary,” said Maika Ziehl, a spokeswoman for the farm where the competition was held. The pumpkin will remain on display in Klaistow, Germany, until it is "slaughtered" on November 2. "We will probably make a good soup out of the pumpkin," added Ziehl, who said that its seeds would be in high demand and probably auctioned off.

- Andy Eckardt