HENNIKER, N.H. (AP) – At 1,458 pounds, Bruce Whittier believes he has grown a world-record pumpkin.

About 50 friends and neighbors turned out for the weigh-in Tuesday, with 20 of the onlookers helping lift the pumpkin onto the scale.

“It’s not official, but I think it could get into the Guinness book,” said the 54-year-old log buyer at a Henniker sawmill.

Last year his competition pumpkins, the largest at 1,186 pounds, brought him $4,000 in prize money.

Whittier planted the seed on April 26, grew it indoors and transferred the pumpkin into the garden on May 17. At the peak of its growth, the American Giant variety was gaining an average 40 pounds daily, Whittier said.

AP-ES-09-09-03 1953EDT

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