Mr. Masuo Hanai poses with his 3-meter long gourd at his farm yard.
OBU, Aug. 26 ― A 73-year-old Japanese farmer has grown long gourds and says one day he will grow to a world’s record size.
Masuo Hanai works as a farmer in Obu city, Aichi prefecture.
He grew the 350 cm gourd in his greenhouse in 2015.
Gourds are in the same family as pumpkins and squash.
When pumpkins mature, they just rot and collapse, whereas when gourds mature, they turn hard like wood and dry out.
They are around forever and can be used for soup bowls or artwork crafts.
The current world record for the longest gourd, which was grown in Canada, is 379 cm, according to the Japanese Gourd Society.
Hanai plans to submit his giant gourd in the gourd show organized by the association next June.
He said: “I pray that it grows longer, even a 1cm, every day.”