Watch a giant pumpkin race

Read more about Howard Dill's giant pumpkins

The Canadian farmer, Howard Dill, became known the world over in two completely unrelated fields - competitive pumpkin growing and ice hockey history.

It was on Long Pond, a small body of water on his Windsor, Nova Scotia, farm that, according to many historians, the first recorded games of ice hockey were played. However, Dill's greatest celebrity came not from the ice, but from the soil.

His pumpkin fascination developed early in life and Dill, untrained in the field, taught himself the rudiments of plant genetics. In 1979 he grew the first pumpkin to break the 400 barrier, winning the first of four consecutive world titles, a feat duly recorded by Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

Continued success created a demand for his seeds and Dill began shipping them around the world. The crown jewel of his mail order business was Dill's Atlantic Giant, which became as sought after in pumpkin breeding circles as any thoroughbred standing at stud in the equine industry. Sales of Dill's copyrighted strain of seeds eventually topped a ton a year.

World records tumbled annually and, while Dill retired from competition, the Atlantic Giant continued to evolve, each year yielding bigger and heavier fruit. 1996 saw the dawn of the 1000lb pumpkin era. The first to make the weight was an Atlantic Giant. So is the present world-record holder, a 1689-pounder grown in 2007.

Taking their cue from regular media reports that featured his oversized orange produce, visitors began beating a path to Dill's door. At first they came from nearby communities and other parts of the province but soon there were pumpkin aficionados arriving from all over the world. All were met and welcomed by the unassuming, smiling man popularly nicknamed The Pumpkin King.

In 1984, Windsor, now home to a life-sized, carved wooden statue of Dill, held its first Pumpkin Regatta. Every year since, local residents have hollowed out pumpkin shells, many from Dill's farm, and raced them across the waters of nearby Lake Pesaquid. The American homemaking maven, Martha Stewart, was entered to compete in the 2005 event but inclement weather prevented her from arriving in time to take part.

He is survived by his wife Hilda, and children Danny, Andrew, Maureen and Diana.

Howard Dill was born in Windsor. Nova Scotia, Canada in 1925 and died on May 20th, 2008 of liver cancer