Rhode Island breaks son's record with a 1025kg pumpkin

Richard and Catherine Wallace stand with a 2,261.5-pound pumpkin that Richard grew to set the North American giant pumpkin record at the Frerichs Farm Pumpkin Weigh Off in Warren, Rhode Island. Photo / AP

A Rhode Island man has squashed a record set by his son by taking first prize in a pumpkin contest with a 2261.5-pound (1025kg) gourd.

Richard Wallace's 2261.5-pound pumpkin beat the North American giant pumpkin record set by his son, Ron, at the same event last year.

Ron Wallace's pumpkin topped the scales at 2230 pounds at the Frerichs Farm Pumpkin Weigh Off in Warren in 2015.

Ron Wallace was the first person in the world to break the 1-ton barrier when he grew a 2009-pound pumpkin in 2012.

The younger Wallace said last year that his secret is "a lot of hard work" and what he calls the Wallace organic wonder fertilizer.

Frerichs Farm has hosted the event since 2000. - AP