Don't worry about waiting until today to get that perfect orange jack-o-lantern. Although the remainders may be smaller or misshapen, it looks as though there may still be pumpkins to go around.

After the summertime drought of 1999, pumpkin farmers who lost money due to small, poor crops prayed for a better growing season.

But according to Michael Orzolek, professor of vegetable crops, the Great Pumpkin might not be visiting any pumpkin patches this season either.

"Because of rain and clouds this growing season, very little pollination took place in many fields," Orzolek said. "As a result, the vegetation looks great, but the number of fruit per acre is down. This year's pumpkin crop is probably 20 to 30 percent below normal."

Despite the numbers, Orzolek said he does not expect a serious shortage.

"There should be enough pumpkins to go around," he said. "But if you wait until the last minute, you might not find the size and color you are looking for."

However, it looks as though good pumpkins are not that difficult to find, after all.

Farms in Pennsylvania, with the second largest amount of pumpkin-growing acres (6,000) in the country, and the New Jersey area aren't reporting any significant drop in production.

"Our crop is definitely better than last season's," Barrie Moser, owner of Moser's Garden Produce in Centre County, said while standing amidst a pile of bowling ball-sized and smaller orange squash at the Locust Street Farmer's Market. "Some of the stems aren't as nice, and some shapes are off, but all in all it was a pretty good crop."

Catherine Schaefer, owner of The Schaefer Family Farm in Flemington, N.J., also felt her crop didn't suffer, despite some early difficulties.

"Because of heavy rains during germination, some of the pumpkins ripened too early and rotted," said Schaefer. "However, this year we pulled in a fairly good crop, and the ones that matured late came out beautifully. The crop is definitely better than last year."

Orzolek stated that pumpkin growers in other states fared even worse.

"In New York and New England, heavy rains early in the season prevented some growers from even planting their crops," he said.

However, 10 farmers ranging from Bullville to Walden cities in New York State reported little or no crop reduction.

"We were quite afraid at first," said Richard Hodgson, senior partner of Hodgson Farms in Walden. "The beginning of the summer was cold and rainy, but the last couple of weeks have turned out perfectly. We wound up with a good crop, one of the best in years, in fact."

Hodgson said he did not notice any farmers in his area having a crop shortage.

"I heard some rumors about a shortage," he said, "but I haven't seen one yet.