Giant Zucchini

This zucchini got too big before I noticed it, so I decided to just let it grow. I brought it in today since I was ready to pull the plant up. It's interesting that the longer this zucchini stayed on the plant, the weaker the plant got. It stopped putting out any new flowers and lots of the leaves began wilting. Since a plant's mission in life is to bear fruit and create seed for reproducing itself, I wondered if this zucchini being allowed to grow so large sent a signal to the plant that said, "Our work here is done." It weighs 4 pounds, 4 ounces: