California Vegetable Seed Trials: Breeders Focus on Growers’ Labor Problems [Slideshow]
American Vegetable Grower‘s Contributing Editor David Eddy visited the California vegetable seed trials in Woodland this year. Bayer, Sakata, and Syngenta did more than present their newest varieties. Each discussed how crop selection can ease a common challenge for growers, a lack of labor.
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'Shoreline' from Bayer
‘Shoreline’ is a new 45-count mottled stripe variety that has shown to perform well for both the cut and traditional market, making this a great dual-purpose watermelon, says Market Development Representative, West Coast and Central Valley, Kelli Durham. It’s “super-crunchy,” and the extra firm flesh gives it great field-holding ability. Photo by David Eddy
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'Bottle Rocket' from Bayer
‘Bottle Rocket’ is perhaps best known for its deep red internal color. It’s larger than its cousin, ‘Shoreline,’ and sizes well consistently for such an early-season watermelon. Photo by David Eddy
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'Flavor Journey' from Bayer
Bayer's ‘Flavor Journey’ is so named by Melon Breeder Jeff Mills because “its excellent flavor takes you back to your childhood,” says Durham. The honeydew has a very smooth exterior with a fruit set concentrated into 2-3 harvests. Despite elevated Brix – 14 to 18 on average – the variety maintains its firmness. Photo by David Eddy
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'Flavor Time' from Bayer
‘Flavor Time’ is the newest entry from Bayer’s Crave cantaloupe series. Unlike a traditional Western shipper, ‘Flavor Time’ can be held in the field without losing quality. The long shelf life gives growers more time to play with, a huge factor in a tight labor market. Photo by David Eddy
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'Pfeiffer' from Bayer
‘Pfeiffer’ is the first variety launched as part of Bayer’s new California pepper series, which targets spotted wilt and mildew resistance. The blocky green bell has a compact plant that produces extra-large fruit. It also helps solve another problem, sun scald, as its thorough leaf cover offers the fruit protection. Photo by David Eddy
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'Gold Spark' from Sakata
‘Gold Spark’ is replacing a popular similar variety, ‘Solid Gold,’ says Senior Protected Culture and Product Development Manager Kimberly Kuden. The older variety has excellent flavor, but is being replaced because ‘Gold Spark’ is also flavorful, but has better yields, color, and much-needed disease resistance. “The yield potential is amazing on it because it just continues to split and continues to set,” she says. Photo by David Eddy
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'Lemonstar' from Sakata
‘Lemonstar’ is another new high-yielding small tomato from Sakata that has multiple clusters, “the tell-tale sign of our genetics,” says Kuden. The variety was designed for high-tech environments, and only Good Seed and Plant Practices (GSPP) seed is available. Photo by David Eddy
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'Ruby Crush' from Sakata
‘Ruby Crush’ is unique in that it is the only determinate grape tomato, says Kuden. It does not get yellow halo, whether from heat or stress. It’s very early maturing – about a week earlier than similar varieties – and because it’s a compact plant with fruit concentrated throughout, less labor is required for picking. Photo by David Eddy
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'Chocostar' from Sakata
‘Chocostar,’ another new small tomato, is unusual among brown-skinned tomatoes, which typically have thick skins. However, it is like other brown-skinned tomatoes in that it has consistently high Brix. Photo by David Eddy
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'Roadster' from Sakata
‘Roadster’ is a new highly colored salad tomato with extra-large fruit. The biggest advantage to growers with this variety is that it doesn’t require pruning, saving a lot of money on labor. It also fares well in high tunnels and because of its enviable disease package, should be of interest to Southeastern growers. Photo by David Eddy
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'Excursion' from Syngenta
‘Excursion’ is the newest seedless watermelon from Syngenta, and it’s catching on like wildfire in Northern Mexico, says Regional Watermelon Portfolio Manager Dean Liere. Today, one out of two watermelon varieties come from Syngenta genetics, says Liere. “We are that dominant,” he says. “Twenty years ago, we made a serious investment in watermelon, and it’s really paying off.” Photo by David Eddy
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'Grandprize' from Syngenta
‘Grandprize’ is the newest squash offering from Syngenta, a straight-necked yellow squash that colors up “virtually right away,” says Squash Breeder Les Padley. Like all new Syngenta squash varieties, it’s spineless, so the company will no longer use the term in variety names going forward. Besides that, the plants are erect and semi-open, making them about twice as fast to harvest as conventional squash, which adds up to a lot of labor savings. Photo by David Eddy
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'Sweet Shield' from Syngenta
‘Sweet Shield’ is a Harper melon like its cousin, ‘Sweet Spring,’ the largest-selling melon in Arizona, says Melon R&D Team Lead Rakesh Kumar. A huge problem in the Southwest is cucurbit yellow stunting disorder, but Sweet Shield has resistance. Photo by David Eddy
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'Desert Express' from Syngenta
‘Desert Express’ just received its name and became commercial this past year. It’s an extended shelf life (ESL) melon, with sweet, firm flesh. It also has a good, dense net, something that is normally not characteristic of ESL melons, notes Kumar. Photo by David Eddy
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'Super Pollinizer SP-7' from Syngenta
‘Super Pollenizer SP-7’ the newest selection from the company’s Full Count program, is all about delivering male blooms. Its high level of branching increases the number of male flowers, the male flowers are 25% larger than those found in previous varieties in the program, and it delivers earlier male blooms than current commercial varieties. Photo by David Eddy
View all
'Shoreline' from Bayer
'Bottle Rocket' from Bayer
'Flavor Journey' from Bayer
'Flavor Time' from Bayer
'Pfeiffer' from Bayer
'Gold Spark' from Sakata
'Lemonstar' from Sakata
'Ruby Crush' from Sakata
'Chocostar' from Sakata
'Roadster' from Sakata
'Excursion' from Syngenta
'Grandprize' from Syngenta
'Sweet Shield' from Syngenta
'Desert Express' from Syngenta
'Super Pollinizer SP-7' from Syngenta
Whether it be time of harvest, ease of picking, or a number of other traits, it was clear that the seed companies had heard the growers loud and clear.
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David Eddy is the editor of Meister Media Worldwide's American Fruit Grower® magazine. See all author stories here.