Syngenta hosted its seed partners from up and down the East Coast in mid-May for its annual seed trials field day. The event is meant to showcase new and established varieties at its Naples, FL, research station. There were a number of new varieties planted in trials, so Syngenta seed breeders were eager to get feedback on how they looked and fit within partners’ portfolios.
Here are some of the new and recently released varieties featured at this year’s field day:
Payload: This new zucchini variety was offcially launched during the field day and is reported to have a strong disease package.
- It has intermediate resistance to cucumber mosaic virus, powdery mildew, watermelon mosaic virus, and zucchini yellow mosaic virus.
- It has medium-green glossy fruit that averages 7 to 8 inches.
- It has an upright and open plant with reduced spines to facilitate harvest.
- Payload matures in approximately 43 days and can be grown across a diverse geographic area.
Admiration: This watermelon variety was available in limited supply this past season and has generated good interest. Syngenta reps say it fits where the well-established variety Fascination is grown and it is 2 to 3 pounds heavier.
- It has intermediate resistance to anthracnose 1 and fusarium wilt 1.
- It produces uniform, large seedless fruit mostly 36-count.
- It has good fruit set and yield potential with strong seedling potential and improved transplant growth.
Exclamation: This new watermelon variety will have good seed supply next year and is a full-season variety (five to seven days later than Fascination).
- It has intermediate resistance to anthracnose 1 and fusarium wilt 1.
- It produces larger, blocky fruit mostly 36-and 45-count.
- It has extended fruit set for a high yield potential.
Bastille: This medium-maturity variety is a jumbo-sized bell pepper well-suited for the winter and spring growing seasons of the Southeast and performs well in the Northern growing regions.
- It has high resistance to pepper mottle virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and bacterial spot 1-5 and 7-9.
- Fruit are deep-green and smooth with glossy skin.
- Thick walls make fruit resistant to bruising in stressful growing conditions and due to rough handling.
Bayonet: This medium-maturity bell pepper fits in all planting seasons in the eastern U.S. and produces extra-large to jumbo-sized fruit.
- It has high resistance to tobacco mosaic virus and bacterial spot 1-5 and 7-9, as well as intermediate resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus.
- It has extended fruit set, which allows for multiple harvest during the production season.
- It produces high marketable yields with fewer culls. In addition, Bayonet has improved productivity in difficult growing conditions such as cold and drought.
SevenTYII: This determinate, medium-maturity tomato provides strong disease protection in the winter planting slot of Central and South Florida.
- It has high resistance to fusarium wilt 0-2, verticillium wilt (Va: 0, Vd: 0) and intermediate resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus.
- It has the ability to deliver high-quality fruit during the winter season.
- The large beefsteak gasses well and has great eating quality.
BrickYard: This determinate variety is well-adapted to a wide variety of growing regions and is designed for the mature-green and vine-ripe market.
- It has a strong disease package.
- The beefsteak, with extra-large to large fruit, gasses well and has great eating quality.
- It has a moderate-to-vigorous plant structure and is well-adapted to cold growing conditions.
RidgeRunner: This determinate variety is well-adapted to a wide variety of growing regions and is designed for the mature-green market.
- It has high resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus.
- It has moderate tolerance to heat and produces good results in warm weather conditions under different types of soils.
- The beefsteak fruit are extra-large and gasses well.