VE11 Bulletin 640 January 2000 f4 Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Luther Waters, Director Auburn University Auburn, Alabama VLr.hIIIII 11.-114 hA I 4 I a t 0 ) 4 A CONTENTS Page Page Introduction ................ 1 Okra . ....................65 Artichoke ................. Onion ...................66 Asparagus .................4 Parsley .................. 71 Bean, Snap .................5 Parsnip ..................72 Beet..... .. ......... 10 Pea, English ...............73 Broccoli .................. 11 Pepper ...................75 Brussel Sprout .............14 Potato, Irish............... 87 Cabbage, Head .............15 Pumpkin .................88 Cabbage, Chinese ...........16 Radish ...................92 Carrot ...................22 Rhubarb ..................94 Cauliflower... ........ 24 Rutabaga .................95 Collard..............................26 Southernpea ....................... 96 Corn, Sweet ....................... 27 Spinach............................. 97 37 Corn, Ornamental ............... Sweetpotato ....................... 99 Cucumber, Slicer ............... 40 Tomato........................... 101 Eggplant ........................... 46 Turnip ............................ 113 Kale..................................48 Watermelon ..................... 114 Kohlrabi ........................... 49 Winter Squash ............... 121 50 Lettuce............................. Yellow Summer Squash .... 124 57 Melons, Small .................. Zucchini Squash .............. 127 (cantaloupe and honey dew) Sponsors and Suppliers........ 130 Mustard ............................ 64 References....................... 133 First Printing 3M, January 2000 Information contained herein is available to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, or national origin. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The existence and success of the vegetable variety trial program conducted at Auburn University is initially due to the commitment of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) administration. The authors wish to thank the superintendents and the farm crews of the AAES Research and Extension Centers, Horticulture Stations, Research Stations, and Experi- ment Fields for their commitment, day-to-day support, and dedication to this program over the past five years. The active support of the seed industry is also gratefully acknowledged. FROM ARTICHOKE TO ZUCCHINI: VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR THE SOUTHEAST 1 FROM ARTICHOKE TO ZUCCHINI: VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR THE SOUTHEAST Eric H. Simonne, Robert T. Boozer, Rasima N. Baktiyarova, and Edgar L. Vinson, III INTRODUCTION Successful vegetable production begins with the choice of a good variety. Al- though this choice is mainly made by producers and sometimes by produce buyers or processors, the choice of a variety affects the entire production of that vegetable, from seeding or transplanting in the field to retail sale. The main objective of a vegetable variety trial program is to provide commer- cial vegetable growers, county Extension personnel, Extension specialists, and back- yard gardeners with practical information on variety characteristics and performance under the growing conditions of Alabama. Another objective of a vegetable variety trial program is to take an active part in testing promising advanced breeding lines developed by seed companies and public breeding programs. The purpose of this publication is to summarize five years of vegetable variety trials (1994-1998). Because Alabama has a wide range of growing conditions, this publication has relevance beyond the boundaries of Alabama and is designed to be used as a reference on the main vegetable varieties growing in the southeastern United States. In this publication vegetable crops are listed alphabetically. For each vegetable crop, the botanical classification and horticultural characteristics from seed cata- logues and from field observation are presented. Each variety has been rated on a 0- to 4-star scale (Table 1). Because several attributes are important in selecting a vegetable variety, the rating combines the yield potential, the claimed disease resistance/tolerance, the horticultural type, and other relevant observations. This rating was developed under set circumstances, and variety performance may vary under different growing conditions. Therefore, it is always recommended to pre-select a variety for commercial production by planting a small acreage of a limited number of potentially adapted varieties. Buyers should also be familiar with the selected variety. Simonne is an Assistant Professor, Boozer is an Area Horticulturist, and Baktiyarova and Vinson are Research Technicians, all in the Auburn University Department of Horticulture. SALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Some known seed sources are also listed, but vegetable varieties may also be available from other sources. Detailed information on cultural practices and grading guides can be found in previous variety trial reports (see references). Because new vegetable varieties are continuously developed, variety evalua- tion is a continuous process. Updated information may be found at http:// www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/hf/faculty/esimonne. TABLE 1. RATING OF VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA (EVALUATED 1994-1998) Rating Description ** **Superior variety ** *Outstanding variety ** Good performing variety * Adapted variety 0 Not suited for commercial production Not evaluated ++ Not evaluated, but recommended' 'Consult 1999 Alabama Commercial Vegetable recommendations from ACES Regional Bul- letin, NCCES AG-586. FROM ARTICHOKE TO ZUCCHINI: VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR THE SOUTHEAST 3 ARTICHOKE Helianthus tuberosus L. Family: Compositae Harvestable plant part: modified stem and leaves Typical days to maturity: perennial (90 days) Main production challenges in Alabama: no commercial production TABLE 2. INDEX OF ARTICHOKE VARIETIES Rating Variety name Variety type Seed source Emerald(OP) Globe D. Palmer Seed Green Globe (OP) Globe Gurney's Imperial Star (Fl) Globe Johnny's Jerusalem (OP) Tuber Gurney's 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION ASPARAGUS Asparagus officinalis L. Family: Liliaceae Harvestable plant part: stem Observed days to maturity: perennial Main production challenges in Alabama: weeds Ready for harvest: when stems are 12 to 14 inches, and before branching Typcial harvest schedule: two to three times per week for three to four weeks TABLE 3. INDEX OF ASPARAGUS VARIETIES Rating Variety name Variety type Seed source Backlim (F l) Green Nunhems Boonlim (F1) White Nunhems Franklin (F1) Green Nunhems Gijnlim (F1) Green Nunhems Horlim (F1) White Nunhems ++ Jersey Gem (F1) Green Abbott & Cobb Jersey General (F1) Green Abbott & Cobb Jersey Giant (F1) Green Abbott & Cobb Jersey Jewel (F1) Green Rupp Jersey King (F1) Green Abbott & Cobb ++ Jersey Knight (F1) Bright green Gurney's Mary Washington (F1) Medium green Jordan Plumosus Nanus (F1) Green Carolina Seeds Roberts Improved (F l) Large green Gurney's Sprengeri (F 1) Green Carolina Seeds Thielim (F1) Green Nunhems UC -72 (F1) Large green Jordan ++ UC-157 (Fl) Dark green Abbott & Cobb, Jordan Venlim (F1) White Nunhems WUVaIUltVhI amUV II(LF 1\)1 II LUIaVrVgeI purplish Gurney's FROM ARTICHOKE TO ZUCCHINI: VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR THE SOUTHEAST 5 SNAP BEAN Phaseolus vulgaris L. Family: Leguminosae Harvestable plant part: pods with immature seed Observed days to maturity: 52 to 60 days (spring production) Main production challenges in Alabama: Fusarium root rot, Rhizoctonia root rot, Pythium root rot, root knot nematode, mosaic viruses TABLE 4. SEED SOURCE, EARLINESS, AND DISEASE RESISTANCE OF SELECTED SNAP BEAN VARIETIES Variety Type Seed Days to Disease Years Times Times % in source harvest resis./tol. eval. eval. in top 5 top 5 Benchmark OP Novartis 55 CBMV,NL8,NY15MV 97,98 4 1 25 Bronco OP Asgrow 53 CBMV 97,98 0 Carlo OP Asgrow 55 CBMV 97,98 0 Cloudburst OP Asgrow - 98 0 Derby OP Ferry-Morse 55 CBMV 97 0 Florence OP Asgrow - 97 0 Golden Rod Wax OP Ferry-Morse 55 NY15MV 97 0 Hialeah OP Ferry-Morse 53 NY15MV 97,98 50 Italian Flat OP Johnny's - 98 100 La France OP Burpee 98 0 MB-8007 OP Novartis - 97,98 75 Mirada OP Novartis 54 CBMV,NYI5MV 97,98 0 Narbonne OP Johnny's 52 BB,HB 98 0 Nickel OP Vilmorin 52 BS,WMV 97,98 33 Nugget OP Ferry-Morse 52 NY15MV 97 0 Orient Wonder OP Sakata 68- 97 50 QG-7705 OP Novartis 98 100 Rhapsody OP Seedway - 97 0 Roma II OP Stokes CBMV,PRSV,RB 97 0 SB-413 OP Novartis- 97 50 SB-4129 OP Novartis - 97 0 SB-4136 OP Novartis - 98 0 Seville OP Seedway 56 CBMV,NY15MV 97,98 25 Sonata OP Ferry-Morse *- 97,98 33 SSC-1204 OP Shamrock - 98 50 Stallion OP Asgrow •- 97,98 25 Storm OP Asgrow - 98 100 Strike OP Kelly Seeds 55 CBMV, HB 98 0 Trueblue OP Ferry-Morse 54 CBMV, NY15MV 97 50 Xera OP Johnnny's 53 CBMV, HB 98 0 XPB-378 OP Asgrow - 98 50 XPB-393 OP Asgrow - 98 0 XPB-394 OP Asgrow- 98 0 Type: OP= open-pollinated. Disease: BB = Bacterial Blight; BS = Brown Spot; CBMV = Common Bean Mosaic Virus; NL8 = Mosiac Virus; NY15MV = NY 15 Mosaic Virus; HB = Halo Blight; RB = Bean Rust; PM = Powdery Mildew; PRSV = Papaya Ring Spot Virus; WMV = Watermelon Mosaic Virus. = not available; -= none; from seed catalogues. 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 5. INDEX OF SNAP BEAN VARIETIES Rating Variety name Variety type Seed source Acclaim Bush, green, round Asgrow Aquadulce Lima, green Siegers Seeds Allure Bush, green, round Asgrow Asparagus Pole, med. green Burpee, Rupp Atlantic Bush, green, round Asgrow Baby Fordhook Bush, lima Burpee, Jordan Baby Thorogreen Bush, lima Gurney's ** Benchmark Bush, green Jordan, Novartis Benton Bush, green Rupp Blue Lagoon Bush, dark green Gurney's ** Blue Lake Pole, green Gurney's Blue Lake FM - 1 Pole, green Jordan Blue Lake 274 Bush, green, round Novartis, Jordan Bountiful Bush, stringless Gurney's Brio Bush, green, round Asgrow, Jordan Brittle Wax Bush, yellow Rupp *** Bronco Bush, green, round Asgrow, Jordan Burpee's Best Pole, lima Burpee Burpee's Improved Bush, lima Rupp Burpee's Tenderpod Bush, green Burpee Burpee's Stringless Bush, green Rupp BX207 Bush, green Rupp Calgreen Bush, green, flat Novartis Calima (French Type) Bush, green Nunhems Canberra Bush, green Jordan ** Carlo Bush, green Rupp, Asgrow Carolina Pole, lima Carolina Seed Castel Bush, green Siegers Seeds Cherokee Bush, gold Gurney's Cherokee Wax Bush, yellow Harris Seeds, Rupp * Cloudburst Bush, green, round Asgrow Clyde Bush, green Jordan Commodore Bush, green, flat Rupp Contender Bush, green Jordan, Rupp Crest Bush, green, round Asgrow Cristmas Pole, lima Rupp *** Dade Pole, green, flat Asgrow Daytona Bush, green Rupp Decibel (French Filet) Bush, green Jordan, Rupp Delinel Bush, green, round Gurney's, Rupp ** Derby Bush, green Gurney's, Jordan Dixie Speck. Butterpea Bush, lima Rupp Dorabel Bush, yellow, round Rupp, Vilmorin Dragon Tongue Bush, yellow Jordan Dwarf Horticultural Bush, green Gurney's, Rupp Earliserve Bush, green Harris Seeds Early Bush Italian Bush, green, flat Burpee Early Contender Bush, green Gurney's Eastland Bush lima, flat Harris Seeds Endurance Bush, green, round Novartis, Rupp E~sp.1ad1a1111111111\1Bush, green Jiordan, Novartis i continued