,P 010 s 0G G6G 4i x06 'o! "Law O 4 5 ON I., k j c B{ qeY3 ''P064, 9G6 4i oq cx Cl t ' _ "oe . G6o7 G 7jO' 7jrs ,9i 6 co>0 ono' o 4 Authors Eric Simonne Assistant Professor Department of Horticulture (334) 844-3018 Edgar Vinson, III Research Tech VII Department of Horticulture (334) 844-3047 Joe Little Superintendent Lower Coastal Plain Substation (334) 682-4662 Larry Wells Superintendent Wiregrass Substation (334) 693-2363 Brian Gamble Associate Superintendent Wiregrass Substation (334) 693-2363 Randy Akridge Superintendent Brewton Experiement Field (334) 867-3139 Jim Bannon Director E.V. Smith Research Center (334) 727-7403 Jason Burkett Superintendent E.V. Smith Research Center Horticulture Unit (334) 727-6159 Arnold Caylor Superintendent North Alabama Horticulture Substation (256) 734-5820 Booby Boozer Area Horticulturist Department of Horticulture (205) 646-4123 Tony Dawkins Superintendent Sand Mountain Substation (256) 528-7133 Jim Pitts Superintendent Chilton Area Horticulture Substation (205) 646-3610 Marvin Ruf Retired Associate Superintendent Sand Mountain Substation (256) 528-7133 Nadia Ouakrim Visiting Scholar from the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique de Toulouse, France Department of Horticulture George Boyhan Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, Statesboro, GA (912) 681-5639 Darbie Granberry Professor and Extension Specialist Rural Development Center, Tifton, GA (912) 386-3410 Kent Kushman Assistant Research Scientist, North Mississippi Research and Exten- sion Center, Verona, MS (601) 566-2201 Ronald McDaniel Superintendent Gulf Coast Substation (334) 928-2740 Malcomb Pegues Assistant Superintendent Gulf Coast Substation (334) 928-2740 Randal Rawls Superintendent Upper Coastal Plain Substation (256) 487-2150 Contents Authors 2 Introduction: Vegetable Variety Trials Across State Lines 3 Indy' and 'Speedway' Out-Perform 'General Lee' in Slicer Cucumber Trial 5 North Mississippi Slicing Cucumber Trials 7 'Spike', 'Clemson Spineless', and 'Annie Oakley II' Best Performers in Okra Trial 8 North Mississippi Sugar-Enhanced Sweet Corn Trials 10 Several Sweet Corn Experimentals Look Competitive 11 Watermelon Trial at the University of Georgia's Bamboo Farm, Savannah, GA 16 Interest Increases in Triploid Watermelon 18 'EH-10091'Tomato Performs Well in South and North Alabama 21 North Mississippi Strawberry Trials 27 'King Arthur' and 'EXH-12261' Bell Pepper Best-Performers Under Hot Weather 28 North Mississippi Yellow Squash Trials 32 'Gentry', 'Picasso', and 'Dixie' Lead in Summer Squash Variety Trial 34 Will 'Athena' be Challenged by 'EXH-6332' on the Eastern-Type Cantaloupe Market? 40 'Bronco' Out-Performed by Several Green Bean Varieties 44 Lettuce Varieties Suffer from Heat 47 Sponsors and Suppliers 49 Information contained herein is available to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, or nationalorigin. SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 3 Introduction: Vegetable Variety Trials Across State Lines Eric Simonne Producing quality vegetables starts with the choice of a good variety. Hence, vegetable variety trials are part of the support successful vegetable production needs. Variety performance does not follow state lines. However, performance is somewhat influenced by geo- graphical conditions, weather conditions, soil types, and cultural practices. As a response to the many encour- agements to develop Southeastern Regional variety tri- als, this variety trial report presents field results from Alabama (Auburn University, AU), Georgia (The Uni- versity of Georgia, UGA), and Mississippi (Mississippi State University, MSU). Even at the regional level, the timeliness of the in- formation contained in reports such like this critical. The main audience of these reports (in fact, our clientele) is comprised of members of the seed industry, researchers, Extension specialists and county agents, horticulturists, and growers. All of them need the information before the next growing season, so that the performance of experimentals and updates on best-performing varieties can be used to determine seed orders. Such essential timeliness is due largely to the researchers who are dedi- cated to excellence in vegetable variety trials. All should be thanked for their contributions. Crops included in this Spring 1998 Regional Bulle- tin are slicer cucumber (AU, MSU), okra (AU), sweet corn (MSU, AU), watermelon (UGA, AU), tomato (AU), strawberry (MS), bell pepper (AU), yellow and zucchini summer squash (MS, AU), cantaloupe and honeydew (AU), green bean (AU), and lettuce (AU). Production systems included bare-ground planting and plasticulture, combined with overhead or drip irrigation. This report presents in-depth information on the yield and perfor- mance of these crops. However, glancing rapidly at the yield results may not provide all the information neces- sary for choosing the best variety. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of these vegetable variety trial re- sults. Fertilization, Insect, and Pest Control. Trials were fertilized according to the recommendations of the Au- burn University Soil Testing Laboratory. The actual fer- tilizers and chemicals used are described only to provide detailed information about the cultural practices em- ployed. Mention of fertilizers or chemical names repre- sent neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of these products. A list of chemicals recommended for pest and weed control in vegetable production in Alabama may be found in IPM Commercial Vegetables: Insect, Disease, Nematode and Weed Control Recommendations (Publication 98IPM-2 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System). Statistical Analyses. The coefficient of determina- tion (R 2 ), coefficient of variation (CV), and least signifi- cant difference (lsd) are reported for each test. These num- bers are helpful in separating the differences due to small plots (sampling error) and true (but unknown) differences among entries. These three statistical parameters help minimize the potential errors due to the use of small plots. If it were possible to plant a larger plot of each variety, these parameters would be less important. R 2 ranges between 0 and 1. Values close to 1 suggest that the test was conducted under good conditions and most of the variability observed was mainly due to the effect of variety and replication. Random, uncontrolled errors were less important. In this report, R 2 relates to the relative importance of cultivar, and does not include the effect of replication. R 2 is calculated as SS /SStota (SS is the sum of squares.) CV is an expression of yield variability relative to yield mean. Low CVs (under 20%) are desirable but are not always achieved. There must be a minimum yield difference between two varieties before one can statistically conclude that one variety actually performs better than another. This is known as the least significant difference (lsd). When the difference in yield between two varieties is less than the lsd value, one cannot conclude that there is any real dif- ference between two varieties. For example, in the 1998 slicer cucumber at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, 'Thunder' early yield was 6,840 pounds per acre, while that of 'Dasher II' and 'Pointsett 76' were 6,670 and 2,200 pounds per acre, respectively. Since there was less than a 2,150 difference (the lsd) between 'Thun- der' and 'Dasher II', there is no statistical difference be- tween the early yields of these two varieties. The ob- served differences are mainly due to random errors. How- ever, the difference between 'Thunder' and 'Pointsett 76' SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 3 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION was 4,640 (a difference larger than the lsd value), indi- cating that there is a real difference between the yields of these two varieties. From a practical point of view, readers of VT trial results should compare varieties in terms of lsd. The total yield of each variety is compared to the yield of the best performing variety within each test and each type. In the tables that present yield data, a line across the page groups the varieties within one lsd from the best performing (top) variety. Using Variety Trial Information for Selection of a Variety. Variety performance is affected by factors such as soil type, growing environment, and weather condi- tions. Therefore, the information in this report should be used as a primary source of information to pre-select the varieties that have shown potential for high yields and quality, under the rating conditions described in Table 1. Also, vegetable varieties come and go, and good-perform- ing varieties may not be available consistently. There- fore, it is important to make variety evaluation a part of vegetable production. On-farm evaluation will test the performance of a variety under more specific conditions. The final choice of a variety may have to be adjusted after this second evaluation. TABLE 1. DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS Rating Weather Fertilizer Irrigation Pests Overall 5 Very Good Very Good Very Good None Excellent 4 Favorable Good Good Light Good 3 Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Tolerable Acceptable 2 Adverse Low Low Adverse Questionable 1 Destructive Very Low Insufficient Destructive Useless 'Indy' and 'Speedway' Out- Perform 'General Lee' in Slicer Cucumber Trial Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Arnold Caylor, Ronald McDaniel, and Malcomb Pegues Slicer cucumber variety trials were conducted at the Gulf Coast Substation (GCS) in Fairhope and the North Alabama Horticulture Substation (NAHS) in Cullman (Tables 1 and 2). Selected varieties were direct-seeded on bare ground at a depth of one inch on April 10 at GCS and May 10 at NAHS. At both locations, plots consisted of a single 20- foot row. Within-row spacing was eight inches, which provided a stand of approximately 17,000 plants per acre. At GCS, fertilization consisted of a preplant appli- cation (per acre) of a 10-10-10 fertilizer at a rate of 500 pounds and a sidedress application of ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ) at a rate of 255 pounds. Pre-emergence herbi- cide was Curbit broadcast-applied on April 10 at a rate of four pints per acre. Ridomil/Bravo fungicide was ap- plied at a rate of two pounds per acre on May 27, June 5, and June 12. Bravo 720 fungicide was also applied on June 18 at a rate of three pints per acre. At NAHS, heavy rains shortly after plant emergence destroyed the test. Cucumbers were harvested eight times between June 3 and June 19 at GCS. After each harvest, fruits were weighed and graded according to the Cucumber Grader's TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 CUCUMBER VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location GCS NAHS Weather 4 1 Fertility 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 Pests 5 5 Overall 5 1 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Guide (Circular ANR-771 from the Alabama Coopera- tive Extension System). Early (Table 3) and total (Table 4) yields were determined. Earliness was evaluated by adding the marketable yields of the first four harvests. Because of past performance in trials, 'General Lee' was the reference variety for this test. Differences in to- tal marketable yield among all varieties were not signifi- cant, while 'General Lee FM' and 'Meteor' had signifi- cantly lower early marketable yield. This reflects the fact that several comparable slicer cucumber varieties are available. Numerically, 'Indy' and 'Speedway' had the highest total and early marketable yield. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED CUCUMBER VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Days to Disease Years harvest tolerance/resistance 2 evaluated Dasher II Fl Petoseed 58 ALS,ANT,CMV,DMPM,Sc 94-98 General Lee F1 Ferry-Morse 65 CMV,DM,PM,Sc 97-98 Indy F1 Petoseed 59 ALS,ANT,CMV,PM,PRSV,STM,ZYMV 96-98 Jazzer Fl Stokes 48 CMV,DM,PM,Sc 96-98 Lightning F1 As grow 57 ALS,CMV,DM,PM,Sc 94-98 Meteor F1 Asgrow 50 ALS,ANT,CMV,DM,PM,Sc 94-98 Speedway F1 Petoseed 56 ALS,ANT,CMV,DM,PM,Sc 94-98 Thunder F1 Asgrow 56 ALS,CMV,DM,PM,Sc 94-98 Turbo Fl Petoseed 65 ALS,ANT,CMV,DM,PM,Sc,STM 94,96-98 'Type: Fl = Hybrid 2 Disease tolerance/resistance:ANT= Anthracnose; ALS = Angular Leaf Spot; CMV = Cucumber Mosaic Virus; DM = Downy Mildew; PM = Powdery Mildew;PRSV = Papaya Ring Spot Virus;Sc = Scab; STM = Stemphylium; ZYMV = Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 5 TABLE 3. EARLY PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED CUCUMBER VARIETIES GROWN AT THE GULF COAST SUBSTATION Early Early Early Early Early Early Variety Percent marketable wt. fancy wt. fancy no. US#1 wt. US#1 no. US#2 wt. stand lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a Indy 99 11,411 5,803 10,579 5,608 12,757 1,315 Speedway 99 10,136 4,084 7,779 6,052 15,713 988 Lightning 98 9,054 3,337 7,001 5,717 14,468 1,369 Dasher II 100 8,339 3,182 7,312 5,157 14,157 941 Thunder 98 8,028 3,368 7,468 4,659 12,757 863 Turbo 97 7,864 3,485 7,934 4,379 11,201 366 Jazzer 85 7,613 2,811 5,601 4,802 9,542 622 General Lee FM 89 7,032 3,687 8,401 3,345 9,023 482 Meteor 100 6,309 2,808 6,534 3,500 10,579 459 R 2 0.30 0.26 CV 10 35 lsd 14 4,169 TABLE 4. TOTAL PERFORMANCE AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED CUCUMBER VARIETIES GROWN AT THE GULF COAST SUBSTATION Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual Variety percent marketable wt. fancy wt. fancy no. US#1 wt. US#1 wt.. US#2 wt. Cull fruit wt.' stand lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a lbs/a lb Indy 99 30,975 12,220 22,247 18,755 40,294 5,064 2,092 0.50 Speedway 99 27,521 9,708 18,202 17,813 40,138 2,948 2,178 0.48 Turbo 97 24,371 8,774 18,047 15,596 34,382 1,649 1,058 0.45 Dasher II 100 22,613 8,580 17,891 14,033 34,382 2,186 801 0.44 General Lee FM 89 22,426 9,941 21,314 12,485 31,426 2,209 1,245 0.43 Thunder 98 21,959 7,631 15,869 14,328 35,316 2,575 1,680 0.44 Meteor 100 20,481 6,970 14,468 13,512 34,538 1,937 1,369 0.43 Jazzer 85 19,374 6,099 10,994 13,276 25,722 1,379 1,649 0.54 Lightning 98 18,700 6,200 12,602 12,500 30,026 2,676 1,976 0.44 R 2 0.30 0.23 0.43 CV 10 35 10 lsd 14 12,212 0.07 'Fancy grade 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 7 North Mississippi Slicing Cucumber Trials Kent Cushman and Thomas Horgan This study was located at the North Mississippi Re- search and Extension Center in Verona, Mississippi, on a Quitman silt loam soil. Nine cultivars of slicing cucumbers were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plant beds were formed six inches high and 30 inches across the top with a press-pan-type bed shaper. Methyl bromide fumigant was applied during bed formation at the rate of 350 pounds per acre. Preplant fertilizer was banded in both sides of the plant bed at the rate of six pounds of 9- 13-24 (N-P20 5 -K20) per 100 feet of row. White-on-black plastic mulch, white side up, and drip irrigation tubing were installed immediately after bed formation. Seeds were planted through the plastic on June 15 by hand. Plants were spaced 12 inches apart in plots 20 feet long and 13 feet wide, but only the center ten feet of each plot was harvested. A total of 270 plants were used in this study (ten plants x nine cultivars x three replications). Asana XL or Thiodan EC were mixed with Bravo WS and sprayed on a seven- to 10-day schedule with an air- blast sprayer for insect and disease control. Water or fertil- izer solution was applied through the drip tape on an as- needed basis. Fertilizer was applied by injecting a concen- trated fertilizer solution (13.3 ounces of a high-grade soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon of water) at a 1:200 ratio to achieve a final N concentration of 100 ppm in the irrigation water. Harvest began July 22 and ended August 10 for a total of nine harvests. We harvested at two- or three-day inter- vals. Cucumbers from each plot were separated into cat- egories of marketable or cull and then counted and weighed (Table 1). Yields may appear low due to the wide spacing be- tween rows. Total yields ranged from a low of 11,770 pounds per acre for 'SRQ 3775' to a high of 17,680 pounds per acre for 'Thunder'. However, total yields were not signifi- cantly different for any of the nine entries. Early yields were greater for 'Panther', 'Thunder', and 'Dasher II' than for 'Poinsett 76' and 'SRQ 3775'. Entries with greater total yield were earlier than entries with lower total yield. TABLE 1. SEED SOURCE AND MARKETABLE YIELD OF SELECTED SLICER CUCUMBER AT THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER Total yield' -Early yield 2- Variety Seed source Total Marketable Average weight 4 Total lbs/a % oz lbs/a Thunder Asgrow 17,680 75 10.1 6,840 Dasher II Petoseed 16,310 76 9.9 6,670 General Lee Abbott & Cobb 15,820 76 9.9 5,550 ACX-1811 Abbott & Cobb 15,660 72 10.9 4,570 ACX-5001 Abbott & Cobb 15,080 81 10.2 4,870 Panther Sunseeds 14,870 69 9.5 6,910 Green Sleeves Harris Seeds 14,080 71 9.4 5,630 Poinsett 76 Wax 12,120 83 9.9 2,200 SRQ-3775 Sunseeds 11,770 62 10.5 3,100 R 2 0.78 0.74 CV 6 24 lsd 8 2,150 'Total yield of nine harvests. Yield of first four harvests. Relative number of marketable fruit as the percentage of total number harvested (marketable plus culls). Average fruit weight of nine harvests. 8 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 'Spike', 'Clemson Spineless', and 'Annie Oakley II' Best Performers in Okra Trial Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, and Arnold Caylor An okra variety trial was conducted at the North Ala- bama Horticulture Substation (NAHS) in Cullman (Tables 1 and 2). On May 4, 1998, selected varieties were direct seeded on plastic-mulched, drip irrigated raised beds on 20- foot-long plots. Within-row spacing was 3 feet. Fertilization consisted (per acre) of a preplant applica- tion of 230 pounds of ammonium nitrate on April 24 and one sidedress application of ammonium nitrate on May 29 at a rate of 115 pounds. This provided a total of 135 pounds of nitrogen per acre. No insecticide or herbicide was used. Okra was harvested as needed 14 times between June 4 and June 30. Early yield was calculated by adding the yield of the first four harvests (Table 3). Varieties differed in their growth habit. The industry standard 'Clemson Spineless' (from all sources) showed a 'V' growth habit, which made the pods easy to access and to harvest. Plants of 'Spike' showed limited branching, which gave them a straight-up aspect. 'Emerald', 'White Velvet', and 'Annie Oakley II' were tall and bushy, while 'Babby Bubba' was bushy and compact. This growth habit makes 'Babby Bubba' more suitable for home gardens, where space may be limited. The pods of 'Burgundy' were the hardest to TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 OKRA VARIETY TRIAL 1 Location NAHS Weather 4 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 5 Overall 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. snap off the plant. Those of 'White Velvet' were round in diameter, and not polygonal like typical okra pods. Overall, yields were high because plastic mulch and drip irrigation were used. 'Spike', 'Cajun Delight', and 'Annie Oakley II' had significantly higher early marketable yield, while these three varieties along with 'Clemson Spine- less' from Asgrow and Kelly had significantly higher total marketable yield. Significant differences were observed for 'Clemson Spineless' depending on the seed source. These results suggest 'Spike' as a suitable variety for early mar- ket, while 'Clemson Spineless' and 'Annie Oakley II' are main-season high yielders. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, EARLINESS, AND DISEASE CLAIMS OF SELECTED OKRA VARIETIES Variety Type Seed source Days to Pod Disease Years harvest color claims evaluated Annie Oakley II Fl Petoseed 48 Green - 97,98 Baby Bubba F1 Burpee 53 Green - 98 Burgundi OP Johnny's 60 Red - 97,98 Cajun Delight Fl Johnny's 52 Green - 97,98 Clemson Spineless OP Asgrow 55 Green - 97,98 Clemson Spineless OP Petoseed 55 Green - 97,98 Clemson Spineless OP Kelly . Green - 98 Emerald OP Ferry-Morse 55 Green - 97,98 Spike OP Wilhite 48 Green - 98 White Velvet . Local Store . White - 98 . = not available; - = none; from seed catalogues. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 8 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 9 TABLE 3. EARLY AND TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED OKRA VARIETIES GROWN AT THE NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Early Early Early Total Total Total Variety Percent marketable wt. pod no. fruit wt marketable wt. pod no. fruit wt. stand lbs/a #/a lb/pod lbs/a #/a lb/pod Annie Oakley II 98 389 8,401 0.044 4,437 141,418 0.031 Clemson Spineless (Asgrow) 95 12 156 0.080 3,843 117,148 0.033 Cajun Delight 93 390 11,357 0.034 3,448 126,171 0.027 Clemson Spineless (Kelly) 98 23 156 0.150 3,399 110,925 0.030 Spike 95 373 17,269 0.021 3,157 121,037 0.027 White Velvet 98 176 622 0.195 2,500 81,055 0.031 Emerald 88 48 1,711 0.035 2,413 99,412 0.024 Burgundi 95 101 2,800 0.037 2,301 62,541 0.037 Baby Bubba 93 67 1,867 0.025 2,270 51,651 0.048 Clemson Spineless (Petoseed) 100 0 0 . 1,308 46,050 0.028 R 2 0.11 0.47 0.45 0.26 0.34 CV 11 116 121 40 32 lsd ns 265 0.151 1,587 0.017 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION North Mississippi Sugar- Enhanced Sweet Corn Trials Kent Cushman and Thomas Horgan This study was located at the North Mississippi Re- search and Extension Center in Verona, Mississippi, on a Quitman silt loam soil. Twelve cultivars of sugar-enhanced (se) sweet corn were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Preplant fertilizer was broadcast at the rate (per acre) of 40 pounds N, 83 pounds P 2 0 5 , and 120 pounds K20. Plots were planted on April 17 with a small garden planter. Plants were spaced about 12 inches apart in 20-foot long, eight-row wide plots, but only the center six rows were har- vested for data collection. Rows were spaced 30 inches apart. Bladex 4L and Dual 8E preemergence herbicides, each at 1.4 quarts per acre, were applied immediately after plant- ing. All plots were sidedressed with liquid 32-0-0 at the rate of 100 pounds N per acre on May 21; the solution was banded about five inches to the side of each row and about one to two inches deep. Sevin WPS, Asana XL, or Thiodan EC were sprayed as needed with an air-blast sprayer for insect control. Fur- row irrigation was applied during silking after several weeks of dry weather. Harvest began June 20 and ended July 3 for a total of seven harvests. Corn ears from each plot were separated into categories of marketable or cull and then counted and weighed (Table 1). 'Champ' was the earliest entry in this trial, beginning 64 days after planting, but its harvest extended over about a 10-day period. 'Sensation', 'Calico Bell', 'Silver King', 'Fantasia', and 'Brilliance' performed well and yielded within about a five-day period from approximately 67 to 72 days after planting. 'Kandy Plus' performed well and yielded over a surprisingly short two-day period from 72 to 74 days after planting. 'Dancer' began to yield late, at 75 days, and performed poorly. TABLE 1. SUGAR-ENHANCED (SE) SWEET CORN YIELD AT THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER Entry Seed source Color Total Total Marketable' Avg. ear wt. lbs/a doz/a % oz Sensation Seneca W 9,800 1,920 99 6.8 Calico Bell Asgrow BC 9,740 1,770 100 7.3 Silver King Novartis/Rogers W 9,250 1,680 100 7.3 Fantasia Asgrow W 8,500 1,490 95 7.5 Champ Asgrow Y 8,440 1,650 97 6.8 Brillance Harris W 8,160 1,590 99 6.8 Kandy Plus Novartis/Rogers Y 7,800 1,250 98 8.3 Silver Princess Novartis/Rogers W 6,950 1,380 98 6.9 Kandy King Novartis/Rogers Y 6,630 1,300 98 6.8 Sir Prize Harris BC 6,440 1,200 98 7.3 Bodacious Willhite Y 6,410 1,290 95 6.6 Dancer Seneca BC 3,110 560 92 6.9 R 2 0.66 0.67 CV 23 22 lsd 2,950 530 'Relative number of marketable ears as the percentage of total number harvested (marketable plus culls). ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 10 Several Sweet Corn Experimentals Look Competitive Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Robert Boozer, Ronald McDaniel, Malcomb Pegues, Jim Pitts, and Randall Rawls Sugary (su), sugar-enhanced (se), and supersweet (sh 2 ) sweet corn varieties were evaluated at the Gulf Coast Sub- station (GCS) in Fairhope (su/se,sh 2 ), the Chilton Area Hor- ticulture Substation (CAHS) in Clanton (se), and the Upper Coastal Plain Substation (UCPS) in Winfield (se) (Tables 1 and 2). The planting of the white sh 2tes t could not be made at the desired time. The test will be conducted in 1999. At all substations, cultural practices for su, se and sh 2 types were similar. However, within each location, sh 2 vari- eties were separated by 300 feet from other field and sweet corn plantings because cross pollination alters grain char- acteristics, including sweetness. At all locations, four-row plots 20-feet long and 8-feet wide were established. Within- row spacing was six to eight inches, creating a stand of ap- proximately 32,000 plants per acre. At GCS, fertilization consisted of preplant applications of 40-0-40 (at a rate of 266 pounds per acre) for sh 2 test and 4-12-12 (at a rate of 333 pounds per acre) for the su/se test. Both applications were made on April 2. The preplant her- bicide Dual 8E was applied on April 4 at a rate of one quart per acre. The planting date was April 4. On May 20, 194 pounds per acre of 66-0-0 were applied to the su/se test and 120 pounds per acre of 40-0-0 were applied to the sh 2 test. On May 26, sh 2 and su/se tests received 117 pounds per acre of 40-0-0. Plots were over-head irrigated as needed to provide approximately 1.5 inches water per week. Herbicides used were Dual II and Roundup (each at a rate of one quart per acre) applied on April 21 to the sh 2 test and on April 22 to the su/se test. Insect control was pro- vided to both tests by applications of Lannate LV (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on June 2; Asana XL (at a rate of six ounces per acre) on June 1, 9, 10, 11, and 14; andAmbush (at a rate of 6.5 ounces per acre) June 11, 12, and 16. At CAHS, fertilization consisted of a preplant applica- tion (per acre) of 778 pounds of 13-13-13 on May 4, and a sidedress application of 50 pounds of N on June 12 as am- monium nitrate. The planting date was May 6. Weed con- trol was provided by Dual and Aatrex (both at two pints per acre) on June 9. Overhead irrigation was used to supple- TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 SWEET CORN VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location GCS CAHS UCPS Weather 4 5 5 Fertility 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 Pests 4 4 4 Overall 5 5 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. ment rainfall and provide a total of approximately one inch per week. At UCPS, preplant fertilization provided (per acre) 60 pounds of N, 60 pounds of P 2 0 5 , and 75 pounds of K20. Preplant herbicide was Aatrex 4L at a rate of one quart per acre. Planting date was May 15. Approximately three weeks later, plants were sidedressed with 120 pounds of N per acre. The test was drip irrigated throughout the growing season. No sprays were used. Su/se varieties were harvested on June 19, 24, and 30 at GCS and between June 30 and July 15 at UCPS. Sh 2 varieties were harvested on June 24 and 26 at GCS and on June 18 at CAHS. After harvest, ears were graded follow- ing the Sweet Corn Grader's Guide (Circular ANR-679 of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System). Yield (Table 3) and ear characteristics (Table 4) were determined. At CAHS, individual ear weight appeared to be lower than at other locations because the ears were shucked before being weighed. In the yellow/se test at GCS, 'Empire' and 'GH-4881' significantly out-yielded the standard 'Merit' (su). These three varieties also had the highest quality index. In the yel- low/sh 2 test at GCS, two experimental entries ('GSS-3577' and 'XPH-3084') had significantly higher yields than the reference 'Punchline'. These three varieties also had the highest quality index. The white/se test was repeated at two locations (CAHS and UCPS). The reference 'Fantasia' was the only variety to perform well in both tests, though qual- SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 11 12 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION ity index values were below expected values. The experimentals 'WH-4487' at CAHS and 'WHT 2972' at UCPS showed good yield potential and acceptable quality index values. Only three entries were evaluated in the bi- color/se test at CAHS and UCPS. The standard 'Sir Galahad' and the experimental 'BC-4585' had highest yields. Based on these results, recommendation or dispositions of experimentals were made (Table 5). TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, TYPE, COLOR, AND EARLINESS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Seed source Color Type Days to Disease Years harvest resistance/tolerance 1 evaluated BC-4885 Novartis BC se-98 BC-7182 Novartis BC se-98 Challenger Asgrow Y sh2 78 CSNCLBSBWSCLB 94-98 Empire Novartis Y se-98 Fantasia Asgrow W se 82 CR,CS 95-98 Forever Asgrow Y sh2 84 CR,NCLB,SBW,SCLB 94,96-98 GSS-1526 Novarris Y sh2-98 GSS-3577 Novartis Y sh2-98 GH-4881 Novartis Y se-98 Horizon Stokes Y se-98 Legend Harris Seeds Y se 73 CSMDMVNCLBSBW 95-98 Merit Asgrow Y su 78 CSSBWSCLBMDMV, 96-98 NCLB Prime Plus Novartis Y sh2 .- 97,98 Prime Time Novartis Y sh2-97,98 Punchline Asgrow Y sh2 74 ANTNCLSSBWSCLB 94-98 Rising Star SeedWay W se 79 SBW 96-98 Silver King Novartis W se 82 CR,NCLB,SBW 97,98 Silver Princess Novartis W se-98 Silver Queen SeedWay W su 92 NCLBSBWSCLB 94-98 Sir Galahad Stokes BC se 85 - 95-98 Snow Belle Asgrow W se 85 R,SCLB 95-98 SV-7004 Seneca Y sh2.98 Victor Ferry-Morse Y sh2 80 CS,NCLB 96-98 WH-4487 Novartis W se.97-98 WHT-2972 Novartis W se-98 XPH-3084 Asgrow Y sh2-98 XPH-3113 Asgrow W se - 98 .= not available; - = none; from seed catalogues. 'Disease: CR = Corn Rust; CS = Corn Smut; MDMV = Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus; NCLB = Northern Corn Leaf Blight; SBW = Stewart's Bacterial Wilt; SCLB = Southern Corn Leaf Blight; ANT = Anthracnose TABLE 3. YIELD OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Type Percent Yield Ear Ear set ht. stand lbs/a #Ia in GULF COAST SUBSTATION Empire Y se 104 18,313 34,031 18 GH-4881 Y se 103 16,321 31,853 16 Horizon Y se 94 8,835 27,860 8 Merit Y se 65 5,867 12,433 .18 Legend Y se 29 3,812 9,166 8 R 2 0.91 0.93 0.79 CV 20 16 21 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 12 TABLE 3, CONTINUED. YIELD OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Type Percent Yield Ear Ear set ht. stand lbs/a #/a in GULF COAST SUBSTATION, continued GSS-3577 Y sh2 104 16,680 36,300 20 XPH-3084 Y sh2 98 12,782 25,319 25 GSS-1526 Y sh2 99 11,670 29,857 23 SV-7004 Y sh2 112 11,298 26,136 20 Punchline Y sh2 97 9,547 23,414 20 Challenger Y sh2 49 6,516 15,428 16 Prime Time Y sh2 53 4,937 11,707 19 Victor Y sh2 48 4,637 9,529 17 Forever Y sh2 50 3,671 8,258 20 Prime Plus Y sh2 25 2,046 5,899 18 R 2 0.78 0.84 0.50 CV 33 26 15 lsd 3,947 7,130 4 CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Sir Galahad BC se 8,425 15,337 BC-4885 BC se . 7,674 15,881 BC-7182 BC se . 5,224 8,531 Fantasia W se . 8,856 14,248 WH-4487 W se 8,042 14,520 Rising Star W se . 7,893 9,620 XPH-3113 W se . 6,995 19,784 Silver Princes W se . 6,508 15,065 WHT-2972 W se . 6,475 14,883 Silver Queen W su 4,039 4,810 Silver King W se . 3,477 5,717 Snow Belle W se . 479 1,089 R 2 0.40 0.57 CV 42 39 lsd 1,307 6,897 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION BC-7182 BC se 69 2,523 5,082 11 BC-4885 BC se 60 2,178 5,808 11 Sir Galahad BC se 77 1,452 3,267 10 Silver Princess W se 92 16,063 12,524 13 WHT-2972 W se 75 11,652 23,595 10 Fantasia W se 79 11,525 17,787 13 Silver Queen W su 87 5,808 15,972 14 XPH-3113 W se 79 5,264 9,801 11 Rising Star W se 36 3,340 6,353 5 WH-4487 W se 39 2,124 4,538 5 Silver King W se 36 1,634 4,175 6 Snow Belle W se 41 1,634 5,627 6 R 2 0.78 0.63 0.49 CV 66 71 50 Isd 7,817 14,762 10 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 13 14 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 4. EAR CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety 'Type Quality Tip cover Ear fill Eye appeal Ear length Ear diameter Cob diameter rating' rating 2 rating rating in in in GULF COAST SUBSTATION GH-4881 Y se 13.06 4.89 4.36 3.81 7.9 1.5 0.8 Merit Y se 12.50 4.40 4.25 3.85 8.0 1.7 1.0 Legend Y se 12.40 4.90 3.95 3.55 6.7 1.6 0.8 Empire Y se 11.75 3.60 4.30 3.85 8.8 1.7 0.7 Horizon Y se 10.60 4.70 3.05 2.85 6.3 1.6 0.8 R2 0.30 0.45 0.37 0.29 0.61 0.39 CV 10 13 16 17 10 7 lsd 0.97 0.49 0.90 0.70 0.70 0.1 GULF COAST SUBSTATION Prime Time Y sh2 14.00 4.95 4.90 4.15 7.0 1.4 0.7 Punchline Y sh2 14.00 4.93 4.87 4.20 6.6 1.6 0.8 GSS-3577 Y sh2 13.70 4.90 4.70 4.10 6.5 1.6 0.6 XPH-3084 Y sh2 13.67 4.87 4.73 4.07 7.3 1.7 0.9 Challenger Y sh2 13.27 5.00 4.40 3.87 7.2 1.6 0.8 GSS-1526 Y sh2 13.10 4.85 4.25 4.00 7.6 1.5 0.7 Prime Plus Y sh2 12.55 4.75 4.25 3.55 6.7 1.5 0.7 Victor Y sh2 12.35 4.20 4.40 3.75 7.6 1.7 0.7 Forever Y sh2 12.13 4.80 3.93 3.40 7.3 1.5 0.8 SV-7004 Y sh2 11.60 3.70 4.10 3.80 7.6 1.7 0.6 R2 0.40 0.43 0.26 0.20 0.32 0.46 CV 8 10 12 13 9 6 lsd 0.70 0.50 0.48 0.37 0.80 0.1 CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION BC-7182 BC se 13.75 5.00 4.50 4.25 7.6 1.5 0.6 BC-4885 BC se 12.75 5.00 4.00 3.75 7.5 1.4 0.4 Sir Galahad BC se 12.50 4.50 4.00 4.00 7.8 1.6 0.8 Rising Star W se 14.25 5.00 4.75 4.50 7.6 1.6 0.7 Silver King W se 12.75 4.75 4.00 4.00 7.7 1.4 0.5 Silver Queen W su 12.75 5.00 3.75 4.00 7.4 1.3 0.4 Snow Belle W se 12.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 7.1 1.5 0.6 WH-4487 W se 12.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 7.1 1.5 0.7 Silver Princess W se 11.00 2.67 4.33 4.00 7.2 1.5 0.6 Fantasia W se 10.00 4.00 3.25 2.75 7.2 1.4 0.6 XPH-3113 W se 9.25 3.00 3.25 3.00 6.5 1.5 0.7 WHT-2972 W se 8.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 6.4 1.6 0.6 R20.79 0.83 0.48 0.54 CV 11 11 16 16 lsd 1.87 0.92 0.87 0.79 'Quality rating is the suim of tip cover, ear fill, and eye appeal ratings. TABLE 4, CONTINUED. EAR CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Type Quality Tip cover Ear fill Eye appeal Ear length Ear diameter Cob diameter rating' rating 2 rating rating in in in UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Sir Galahad BC se 9.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 BC-4885 BC se 8.0 2.5 2.5 3.0 BC-7182 BC se 8.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 Silver King W se 11.5 3.5 4.0 4.0 WH-4487 W se 10.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 XPH-3113 W se 9.5 3.0 3.5 3.0 Rising Star W se 9.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Fantasia W se 8.0 2.5 3.0 2.5 Snow Belle W se 7.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 WHT-2972 W se 7.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 Silver Queen W se 7.0 2.5 2.0 2.5 Silver Princess W se 6.5 2.0 2.0 2.5 R 2 0.52 0.45 0.63 0.41 CV 23 24 23 28 lsd 4.1 1.5 1.4 1.7 'Quality rating is the sum of tip cover, ear fill, and eye appeal ratings. 2 Tip cover, ear fill, and eye appeal ratings: 5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = fair; 2 = poor; 1 = very poor. TABLE 5. RECOMMENDATION FOR DISPOSITION OF SWEET CORN EXPERIMENTALS 1 Experimental (Source) Type Disposition Comment BC-4585 (Novartis) BC se Keep Good ear quality and yield BC-7182 (Novartis) BC se Keep Good ear quality and yield GH-4881 (Novartis) Y se Sure Keep Good yield and ear quality GSS-3577 (Novartis) Y sh2 Keep Attractive; high yield XPH-3084 (Asgrow) Y sh2 Keep High yield despite plant growth, seem to be affected by extreme heat GSS-1526 (Novartis) Y sh2 Re-test Looks good SV-7004 (Seneca) Y sh2 Re-test Few tillers, looks good WH-4487 (Novartis) W se Drop Good yield, marginal ear quality WHT-2972 (Novartis) W se Drop Good yield, poor ear quality XPH-3113 (Asgrow) W se Drop Average yield, marginal ear quality 'Based only on 1998 trials SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 15 Watermelon Trial at the University of Georgia's Bamboo L.Farm, Savannah, GA George Boyhan, Darbie Granberry, and Pam Lewis Seventeen varieties were included in this trial (Table 1). There were six triploid (seedless) entries. This represents an important trend in the watermelon indus- try with the adoption of more triploid production. The remainder of the entries, with the exception of AU-Pro- ducer, were F, hybrids. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replica- tions. Each plot consisted of 10 hills with an in-row spac- ing of 5 feet and between-row spacing of six feet. Plots were fertilized according to University of Georgia soil test recommendations. Before planting the equivalent of 400 pounds per acre of 15-0-14 was broadcast over the field. Entries were seeded in the greenhouse onApril 6 and transplanted to the field on May 5. Curbit herbi- cide was applied after transplanting according to label directions. Plots were hand weeded once the first week of June. On June 22, an additional 400 pounds per acre of 15-0-14 were applied. Plots were overhead irrigated as needed. Watermelons were harvested twice on July 2 and 9. Each melon was weighed and the results recorded. In addition, two representative melons from each plot were chosen and additional measurements recorded. Additional measurements included length, width, rind thickness, soluble solids, and melon type (Table 2). TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL 1 Location UGA Bamboo Farm Weather 5 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 5 Overall 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. 16 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 2. WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL RESULTS (UGA BAMBOO FARM, NEAR SAVANNAH, GA Variety Market. Soluble Fruit distribution Fruit Fruit Fruit Rind Melon yield solids >30 30-21 20-11 <11 wt. length width thickn. type lbs/a. % % % % % lbs in in in Pinata 61,540 10.4 2 27 59 12 17.1 14.1 8.6 0.7 Allsweet StarBrite 60,971 10.3 0 22 69 9 16.3 12.9 8.6 0.6 Jubilee Arriba! 57,107 9.9 1 16 71 12 15.6 12.3 8.3 0.6 Jubilee Vista 55,289 10.6 1 30 57 12 17.5 12.2 8.8 0.6 Jubilee Stars'N Stripes 53,101 10.3 2 25 59 14 17.2 15.2 7.8 0.8 Jubilee StarGazer 53,053 9.8 0 24 66, 10 16.8 14.4 7.8 0.8 Allsweet SXW-5045 51,137 10.1 2 21 73 4 17.6 15.5 8.2 0.7 Allsweet Huck Finn 50,339 10.9 1 15 69 15 15.9 13.5 8.7 0.6 Jubilee Legacy 46,363 10.4 1 22 64 13 16.8 14.0 8.5 0.8 Allsweet Festival 39,630 9.4 1 27 66 6 17.1 15.0 8.1 0.7 Allsweet Wlht Constitution 34.209 9.7 0 0 50 50 11.2 8.9 8.0 0.5 Ice Box SeedlessSuse Revolution 26,405 10.4 0 5 68 27 13.6 13.1 8.1 0.7 Jubilee SeedlessSuse Sapphire 23,633 10.8 0 16 53 31 14.5 12.4 8.8 0.7 Ice Box Seedless Hla Freedom 22,984 10.6 0 10 81 9 14.7 13.1 8.2 0.6 Jubilee SeedlessSuse Boston 17,869 10.9 0 0 35 65 10.7 9.1 8.3 0.6 Ice Box SeedlessSuse Sterling 17,235 10.4 0 8 64 28 14.2 11.6 8.1 0.7 Jubilee Seedless Hla AU-Producer 12,627 9.4 0 11 54 35 13.0 10.2 8.8 0.7 Crimson SweetAurnUiest R20.42 0.26 CV 52 9 lsd 20,104 0.7 z CO m m m mI rI Interest Increases in Triploid Watermelon Edgar Vinson, Eric Simonne, Brian Gamble, Arnold Caylor, Joe Little, Randall Rawls, and Larry Wells Watermelon varieties were tested at the Wiregrass Sub- station (WS) in Headland, the Lower Coastal Plain Substa- tion (LCPS) in Camden, the Upper Coastal Plain Substation (UCPS) in Winfield, and the North Alabama Horticulture Substation (NAHS) in Cullman. Watermelons were established on plots consisting of two rows each 60 feet long and eight feet wide at a hill spacing of approximately 10 feet. Six-week-old transplants were established on April 9 at WS, April 30 at LCPS, May 15 at UCPS, and May 12 at NAHS. At WS, watermelons were transplanted on bare ground and were overhead irri- gated. At LCPS and UCPS, they were transplanted on bare ground and were drip irrigated. At NAHS, watermelons were planted on raised beds covered with white-plastic mulch and were drip irrigated. At LCPS, one ton per acre of lime and 13-13-13 fertil- izer at a rate of 300 lbs per acre were applied preplant. Am- monium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ) was sidedressed at a rate of 40 pounds of nitrogen (N) per acre at layby. Weed control was provided by an application of Poast on May 18 at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre and hand weeding on June 16. At UCPS, 30 pounds of N as Ca(NO3) 2 were preplant incorporated. Preemergence herbicide used was Poast (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 18. Alleys were hand- weeded as needed. An injection of 30 pounds of N per acre as Ca(NO3) 2 was made at fruit set on June 9. At NAHS, two separate fields were used: one for the diploid (seeded) variety test and one for the triploid (seed- less) variety test. Cultural practices were similar for both tests. Preplant fertilization consisted of an application of NH 4 NO 3 at a rate of 120 pounds of N per acre on April 24. Alanap 4L herbicide was applied on June 1 at a rate of eight quarts per acre. Other herbicides used were Round-Up Ul- tra on July 29 at a rate of 4.7 pints per acre and Gramoxone at a rate of 3.0 pints per acre on June 1. Fungicides used were Bravo Weather Stik at a rate of three pints per acre on June 9, June 26, and July 10; and Mankocide at a rate of 2.5 pounds per acre on May 23 and 29. Insecticides used were Adios (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on June 9; and Asana TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 WATERMELON VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location WS LCPS UPCS -NAHS 2 - 2x 3x Weather 5 5 5 5 5 Fertility 5 5 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 5 5 Pests 5 5 5 5 5 Overall 2 5 5 5 4 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. 2 2x = diploid test (seeded); 3x = triploid test ('seedless') XL (at a rate of six ounces per acre) on June 18, June 26, and July 10. Watermelons were once-over harvested on Juy 1 at LCPS, July 29 at UCPS, July 13 (diploid test) and July 28 (triploid test) at NAHS. Due to alow stand count, data from WS were not reported. Important characteristics for watermelons are market- able yield, sweetness, and rind thickness. Fruits were graded as described in the Watermelon Grader's Guide (Circular ANR 681 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Sys- tem) and marketable yield was determined. Two represen- tative melons were selected from each plot to be measured for soluble solids levels, which is often used to evaluate sweetness (Table 3). Due to uneven plant stand and low plant population, results of the WS test are not reported. Watermelons with soluble solid levels of less than 100 Brix do not taste sweet. Brix is a measure of sweetness. One degree Brix is equal to one gram of sugar in 100 grams of water. Jubilee, allsweet, and triploid varieties were evaluated separately. In both jubilee tests (LCPS and NAHS), yields of 'Crimson Glory' (the only Crimson-sweet type entry in 1998) were significantly lower than those of the top jubilee varieties. However, at both tests 'Crimson Glory' was the sweetest variety. Differences among yields of the jubilee entries were not significant. Yet, 'StarBrite' at LCPS and 18 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 19 'Arriba!' at NAHS were the best performers. 'Vista' was noticed as having the largest melons, the best flavor, and pleasant flesh texture. In the allsweet test (UCPS), the standard 'Royal Sweet' had significantly lower marketable yield than 'Regency' and 'Royal Star'. 'Fiesta', another older standard, also performed well. The two experimentals 'RWM-8036' and 'RWM-8052' had the lowest yields and the lowest soluble solid levels. This was mainly due to these two experimentals not being quite ripe on the day of harvest, when other entries were. Because of a longer day-to-maturity requirement, these two experimentals were not attractive. Thirteen triploid entries were evaluated this year. This reflects the increased interest for triploid melons by con- sumers, distributors, and brokers. The standard 'Tri-X 313' along with 'Tri-X Shadow' were the top performers, while only 'Van 3F-1004' has significantly lower yields. 'Ster- ling' had the largest mean fruit weight. Rind thickness is used as an indicator of shipping abil- ity and resistance to bruising and to splitting during han- dling. For all varieties, rind thickness ranged between 0.5 and 0.75 inch. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED WATERMELON VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Fruit Flesh Days to Disease Years shape color harvest claims 2 evaluated Arriba! Carnival Crimson Glory Desert King Favorite Ball Ferrari Fiesta Genesis Jubilee II Laurel Mardi Gras Regency Royal Flush Royal Star Royal Sweet RWM-8036 RWM-8052 Saphire SSC-46072 Stars'N Stripes Starbrite StarGazer Sterling Sugar Baby Tri-X 313 Tri-X Shadow Tri-X Sunrize Van 3F-855 Van 3F-1004 Van 3F-1404 Van 3F-1510 Van 3F-1564 Vista JU Fl Hollar AS Fl Novartis CS Fl Petoseed JU OP Kelly xxx Fl Van Diepen AS Fl Shamrock AS Fl Novartis xxx Fl Shamrock JU OP Asgrow xxx Fl SeedWay AS Fl Novartis AS Fl Petoseed AS Fl Petoseed AS Fl Petoseed AS Fl Petoseed AS Fl Novartis AS Fl Novartis CS Fl Hollar xxx F1 Shamrock JU F1 Asgrow JU F1 Asgrow AS Fl Asgrow xxx F1 Hollar IB OP Kelly xxx F1 American Sunmelon xxx F1 American Sunmelon xxx F1 American Sunmelon xxx F1 Van Diepen xxx F1 Van Diepen xxx F1 Van Diepen xxx F1 Van Diepen xxx F1 Van Diepen JU F1 Hollar Oblong Blocky Round Elongated Round Elongated Elongated Blocky Elongated Round Elongated Elongated Elongated Elongated Elongated Blocky Blocky Round Blocky Elongated Oblong Oblong Blocky Round Blocky Blocky Blocky Blocky Blocky Blocky Blocky Blocky Elongated Red Red Red Yellow Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red . = not available; - = none; from seed catalogues 'Fl = Hybrid; xxx = Triploid 2 Disease Claims: ANT = Anthracnose; FW = Fusarium Wilt 82 86 82 85 90 86 83 85 85 85 85 ANT,FW ANT,FW FW ANT,FW ANT,FW ANT,FW ANT,FW ANT,FW ANT,FW ANT,FW Fru. sha. ANTFW ANTFW ANT FW 97,98 97,98 96-98 98 98 97,98 97,98 98 97,98 94,98 97,98 94,96-98 98 98 94,96-98 98 98 98 98 97,98 97,98 98 98 94,98 96-98 96-98 96-98 98 98 98 98 98 98 =-- no vilbe - oe;fo se atlge rr . SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 19 E I n c TABLE 3. YIELD AND FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED WATERMELON VARIETIES Marketable Marketable Individual Soluble Hollow Variety Type Percent yield fruits fruit wt. solids heart stand lbs/a #/a lb o Brix in LOWER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION StarBrite Jubilee . 58,275 3,164 18 10.0 0 Jubilee II Jubilee . 55,315 2,997 19 8.4 0 Stars'n Stripes Jubilee . 54,298 3,404 16 10.6 0 Arriba! Jubilee . 53,835 3,275 16 7.9 0 Desert King Jubilee 50,320 3,293 15 7.9 0 Vista Jubilee 46,528 2,202 22 10.4 0 Sugar Baby Ice Box 21,460 1,795 12 11.4 0 Crimson Glory CS 9,990 1,036 10 11.4 0 R 2 0.73 0.79 CV 27 13 lsd 17,097 742 NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Arriba! Jubilee 99 51,436 2,868 18 12.0 0 StarBrite Jubilee 99 47,676 2,535 19 11.7 0 Star's N Stripes Jubilee 99 43,348 2,442 18 11.7 0 Vista Jubilee 50 41,766 1,850 23 12.6 0 Jubilee II Jubilee 99 34,322 1,739 20 11.1 0 Saphire Jubilee 99 32,542 2,165 16 11.8 0 Crimson Glory CS 98 28,562 1,351 21 12.4 0 R 2 0.51 0.65 0.50 CV 22 10 4 lsd 17,090 315 0.8 NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Tri-X 313 Triploid 73 29,766 1,961 15 10.6 25 Tri-X Shadow Triploid 75 29,034 2,146 14 10.9 0 Van 3F-1404 Triploid 70 27,521 2,627 10 10.3 50 Laurel Triploid 75 25,395 1,480 17 11.2 0 Sterling Triploid 68 24,654 1,184 21 9.6 75 Van 3F-855 Triploid 73 23,409 1,591 15 10.7 17 SSC-46072 Triploid 75 22,691 1,480 15 11.6 0 Van 3F-1564 Triploid 73 22,555 1,702 13 10.9 50 Tri-X Sunrise Triploid 75 20,747 1,332 16 10.3 83 Genesis Triploid 75 19,564 1,480 13 10.7 0 Favorite Ball Triploid 73 19,120 1,295 15 9.4 17 Van 3F-1510 Triploid 70 19,037 1,406 14 10.6 50 Van 3F-1004 Triploid 68 10,969 851 13 10.3 50 R 2 0.46 0.85 0.57 CV 35 10 4 lsd 18,590 266 1.0 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Regency Allsweet . 32,301 1,499 21 10.3 0 Royal Star Allsweet . 28,934 1,110 26 10.0 0 Fiesta Allsweet . 26,344 1,314 20 10.1 0 Royal Flush Allsweet . 25,086 1,295 19 9.7 0 Carnival Allsweet . 22,681 1,055 21 10.3 0 Mardi Gras Allsweet . 22,459 1,073 21 8.5 0 StarGazer Allsweet . 22,385 1,110 20 9.9 0 Royal Sweet Allsweet . 21,978 962 22 9.8 0 Ferrari Allsweet . 21,608 1,295 17 10.0 0 RWM-8036 Allsweet . 19,943 870 23 9.6 0 RWM-8052 Allsweet . 16,946 777 21 9.0 0 R 2 0.32 0.40 0.38 CV 29 15 8 lsd 9,918 334 1.2 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 20 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARiETY TRIALS 21 'EH-10091' Fresh-Market Tomato Performs Well in South and North Alabama Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Randy Akridge, Arnold Caylor, Ronnie McDaniel, and Malcomb Pegues Tomato variety trials were conducted at the Gulf Coast Substation (GCS), Brewton Experiment Field (BEF) in Brewton and the North Alabama Horticulture Substation (NAHS) in Cullman (Tables 1 and 2). Five-week-old tomatoes were transplanted on April 27 at GCS, May 1 at BEF, and May 11 at NAHS onto plastic- mulched, drip irrigated beds. At all locations, plots were 12-feet long and four-feet wide. Within-row spacing was 18 inches, which created an approximate stand of 5,800 plants per acre. Plants were staked and tied. At GCS tomato transplants were fertilized with 20-20- 20 on April 27. Nitrogen was applied at a rate of 50 pounds per acre as ammonium nitrate on May 28 and June 16. In- sect control was provided by applications of Sevin (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on May 4. Sevin was also applied at the rate of two pounds per acre on May 26 and June 16. Asana was used at the rate of 10 ounces per acre on June 24 and Thiodan on May 11, May 20, June 1, and June 8. The rates used for Thiodan were 1.5 pints per acre for May ap- plications and two pints per acre for June applications. Lannate LV was applied at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre on June 25 and July 14. Fungicides used were Bravo 720 (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on May 11, May 20, June 1, and June 8; and Bravo (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on May 4, May 26, June 16, June 24, June 30, and July 10. Poast and Prime Oil (2 pints per acre) herbicide was applied on May 13. At BEF, beds were fumigated with methyl bromide at a rate of 200 pounds per acre one week before transplant- ing. Pre-plant fertilizer (5-10-15) was applied at a rate of 500 lbs per acre on April 23. Between May 9 and July 6, fertilization consisted of weekly injections of either 10 pounds of N per acre as Ca(NO3) 2 (first two weeks) or 20 pounds per acre of nitrogen as KNO 3 (remaining nine weeks). Insect control was provided by applications of Sevin XLR (at a rate of two pints per acre) on July 15; Lannate (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 2, June 15, and July 21; and Dibrom (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 23. TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 TOMATO VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location GCS BEF NAHS Weather 5 5 5 Fertility 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 Pests 5 5 5 Overall 5 5 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Fungicides used were Terraclor 75WP at three pounds per 100 gallons of water (each plant received 0.5 pints of the mixture on July 4 and August 2); Benlate 50WP (at a rate of one pound per acre) on May 18 and June 2; and Bravo 720 (at a rate of two pints per acre) on May 18, June 2, June 15, June 23, July 15 and July 21. AtNAHS, preplant fertilization consisted of 120 pounds of N as NH 4 NO3 on May 28. Busan was applied preplant (at a rate of 67 gallons per acre) on April 28 for nematode control. Insecticide used were Adios (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on June 9; Lannate LV (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 18; Mattch (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 18; and Asana XL (at a rate of 9.6 ounces per acre) on July 31. Fungicides used were Bravo (at a rate of three pints per acre) on July 31; Bravo Weather - Stik (at a rate of three pints per acre) on June 9, June 26, and July 10; Quadris (at a rate of six ounces per acre) on July 3; and Man-Kocide (at a rate of 2.5 pounds per acre) on May 23, May 29, and June 18. Plots were harvested eight times (on June 23, June 29, July 2, July 6, July 9, July 13, July 16, and July 21) at GCS, four times at BEF (July 15, July 22, July 28, and August 3), and seven times (July 20, July 2, July 30, August 3, August 6, August 11, and August 17) at NAHS. At all locations, fruits were harvested at the breaker stage, weighed and graded. Grades and corresponding fruit diameters (D) of fresh-market tomato were adapted from the Tomato Grader's Guide (Circular ANR 643 from the SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETYTRIALS 21 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Alabama Cooperative Extension System) and were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-Large (D>2.9 inch), Large (D>2.5 inch), Medium (D>2.3 inch), and Small (others). For fresh-mar- ket varieties, yields of the first three harvests were used to evaluate early production (Table 3). Marketable yield was calculated by combining the Jumbo, Extra-Large, and Large grades (Table 4). Performance of Roma-type and Cherry entries are presented separately (Table 5). The list of entries in the south Alabama tests (GCS and BEF) were similar. The standards 'Sunpride' and 'Sunbeam' were among the top entries for early and total marketable yields at both locations. The old Florida standard 'Agriset 761' was out-yielded by most varieties. Yields of 'Florida 47' were high, although significantly lower that the four top entries at BEF. The experimental 'RFT-4413' show limited yield potential in this test, while 'EX-10091' appeared to be a high yielder. 'Marglobe' did not seem to be suited for com- mercial production in South Alabama. In North Alabama, the standard 'Mt. Pride' performed well, along with 'EX-10091'. 'RFT-4413' did not perform well. The yield of 'Merced' were surprisingly lower than those of other varieties, and than yields recorded in previ- ous years. Based on the results of these tests, the experimental 'EX-10091' should be definitely kept, while 'RFT-4413' should be tested may be under cooler conditions. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED TOMATO VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Plant Fruit Days to Disease Years habit 2 color harvest claims 3 evaluated Agriset 761 Fl FM UFI/Agrisales Det Red - - 97,98 Colonial Fl FM Petoseed Det Red 76 ASC,FW,St,VW 94,96-98 Emperador F1 FM Petoseed Det Red - - 98 EX-10091 Fl FM Asgrow Det Red - - 98 Florida 47 F1 FM Asgrow Det Red - - 97,98 Marglobe OP FM Kelly Det Red 70 ASC,FW*,VW* 98 Merced F1 FM Novartis Det Red 69 FW,TbMV,VW 94-98 Mt. Belle Fl Cherry SeedWay Det Red 65 FW,VW 96,98 Mt. Fresh Fl FM Ferry-Morse Det Red 75 FW,VW 96,98 Mt. Pride Fl FM Stokes Det Red 77 ASC,FW,St,VW 96,98 Mt. Spring Fl FM Novartis Det Red 69 FW,VW 94-98 RFF-4413 F1 FM Novartis Det Red - - 98 Shady Lady Fl FM Street/Sunseeds Det Red - - 98 Solar Set Fl FM Asgrow Det Red - SC,FW,St,VW 97,98 Springfield F1 FM Ferry-Morse Det Red - - 98 STM 3806 F1 Plum Sakata Det Red - - 98 Sunbeam Fl FM Asgrow Det Red 75 FW,VM 94-98 Sunbelt Fl FM Petoseed Det Red 72 ASC,FW,NE,St,VW 96-98 Sunbrite F1 FM Asgrow Det Red - ASC,FW,St,VW 98 Suncrest Fl FM Novartis Det Red - - 98 Sunleaper Fl FM Novartis Det Red 70 - 98 Sunpride Fl FM Asgrow Det Red 80 ASC,FW,St,VW 94-98 Sunstart F1 FM Asgrow Det Red - - 98 Tuscany F1 RO Johnny's Det Red 75 FW,NE,VW 98 - = not available; from seed catalogues 'Type: F1 = Hybrid; OP = Open pollinated; FM = Fresh Market; RO = Roma (Elongated fruits); Cherry = Small, round fruits; SA = Saladette 2 Plant Habit: Det = Determinate 3 Disease claims: FW = Fusarium Wilt; VW = Verticillium Wilt; ASC = Alternaria Stem Canker; ST = Stemphylium (gray leaf spot); NE = Root-knot Nematodes; TbMV = Tobacco Mosaic Virus; *racel only ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION22 TABLE 3. EARLY PRODUCTION' AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED FRESH-MARKET TOMATO VAI Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Variety Percent marketable wt. 3 jumbo wt. jumbo no. extra-large wt. extra-large no. large wt. large no.mediumswt. mediumsno. stand lbsa lbs/a #/a lbsa #alb/#alsa#a GULF COAST SUBSTATION Solar Set 97 6,716 1,516 1,997 4,247 7,986 953 2,904 EX-10091 94 5,971 3,040 3,812 2,677 5,264 254 726 Suncrest 88 5,717 1,588 1,997 2,641 4,719 1,488 4,175 Sunleeper 81 5,654 1,443 1,815 3,049 5,627 1,162 3,449 Florida 47 100 5,545 1,343 1,634 2,723 5,264 1,479 4,175 Agriset 761 94 5,055 653 908 2,650 5,445 1,751 5,445 Sunpride 100 5,055 917 1,271 3,349 6,534 790 2,360 Sunbelt 84 4,928 1,243 1,634 2,178 4,538 1,506 4,356 Colonial 100 2,251 572 726 1,125 2,178 554 1,634 R2 0.31 0.30 CV 39 89 lsd 2,951 1,767 BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Emperador 88 26,390 2,668 2,904 16,789 29,222 6,933 18,332 Sunstart 84 24,738 1,370 1,634 11,925 22,688 11,444 29,222 Sunbrite 81 22,439 653 726 13,667 24,684 8,118 21,236 1,8689 Sunpride 88 20,700 699 726 12,542 21,962 7,460 19,602 3591,9 Sunbeam 81 20,246 1,398 1,452 12,469 21,236 6,380 15,972 1,6453 Florida 47 81 19,756 898 1,089 13,631 24,503 5,227 13,613 1,2567 Shady Lady 88 19,094 599 726 12,533 23,051 5,962 15,428 2,1834 RFT-4413 88 12,669 299 363 7,206 13,613 5,164 14,157 2,5834 Agriset 761 84 9,202 327 363 6,035 10,890 2,840 7,260 5,2349 Marglobe 84 3,312 145 182 1,425 2,723 1,742 4,538 1,4453 R20.63 0.29 CV 34 145 lsd 8,800 1,867 'Combined productions of the first three harvests at each location. 2 Grades and corresponding fruit diameters (D) for fresh-market tomato were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-large (D>2.9 inch), Large (D>2.5 inch),Mdu D23ic) n Small (others). 3 Marketable production calculated by combining the Jumbo, Extra-Large and, Large grades 0 CO CO cx m 0 m r m WA TABLE 3, CONTINUED. EARLY PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED FRESH-MARKET TOMATO VARIETIES Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Variety Percent marketable wt. 3 jumbo wt. jumbo no. extra-large wt. extra-large no. large wt. large no. medium wt. medium no. stand lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION EX-1009 100 37,313 24,974 38,115 11,059 25,773 1,280 4,356 2,917 5,808 Mt. Pride 94 36,213 11,286 20,147 20,604 50,820 4,323 15,065 3,487 14,702 Springfield 97 33,532 16,466 27,225 15,774 35,211 1,292 5,445 3,630 8,349 Mt. Fresh 100 31,779 15,961 27,044 13,251 32,307 2,566 8,168 3,659 6,353 Mt. Spring 100 29,675 12,636 21,780 14,280 28,677 2,759 8,894 2,490 9,438 Florida 47 97 28,169 13,711 24,866 12,669 27,770 1,790 6,353 2,189 7,805 Sunpride 100 24,354 10,750 22,143 11,520 27,225 2,084 6,716 1,526 4,901 RFT-4413 97 21,183 8,667 15,609 11,266 26,136 1,251 4,538 2,067 5,808 Merced 97 21,105 11,258 14,157 7,467 17,061 2,379 7,623 4,175 11,798 R 2 0.56 0.84 CV 31 32 lsd 14,851 9,683 'Combined productions of the first three harvests at each location. 2 Grades and corresponding fruit diameters (D) for fresh-market tomato were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-large (D>2.9 inch), Large (D>2.5 inch), Medium (D>2.3 inch) and Small (others). 3 Marketable production calculated by combining the Jumbo, Extra-Large, and Large grades TABLE 4. TOTAL PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED FRESH-MARKET TOMATO VARIETIS 2 Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual Variety Percent marketable wt. 3 jumbo wt. jumbo no. extra-large wt. extra-large no. large wt. large no. medium wt. medium no. cull fruit wt. stand lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a lb GULF COAST SUBSTATION Florida 47 100 35,383 3,185 3,993 18,232 36,845 13,966 39,749 2,949 11,616 6,688 0.55 EX-10091 94 34,431 8,766 11,072 21,363 41,019 4,302 12,524 753 3,086 4,565 0.47 Sunpride 100 32,797 1,325 1,815 17,596 35,030 13,876 39,749 5,608 22,325 3,902 0.54 Solar Set 97 32,008 3,176 4,175 18,413 35,211 10,418 28,677 3,557 13,794 4,565 0.52 Sunleeper 81 27,071 2,732 3,449 16,544 32,670 7,795 22,869 2,360 9,620 4,801 0.51 Agriset 761 94 24,974 1,488 1,997 14,702 29,040 8,785 25,410 3,303 13,250 8,766 0.51 Colonial 100 19,820 735 908 12,451 23,595 6,634 19,058 2,396 9,983 10,727 0.53 'Combined total production of eight harvests at GCS, four at BEF, and.seven at NAHS. 2 Grades and corresponding fruit diameters (D) were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-large (D>2.9 inch), Large (D>2.5 inch), Medium (D>2.3 inch), and Small (others). 3 Marketable production and individual fruit weight calculated by combining the Jumbo, Extra-Large, and Large grades 0 0 C 1> H r- m x -D mx m z -I 0 z TABLE 4, CONTINUED. TOTAL PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED FRESH-MARKET TOMATO VARIETIES Variety Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Idvda Percent marketable wt.2 jumbo wt. jumbo no. extra-large wt. extra-large no. large wt. large no. medium wt. medium no. cull friwt stand lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a l GULF COAST SUBSTATION, continued Suncrest 88 18,023 2,686 3,449 9,511 17,606 5,826 16,517 2,169 8 Sunbelt 84 16,453 1,370 1,815 8,594 17,061 6,489 18,513 2,378 R2 0.58 0.60 CV 25 79 lsd 9,885 3,248 BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Emperador 88 36,799 2,668 2,904 21,680 39,204 12,451 33,215 8,658 2, Sunbrite 81 28,183 653 726 16,362 29,766 11,168 29,222 3,959 1 Sunstart 84 27,588 1,370 1,634 12,732 24,321 13,485 34,848 10,518 29 Sunbeam 81 27,352 1,398 1,452 16,417 28,133 9,538 23,958 3,276 9,0!205 06 Sunpride 88 25,428 699 726 13,966 24,866 10,763 27,225 6,815 19,3017 06 Florida 47 81 25,229 898 1,089 16,634 30,311 7,696 20,328 3,449 10,0,21 05 Shady Lady 88 23,414 599 726 14,003 25,955 8,812 23,414 4,674 13,9,44 05 Agriset 761 84 18,332 27 363 10,790 20,147 7,215 19,602 8,140 11,3 921 05 RFT-4413 88 16,217 299 363 8,276 15,972 7,641 21,054 5,663 15,7,47 06 Margiobe 84 4,084 145 182 1,688 3,267 2,251 5,990 2,7866,3 1504 .9 R20.65 0.29 CV 30 143 Isd 10,143 1,867 NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION 23,252 39,930 35,877 55,539 13,044 23,595 20,197 33,578 19,032 34,304 13,300 26,862 31,746 21,257 29,365 24,127 21,571 24,299 74,778 49,550 76,956 53,906 49,550 53,724 7,745 24,684 2,690 8,168 8,434 29,040 3,483 12,705 4,057 13,794 4,572 15,065 3,659 6,353 10,226 0.37 2,917 5,808 9,071 0.37 3,487 14,702 11,404 0.34 3,630 8,349 9,010 037 2,189 7,805 7,739 0.35 1,526 4,901 4,632 0.36 RFT-4413 97 40,877 12,910 22,506 23,787 55,358 4,180 14,339 2,067 5 Mt. Spring 100 35,529 13,778 23,777 17,939 39,386 3,812 12,887 2,490 9 Merced 97 27,243 12,460 16,335 11,485 25,592 3,298 10,346 4,175 11 R2 0.56 0.85 CV 28 31 lsd 20,386 11,601 'Combined total production of eight harvests at GCS, four at BEF, and seven at NAHS. 'Grades and corresponding fruit diameters (D) were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-large (D>2.9 inch), Large (D>2.5 inch), Medium (D>2.3 inch), and Small ohr) 'Marketable production and individual fruit weight calculated by combining the Jumbo. Extra-Large, and Large grades z CD C m m m HD m Mt. Fresh EX-10091 Mt. Pride Springfield Florida 47 Sunpride 100 100 94 97 97 100 62,743 59,824 50,844 47,807 44,660 42,172 U7 i 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 5. EARLY AND TOTAL YIELD OF SELECTED CHERRY AND SALADETTE TOMATO VARIETIES AT THE NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Percent Early Total Individual Variety stand marketable wt. marketable fruit wt. lbs/a lbs/a lb. Tuscany 100 56,044 82,700 0.23 STM-3806 94 38,151 57,160 0.20 Mt. Belle 100 49,920 47,030 0.04 R 2 0.56 0.56 CV 31 28 lsd 14,851 20,386 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 27 North Mississippi Strawberry Trials Kent Cushman and Thomas Horgan This study was located at the North Mississippi Re- search and Extension Center in Verona, Mississippi, on a Quitman silt loam soil. Three cultivars of strawberries were planted into a plasticulture production system in a random- ized complete block design with four replications. Plant beds were formed six inches high and 30 inches wide at the top with a press-pan-type bed shaper. Methyl bromide fumigant was applied during bed formation at the rate of 350 pounds per acre. Preplant fertilizer was banded in both sides of the plant bed at the rate of 2.5 pounds of 9- 18-21 (N-P 2 0-K20O) per 100 feet of row. Black plastic mulch and drip irrigation tubing were installed immediately after bed formation. Fresh-dug 'Chandler' plants were obtained from a Cali- fornia nursery. Fresh-dug 'Pelican' and 'MSUS-572' plants were obtained from Barbara Smith's breeding program lo- cated in Poplarville, Mississippi. 'Pelican' and 'MSUS-572' have been developed for resistance to common anthracnose. 'Chandler' plants arrived with leaves trimmed, but 'Pelican' and 'MSUS-572' leaves were not trimmed. All plants were hand-planted through the plastic on October 20. Sprinkler irrigation was applied daily for a week to favor plant estab- lishment. Plants were spaced 12 inches apart in double rows also spaced 12 inches apart. Plots were 15 feet long and five feet wide. There was no need for insect or disease control through- out the study. Water or fertilizer solution was applied through the drip tape on an as-needed basis. Fertilizer was applied by injecting a concentrated fertilizer solution (13.3 ounces of a high-grade soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon of water) at a 1:200 ratio to achieve a final N concentration of 100 ppm in the irrigation water. Frost protection was provided by sprinkler irrigation on three separate occasions from early to late March. Some plantings were also covered with light-weight row cover in addition to the sprinkler frost protection. The row covers, however, did not provide significantly greater protection for early yields (data not shown). Harvest began April 6 and ended June 3 for a total of 25 harvests. Our picking schedule was Monday, Wednes- day, and Friday, and few days were missed throughout the two-month harvest period. Fruit from each plot was sepa- rated into marketable and cull and then counted and weighed. 'Chandler' produced the greatest total yield and had the greatest percentage of marketable fruit. 'Chandler' is a well-known cultivar that is grown throughout the South- east. It had excellent color and flavor. 'Chandler' exhibited noticeably fewer leaf spots throughout the spring produc- tion season despite the anthracnose resistance claimed for the other two entries. 'Pelican' and 'MSUS-572' produced many hollow ber- ries and berries with tips that split open. In fact, the prob- lem was severe enough with 'MSUS-572' that picking was discontinued after the 14th harvest. This was unfortunate because the early yield of 'MSUS-572' was significantly higher than that of 'Chandler' or 'Pelican'. 'Pelican' berries are colored slightly orange, compared to 'Chandler' or 'MSUS-572' berries. TABLE 1. STRAWBERRY MARKETABLE YIELD AT THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER Entry Total Yield' Early Yield 2 Total Marketable 3 Berry wt. Early Marketable 3 Berry wt. lbs/a % oz lbs/a % oz Chandler 16,740 76 0.68 2,690 81 0.95 Pelican 12,110 64 0.62 2,250 73 0.82 MSUS-572 8,010 68 0.73 5,570 78 0.82 R 2 0.91 0.63 0.80 0.69 CV 10 5 26 8 lsd 1,330 0.04 840 0.07 'Total yield of 25 harvests. 2 Yield of first 10 harvests. 3 Relative number of marketable fruit as the percentage of total number harvested (marketable plus culls). SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 27 'King Arthur' and 'EXH-12261' Bell Pepper Best-Performers Under Hot Weather Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Jim Bannon, Jason Burkett, and Arnold Caylor Bell pepper variety trials were conducted at the E.V. Smith Research Center (EVSRC) in Shorter and the North Alabama Horticulture Substation (NAHS) in Cullman (Tables 1 and 2). Five-week-old peppers were transplanted on four-foot wide, drip-irrigated, and plastic-mulched beds. Peppers were established in double staggered rows one foot apart, at a within-row spacing of one foot, which created a stand of approximately 15,000 plants per acre. Planting dates were May 13 at EVSRC, May 13 at NAHS, and May 5 at UCPS. At EVSRC, beds were fumigated with 98% Methyl Bromide + 2% Chloropicrin at a rate of 200 pounds per acre. Preplant fertilization consisted of 387 pounds of cal- cium nitrate (15.5-0-0) on March 26. Fertilization consisted of alternating injections of 9-0-0 (liquid calcium nitrate) and 20-20-20 twice per week at the rate of five pounds per application (10 pounds of N per week) beginning May 26 through July 23. Mannex and Kocide fungicides were applied once weekly at a rate of two quarts per acre and two pounds per acre, respectively. Other fungicides used were Bravo 720 (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 3 and 7; Dithane F- 45 (at a rate of 2.4 quarts per acre) on June 18, June 21, June 28, and July 3; and Kocide 101 (at a rate of three pounds per acre) on June 18, June 21, and July 3. Insect control was provided by applications of Dimethoate (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 7; Asana XL (at a rate of 9.6 ounces per acre) on June 3, June 7, June 11, June 21, June 23, July 3, July 6, July 12, July 19, July 26, and August 2; Thiodan (at a rate of 2.5 pounds per acre) on July 12, 20, and 28; and Lannate (at a rate of three pints per acre) on July 19, July 26, and August 2. AtNAHS, following soil tests results, peppers received 80 pounds of Nitrogen per acre as ammonium nitrate. Be- ginning after transplanting and through final harvest, bell peppers were fertilized with weekly injections, alternatively of calcium nitrate and ammonium nitrate at a rate five pounds of N per acre each injection. This resulted in a total N appli- cation of approximately 140 pounds of N per acre. Weed TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 BELL PEPPER VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location WS EVSRC NAHS UCPS Weather 2 3 4 4 Fertility 5 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 5 Pests 5 5 5 5 Overall 1 4 4 4 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. control consisted of an application of Gramoxone (at a rate of three pints per acre) on June 2. Insect control was pro- vided by applications of Adios (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on June 9; and Asana XL (at a rate of 9.6 ounces per acre) on July 3. Fungicide applications consisted of Mankocide (at a rate of 2.5 pounds per acre) on May 23 and 29; Bravo Weather Stik (at a rate of three pints per acre) on June 9; and Quadris (at a rate of six ounces per acre) on July 3. Harvest dates were July 9, July 13, July 28, August 12, and August 13 at EVSRC; and June 4, July 28, August 5, and August 17 at NAHS. At all locations, fruits were har- vested at the specified color stage, weighed and graded (Tables 3 and 4) using the standards of the Sweet Pepper Grader's Guide (Circular ANR-783 of the Alabama Coop- erative Extension System). The green varieties were har- vested at the mature green stage, while the colored were harvested at the 1/3 to 2/3 colored stage. The brutal change in temperature during early spring did not allow most bell pepper plantings to develop good plant architecture and foliage. As a result, plants in many fields started blooming when they reached only 16 to 18 inches. Night temperatures consistently above 80?F for most of the summer partially inhibited flowering. All trials were irrigated, but the effect of elevated temperature could not be alleviated, even when white plastic was used. As a result, marketable yields and individual pod weights were overall lower than expected. 28 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Most differences between variety performance were the worse. Yet, it should be noted that 'X3R Aladdin' is one not significant. For the green market, the Fall standard 'King of the few yellow varieties that have resistance to BLS (bac- Arthur' performed well at EVSRC and NAHS. The experi- terial leaf spot) races 1,2, and 3. With the exception of 'Purple mental 'EXH-12261' performed well, while 'C-64' seem Beauty', all colored varieties developed skin color accord- to be affected by the heat. No reliable conclusion can be ingly to the description of the variety characteristics. 'Purple made for either experimental and both should be re-evalu- Beauty' was black in color (like 'Black Bird'), while it is ated in early or late plantings in 1999. Among the yellow described as a purple variety. 'Peco' and 'Firenza' turned varieties, 'Admiral' performed the best, and 'X3R Aladdin' out to be jalapeno varieties. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED BELL PEPPER VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Color 2 Days to Disease Years harvest tolerance/resistance 3 evaluated Admiral F1 Novartis G-Y 76 BLS(1,2), PVY, TbMV 95-98 Aladdin XR3 Fl Petoseed G-Y - BLS(1,2,3), TBV, TbEV 98 Black Bird Fl Stokes G-Bk-R 73 - 94-98 Blue Jay F1 Stokes P-R 73 - 94-98 Brigadier F1 Novartis G-R 71 LS(123), PVY 98 CA-64 F1 Shamrock G-R - - 98 Camelot X3R F1 Petoseed G-R 74 BLS(1,2,3), TbMV 94-98 Canary Fl Stokes G-Y 72 TbMV 94-98 Enterprise Fl Asgrow G-R 77 BLS(1,2,3), TbMV 95-98 EXH-12261 Fl Asgrow G-R - - 98 Firenza Fl Novartis Jalapeno - - 98 Golden Giant II Fl Burpee G-Y 72 - 98 King Arthur Fl Petoseed G-R 72 BLS(2), PVY, TbEV 94-98 TbMV Lilac Fl Novartis P-R 68 TbMV 94-98 Paladin F1 Novartis G-R - - 98 Pecos Fl Novartis Jalapeno - - 98 Purple Beauty OP Petoseed Bk-R 74 TbMV 96-98 Sentry Fl Novartis G-R 70 BLS(1,2), PVY, Stip 97,98 TbMV Var. #860 Fl Novartis G-Y - - 94,97,98 Yorktown Fl Asgrow G-R - - 98 'Fl=Hybrid; OP=Open Pollinated; 2 Color: Bk=Black; Br=Brown; G=Green; O=Orange; Pk=Pink; R=Red; W=White; Y=Yellow; P=Purple. 3 Disease tolerance/resistance; BLS=Bacterial Leaf Spot; PVY=Potato Virus Y; TbEV=Tobacco Etch Virus; TbMV=Tobacco Mosaic Virus; TBV=Tobamovirus SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 29 TABLE 3. EARLY PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED BELL PEPPERVARIETIES Skin Percent Early Early Early Early Early Early Early Variety color stand marketable wt. fancy wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt.. fancy no. US#1 no. US#2 no. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER Var. #860 Yellow 100 14,941 136 11,649 3,156 1,196 147,857 Purple Beauty Black 100 14,793 1,507 8,501 4,785 2,436 109,098 Blue Jay Purple 100 14,589 421 10,883 3,285 2,871 134,459 Black Bird Black 100 14,412 2,876 8,091 3,445 6,388 95,540 King Arthur Green 100 14,240 557 11,395 2,287 4,307 127,760 Admiral Yellow 100 13,245 538 10,352 2,354 5,024 107,902 EXH-12261 Green 100 11,884 0 9,304 2,579 0 99,528 Lilac Purple 100 11,766 108 9,422 2,237 718 119,864 Golden Giant II Yellow 100 11,410 57 7,962 3,390 479 101,442 CA-64 Green 100 10,711 206 8,053 2,452 1,436 99,050 Enterprise Green 100 9,501 124 6,876 2,500 718 92,111 Sentry Green 100 7,682 122 5,280 2,280 718 66,990 X3R Aladin Yellow 100 7,599 74 4,192 3,333 718 55,985 Canary Yellow 100 7,496 447 4,756 2,292 3,110 68,904 Brigadier Green 100 5,685 0 3,861 1,823 0 53,592 R 2 0.25 0.24 0.26 CV 53 314 426 lsd 8,581 2,139 23,713 NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Pecos Jalapeno 93 22,168 20,788 1,380 Firenza Jalapeno 96 18,282 17,250 1,032 . King Arthur Green 97 15,733 6,866 7,516 1,351 17,400 23,055 5,873 CA-64 Green 98 13,847 7,354 5,136 1,357 18,923 15,116 4,241 Purple Beauty Black 94 12,883 1,253 6,247 5,383 3,480 22,076 27,840 Paladin Green 96 11,758 5,385 4,697 1,676 11,310 16,856 6,851 Yorktown Green 98 11,588 5,541 4,742 1,306 14,029 20,663 5,220 X3R Camelot Green 98 11,243 6,269 4,143 830 14,790 12,833 3,154 X3R Aladin Yellow 96 6,425 3,924 1,828 673 10,549 8,048 2,828 R 2 0.48 0.79 CV 38 43 lsd 7,540 5,152 'Cumulative productions of the first three harvests at EVSRC; and first harvest at NAHS. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION30 TABLE 4. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED BELL PEPPER VARIETIES Skin Percent Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Variety color stand marketable wt.' fancy wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. cull fancy no. US# 2. n ft lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a /a #/a #/a E. V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER King Arthur Green 100 23,121 983 17,391 4,747 28,815 7,656 187,333 EXH-12261 Green 100 22,903 242 16,709 5,953 31,660 1,196 180,395 Blue Jay Purple 100 21,255 421 14,176 6,658 29,267 2,871 174,653 Purple Beauty Purple 100 20,111 1,565 11,084 7,462 22,978 3,110 137,330 Var 860 Yellow 100 19,578 333 14,274 4,972 24,987 2,632 179,677 Admiral Yellow 100 18,236 601 13,087 4,548 26,164 5,503 138,526 Enterprise Green 100 17,949 352 11,960 5,637 23,513 957 149,531 Black Bird Black 100 17,382 2,876 9,728 4,778 21,152 6,388 116,115 Lilac Purple 100 15,881 108 11,967 3,806 21,934 718 147,617 Sentry Green 100 15,487 156 9,560 5,771 23,872 957 116,993 .01 X3RAladin Yellow 100 14,963 677 8,790 5,496 21,786 5,742 100,964 .01 CA-64 Green 100 14,199 426 10,551 3,223 24,466 3,828 123,692 .01 Brigadier Green 100 13,743 1,081 7,950 4,711 20,662 5,264 91,872 .02 Golden Giant II Yellow 100 13,254 57 8,826 4,371 13,252 479 112,687 .01 Canary Yellow 100 12,573 775 7,192 4,606 20,178 6,221 100,007 .01 R20.23 0.22 0.25 CV 40 218 306 lsd 10,003 2,205 24,102 NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Pecos Jalapeno King Arthur Green CA-64 Green Paladin Green X3R Aladin Yellow X3R Camelot Green Yorktown Green 93 97 98 96 96 98 98 33,741 30,554 30,397 29,297 29,087 27,891 25,213 91 1 7n 32,361 12,090 14,061 10,810 10,294 14,295 9,578 7.7. 1 11 1,380 14,201 11,920 13,154 14,830 10,239 11,049 1 (_ 4,264 4,415 5,333 3,963 3,357 4,586 4,102 5,683 6,594 5,010 4,405 5,018 30,776 38,389 26,209 27,405 34,583 24,686 42,521 37,845 46,219 36,758 33,278 41,325 18,923 17,835 23,599 18,053 16,421 19,466 0.39 0.35 0.42 0.37 0.40 0.39 Purple Beauty Black 94 16,556 1,929 7,581 7,046 9,362 5,438 26,753 R2 0.38 0.77 CV 26 36 lsd 10,144 7,422 'Marketable yield and individual fruit weight were determined by combining the fancy and the US#1 grades. C,) z 0 CO 00 m 0 m H m r~j H, iC,, 32 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION North Mississippi Yellow Squash Trials Kent Cushman and Thomas Horgan This study was located at the North Mississippi Re- search and Extension Center in Verona, Mississippi, on a Quitman silt loam soil. Ten cultivars of yellow crookneck and semi-crookneck squash (Table 1) were planted in a ran- domized complete block design with four replications. Plant beds were formed six inches high and 30 inches across the top with a press-pan-type bed shaper. Methyl bro- mide fumigant was applied during bed formation at the rate of 350 pounds per acre. Preplant fertilizer was banded in both sides of the plant bed at the rate of six pounds of 9-13- 24 (N-P 2 0s-K 2 O) per 100 feet of row. White-on-black plas- tic mulch, white side up, and drip irrigation tubing was in- stalled immediately after bed formation. Seeds were planted through the plastic on June 15 by hand. Plants were spaced 24 inches apart in plots 18 feet long and eight feet wide, making a total of 360 plants in this study (nine plants x ten cultivars x four replications). Asana XL or Thiodan EC were mixed with Bravo WS and sprayed on a seven- to 10-day schedule with an air- blast sprayer for insect and disease control. Water or fertil- izer solution was applied through the drip tape on an as- needed basis. Fertilizer was applied by injecting a concen- trated fertilizer solution (13.3 ounces of a high-grade soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon of water) at a 1:200 ratio for a final N concentration of 100 ppm in the irrigation water. Harvest began July 13 and ended August 7 for a total of 12 harvests. Our picking schedule was Monday, Wednes- day, and Friday and no days were missed throughout the harvest period. Fruit from each plot was separated by length into categories of small (4-5 inches), medium (5-6 inches), large (6-7 inches), and cull, and then counted and weighed. Small and medium fruit were considered US #1 and large fruit US #2 (Table 2). Plants damaged by wind early in the season were the major cause of plant loss. TABLE 1. SEED SOURCE OF SELECTED YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES Entry Seed source Precocious' Bandit Abbott & Cobb Y Destiny III 2 Asgrow N Dixie Asgrow N Gentry Novartis/Rogers N Goldie Petoseed N Medallion Abbott & Cobb N Prelude Asgrow N Sundance Wax N Supersett Harris Y Suwannee Sunseeds N 'Entries with the precocious trait have enhanced yellow color of the fruit and the stems attached to the fruit. This trait tends to mask symptoms when virus is present. Y = yes; N = no. 2 Destiny III is a transgenic cultival having gene introduced to resistance to three common virus diseases. 32 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 2. MARKETABLE YIELD OF SELECTED YELLOW SQUASH VARIETIES AT THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER Entry Total Yield' Early Yield 2 Total 3 US #1 Marketable 4 Avg. wt Total US #1 lbs/a lbs/a % oz lbs/a lbs/a Medallion 14,050 10,350 86 2.8 4,100 2710 Supersett 13,270 9,800 92 2.6 4,960 3560 Sundance 12,610 9,180 78 2.6 5,030 3430 Goldie 12,460 9,010 83 2.6 4,620 3160 Prelude 12,430 9,010 84 2.7 3,630 2310 Destiny III 12,100 8,500 83 2.7 4,000 3040 Bandit 12,100 9,190 91 2.6 3,840 2900 Dixie 11,640 8,410 83 2.7 3,720 2590 Suwanne 11,600 8,540 87 2.6 3,830 2820 Gentry 11,250 8,540 86 2.7 3,530 2470 R 2 0.68 CV 5 lsd 6 'Total yield of 12 harvests. 2 Yield of first four harvests. 3 US #1 and US #2. 4 Relative number of marketable fruit as the percentage of total number harvested (marketable plus culls). 5 Average fruit weight of US #1 squash. Average of 12 harvests. SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 33 34 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 'Gentry', 'Picasso' and 'Dixie' Lead in Summer Squash Variety Trial Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Randy Akridge, Jim Bannon, Jason Burkett, and Randall Rawls Yellow (crookneck and straightneck) and zucchini (green and yellow) squash variety trials were conducted at the Brewton Experiment Field in Brewton (BEF), the Hor- ticulture Unit at the E.V. Smith Research Center (EVSRC) near Shorter, and the Upper Coastal Plain Substation (UCPS) in Winfield (Tables 1 and 2). At BEF and EVSRC, squash were direct seeded at a one-inch depth in single-row, five-foot wide and 20-foot long plots. In-row spacing was 18 inches, which provided a stand of approximately 6,000 plants per acre. At UCPS, double, staggered rows were planted six inches from the drip tape which resulted in a stand of approximately 12,000 plants per acre. Yields were corrected for stand. All trials were drip irrigated and the beds were covered with black- plastic mulch. At BEF, beds were fumigated with 200 pounds per acre of methyl bromide on April 23. Preplant fertilization consisted of 500 pounds of per acre of 5-10-15 on April 23. Between May 9 and June 15 plants were fertilized alterna- tively with 20 pounds per acre of N as KNO 3 or Ca(NO3) 2 . Fungicides used were Bravo 720 (at a rate of two pints per acre) and Benlate 50 WP (at a rate of one pound per acre) on May 18, June 2, and June 15. Insect control consisted of applications of Lanate LV (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 2 and 15. At EVSRC, preplant fertilization consisted of 387 pounds of calcium nitrate on March 26 and injections alter- natively of 9-0-0 (liquid calcium nitrate) and 20-20-20 twice per week at the rate of five pounds of N per injection begin- ning May 14 through July 23. Mannex fungicide was ap- plied once weekly at a rate of 1.6 quarts per acre. Insect control was provided by applications of Asana (at a rate of 9.6 ounces per acre) on May 23 and June 23; and Thiodan (at a rate of 2.5 pints per acre) on June 2. At UCPS, preplant fertilization consisted of 60 pounds of N per acre. Between May 12 and June 23, plants were fertilized alternatively with four pounds per acre of 20-20- 20 and 0.5 pound of N per acre as potassium nitrate. Since there was no pest pressure, no fungicide or herbicides were necessary. TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 SQUASH VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location BEF EVSRC UCPS Weather 4 5 5 Fertility 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 Pests 5 5 5 Overall 5 5 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Frequent harvests are needed for summer squash to remain 'fairly young and fairly tender', which are neces- sary characteristics for squash to be graded as US#1. Hence, fruits were harvested six times between June 8 and June 19 at BEF, nine times between June 5 and 24 at EVSRC, and six times between June 10 and 22 at UCPS. Plants were still bearing marketable when all tests were ended. At harvest, fruits were graded as US#1, US#2, or cull according to the United States Standards for Grades of Summer Squash (U.S. Dept. Agr. G.P.O. 1987-180-916:40730 AMS). Marketable yield was calculated by adding the US#1 and US#2 yields. Earliness (Tables 3a,b,c) was evaluated by combining the yields of the first four harvests. Total production (Tables 4a,b,c) was also determined. Because squash were planted early and only need ap- proximately 50 days from seed to first harvest, squash tests did not suffer from the heat. Due to late arrivals in seeds, 'Dixie' was not included in the crookneck test at BEF. As in previous years, 'Gentry' and 'Picasso' had the highest early and total marketable yield. The transgenic variety 'Libera- tor III' was also among the top three varieties. Yields of 'Liberator II' and 'Prelude II' were significantly higher than those of 'Destiny III'. Virus pressure was low to non-exis- tent in this test conducted in the early spring. Therefore, results reflect the actual horticultural potential of each vari- ety. At UCPS where no virus were observed, 'Dixie' was the top performer. Only our straightneck varieties were evaluated this year. While 'Sunbar' significantly out performed 'Lemondrop L' 34 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 35 for early and total yield, 'XPHT-1740' was the top yielder at UCPS. 'Seneca Supreme' had significantly lower early and total yields than 'XPHT-1740' and 'Lemondrop L'. Yellow and medium-green zucchini varieties were evaluated. All entries showed good plant vigor. All the green entries were medium green, with the exception of 'ZS-7', 'XPHT-1784' and 'XPHT-1814' (medium-dark), and 'XPHT-1776' (medium-light). At EVSRC, blossom-end rot (BER) was visible on fruits of 'Seneca Zucchini', 'RSQ-496', 'Caiman', and 'Spine- less Beauty'. The variety the worst affected by BER was 'RSQ-494'. Since BER is a disorder directly related to cal- cium supply and indirectly related to water uptake, this ob- servation reveals differences in these varieties for calcium uptake efficiency. None of the yellow zucchini were affected by BER. 'Golden Dawn II' was the top yielder in the yellow- zucchini group and had the most attractive fruits. In the green group, 'Seneca Zucchini', 'ZS-7', 'RSQ- 494', and the standard 'Spineless Beauty' had significantly higher early marketable yield, while 'RSQ-494, 'Sensation', 'Seneca Zucchini', and 'XPHT-1776' had significantly higher total marketable yield. Overall, the top yielders were 'RSQ-494' and 'Seneca Zucchini'. No significant differences were observed between va- rieties at UCPS. 'Dividend' was the top early yielder and 'Caiman' had the highest total yield. Based on all these results, recommendation or disposi- tions of experimentals were made (Table 5). TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT TYPE, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED SQUASH VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Days to Disease Years harvest claims 2 evaluated YELLOW CROOKNECK Crescent F1 Novartis 45 - 94-98 Destiny 113 Fl Asgrow - CMV,WMV,ZYMV 97-98 Dixie F1 Asgrow 41 - 94-96,98 Gentry F1 Novartis - - 95-98 Goldie Fl Petoseed 43 - 94-98 Horn of Plenty Fl Hollar - - 98 Liberator 1113 Fl Asgrow 42 CMV,WMV,ZYMV 97-98 Meigs 4 F1 Asgow 41 - 96-98 Picasso Fl Ferry-Morse 40 - 96-98 Prelude Fl Asgrow 40 PM 97-98 Prelude II Fl Asgrow 40 PM,WMV,ZYMV 97-98 Sunbrite F1 Novartis 43 95-98 Sundance F1 Petoseed 45 - 94-98 Sunglo Fl Novartis - - 98 YELLOW STRAIGHTNECK Lemondrop L F1 Asgrow 41 - 94-96,98 Seneca Supreme F1 Solar Seed 52 CMV,WMV 97,98 Sunbar 4 F1 Petoseed 43 - 94,96-98 XPHT 1740 F1 Asgrow - - 98 ZUCCHINI SQUASH ACX-27 (Yellow) Fl Abbott and Cobb - - 98 Caiman Fl Shamrock - - 98 Dividend F1 Novartis - - 98 Golden Dawn III (Yel.)F1 Novartis - - 98 Gold Rush (Yellow) F1 Stokes 52 - 96-98 Revenue Fl Novartis - - 98 RSQ-494 Fl Novartis - - 98 RSQ-496 F1 Novartis - - 98 . = not available; -- = none; from seed catalogs 'Type: Fl = Hybrid 2 Disease claims: PM = Powdery Mildew; DM = Downy Mildew; ZYMV = Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; WMV = Watermelon Mosaic Virus 3 Transgenic Variety; 4 Yellow-Precocious-Gene Carrying Variety; SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 35 TABLE 2, CONTINUED. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT TYPE, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED SQUASH VARIETIES Variety Type' Seed source Days to Disease Years harvest claims' evaluated ZUCCHINI SQUASH, continued Senator Fl Asgrow 41 - 94-98 Seneca Zucchini F1 Seneca Hybrids 42 - 97,98 Sensation F1 Asgrow 40 - 96-98 Spineless Beauty Fl Novartis 43 - 94-98 ZS-7 F1 Novartis - 98 XPHT 1776 F1 Asgrow - - 98 XPHT 1784 F1 Asgrow - -98 XPHT 1814 Fl Asgrow - 98 = not available; -- = none; from seed catalogs 'Type: Fl = Hybrid 2 Disease claims: PM = Powdery Mildew; DM = Downy Mildew; ZYMV = Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; WMV = Watermelon Mosaic Virus 3 Transgenic Variety; 4 Yellow-Precocious-Gene Carrying Variety; TABLE 3A. EARLY PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED YELLOW CROOKNECK SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Early Early Early Early Early Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. US#1 no. US#2 no. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Gentry YCN 100 7,569 7,569 0 25,047 0 Picasso YCN 100 7,084 7,084 0 21,671 0 Liberator III YCN 100 6,839 6,839 0 19,166 0 Crescent YCN 100 6,654 6,654 0 23,414 0 Sunglo YCN 100 6,420 6,420 0 20,147 0 Prelude II YCN 100 6,245 6,245 0 19,493 0 Horn of Plenty YCN 100 6,229 6,229 0 21,018 0 Prelude YCN 100 6,196 6,196 0 20,364 0 Destiny III YCN 100 5,211 5,211 0 17,751 0 Goldie YCN 100 4,939 4,939 0 16,553 0 Meigs YCN 100 4,590 4,590 0 17,860 0 Sundance YCN 100 4,568 4,568 0 14,919 0 Sunbrite YCN 100 4,367 4,367 0 14,048 0 R 2 0.76 0.76 CV 17 17 lsd 1,371 1,371 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Dixie YCN 94 19,443 4,653 14,790 9,039 20,255 Sunbrite YCN 78 8,776 1,985 6,791 6,861 17,860 Sunglo YCN 80 8,279 2,607 5,672 13,286 19,166 R' 0.38 0.21 CV 45 98 lsd 7,830 3,936 'Cumulative productions of the first four harvests at all locations. 36 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 37 TABLE 3B. EARLY PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED STRAIGHTNECK SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Early Early Early Early Early Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. US#1 no. US#2 no. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Sunbar YSN 100 6,774 6,774 0 23,087 0 Lemondrop L. YSN 100 1,421 1,421 0 3,485 0 R 2 0.76 0.76 CV 17 17 lsd 1,371 1,371 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION XPHT-1740 YSN 90 18,070 3,842 14,228 7,841 18,295 Lemondrop L YSN 83 10,769 710 10,059 3,703 18,186 Seneca Supreme YSN 96 9,052 2,351 6,701 8,821 13,613 R 2 0.38 0.21 CV 45 98 Isd 7,830 3,936 'Cumulative productions of the first four harvests at all locations. TABLE 3c. EARLY PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED ZUCCHINI SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Early Early Early Early Early Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. US#1 no. US#2 no. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER Golden Dawn III YZ 98 3,624 3,624 0 17,489 0 Gold Rush YZ 97 3,602 3,602 0 17,250 0 ACX-27 YZ 95 2,942 2,942 0 15,333 0 Seneca Zucchini Z 100 7,125 7,125 0 29,468 0 ZS-7 Z 93 6,702 6,702 0 26,114 0 RSQ 496 Z 93 6,654 6,654 0 30,427 0 Spineless Beauty Z 98 6,366 6,366 0 27,312 0 RSQ 494 Z 92 6,157 6,157 0 25,875 0 Caiman Z 73 6,083 6,083 0 24,677 0 Sensation Z 87 5,652 5,652 0 22,281 0 Revenue Z 97 5,405 5,405 0 23,239 0 XPHT-1776 Z 97 5,382 5,382 0 21,562 0 Senator Z 88 5,228 5,228 0 20,843 0 XPHT-1814 Z 97 4,424 4,424 0 20,843 0 Dividend Z 82 3,644 3,644 0 15,094 0 XPHT-1784 Z 95 2,512 2,512 0 9,823 0 R 2 0.56 0.56 CV 38 38 lsd 872 872 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Dividend Z 89 14,691 1,978 12,714 4,029 14,266 Caiman Z 86 13,993 1,959 12,033 6,244 18,295 Senator Z 94 13,567 2,738 10,829 8,276 14,266 Revenue Z 89 9,873 1,754 8,119 4,792 16,008 R 2 0.38 0.21 CV 45 98 lsd 7,830 3,936 'Cumulative productions of the first four harvests at all locations. ~~lnPIP~P nP.~llrV rn UJUU V.JVL m TABLE 4A. TOTAL PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED YELLOW CROOKNECK SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. cull US#1 no. US#2 no. fruit wt. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a lb BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Gentry YCN 100 8,462 8,462 0 1,296 29,403 0 0.29 Liberator III YCN 100 8,064 8,064 0 1,508 22,760 0 0.36 Picasso YCN 100 7,912 7,912 0 1,465 24,720 0 0.32 Prelude II YCN 100 7,520 7,520 0 1,590 23,087 0 0.33 Sunglo YCN 100 7,367 7,367 0 1,492 23,305 0 0.32 Crescent YCN 100 7,258 7,258 0 893 26,463 0 0.28 Prelude YCN 100 7,068 7,068 0 1,617 23,305 0 0.31 Horn of Plenty YCN 100 7,008 7,008 0 2,712 23,958 0 0.29 Destiny III YCN 100 5,881 5,881 0 1,949 20,147 0 0.29 Goldie YCN 100 5,728 5,728 0 2,053 19,820 0 0.29 Sunbrite YCN 100 5,630 5,630 0 2,603 18,622 0 0.31 Meigs YCN 100 5,385 5,385 0 1,715 21,236 0 0.25 Sundance YCN 100 5,097 5,097 0 1,873 16,662 0 0.32 R 2 0.76 0.76 CV 15 15 Isd 1,417 1,417 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Dixie YCN 94 24,568 5,860 18,708 5,602 11,543 25,592 0.55 Sunglo YCN 80 17,220 4,439 12,781 5,502 19,058 31,037 0.26 Sunbrite YCN 78 15,072 3,316 11,756 5,803 10,781 27,770 0.35 R 2 0.33 0.24 CV 32 76 lsd 8,396 3,480 'Cumulative productions of the six harvests at BEF, nine at EVSRC, and six at UCPS. TABLE 4B. TOTAL PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED YELLOW STRIAGHTNECK SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. cull US#1 no. US#2 no. fruit wt. lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a lb BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD Sunbar YSN 100 7,029 7,029 0 1,378 24,067 0 0.29 Lemondrop L. YSN 100 2,173 2,173 0 506 5,881 0 0.36 R 2 0.76 0.76 CV 15 15 lsd 1,417 1,417 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION XPHT-1740 YSN 90 21,691 5,376 16,315 6,655 12,197 20,691 0.44 Lemondrop L YSN 83 15,150 1,454 13,696 8,160 5,990 24,285 0.24 Seneca Supreme YSN 96 12,915 2,788 10,127 5,334 10,346 17,424 0.27 R 2 0.33 0.24 CV 32 76 lsd 8,396 3,480 'Cumulative productions of the six harvests at BEF, nine at EVSRC, and six at UCPS. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION38 TABLE 4C. TOTAL PRODUCTION 1 AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED ZUCCHINI SQUASH VARIETIES Percent Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual Variety Type stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. cull US#1 no. US#2 no. fruit wt lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a lb E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER Golden Dawn III YZ 98 10,216 10,216 0 6,165 40,489 0 0.25 Gold Rush YZ 97 8,734 8,734 0 6,605 37,374 0 0.24 ACX-27 YZ 95 7,281 7,281 0 12,893 39,531 0 0.19 RSQ 494 Z 92 13,994 13,994 0 5,576 47,916 0 0.64 RSQ 496 Z 93 13,384 13,384 0 4,613 51,510 0 0.57 Sensation Z 87 13,081 13,081 0 7,307 40,968 0 0.31 Seneca Zucchini Z 100 12,742 12,742 0 8,646 42,885 0 0.30 XPHT-1776 Z 97 12,485 12,485 0 9,030 41,927 0 0.30 Spineless Beauty Z 98 11,738 11,738 0 7,076 39,770 0 0.30 ZS-7 Z 93 11,349 11,349 0 7,530 39,531 0 0.30 Revenue Z 97 11,254 11,254 0 2,053 42,406 0 0.27 Caiman Z 73 11,146 11,146 0 5,207 36,895 0 0.27 XPHT-1814 Z 97 11,082 11,082 0 7,875 41,687 0 0.27 Dividend Z 82 10,633 10,633 0 2,748 39,531 0 0.27 XPHT-1784 Z 95 10,588 10,588 0 7,823 34,979 0 0.30 Senator Z 88 9,728 9,728 0 6,138 29,948 0 0.34 R 2 0.57 0.57 CV 29 29 lsd 2,136 2,136 UPPER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION Caiman Z 86 22,015 4,705 17,310 5,123 11,326 26,717 0.41 Senator Z 94 19,386 3,156 16,230 5,519 8,712 20,691 0.36 Dividend Z 89 19,195 3,084 16,112 8,263 6,534 18,840 0.47 Revenue Z 89 16,166 2,220 13,945 9,293 5,881 23,740 0.38 R 2 0.33 0.24 CV 32 76 Isd 8,396 3,480 'Cumulative productions of the six harvests at BEF, nine at EVSRC, and six at UCPS. TABLE 5. RECOMMENDATION FOR DISPOSITION OF SUMMER SQUASH EXPERIMENTALS 1 Experimental (Source) Type Disposition Comment ACX-27 (A&C) Yellow Drop Insufficient yield RSQ-494 (Novartis) Medium green Drop RSQ-496 (Novartis) Medium green Re-evaluate Good yield; sensitive to blossom-end rot ZS-7 (Novartis) Medium-dark green Keep Good early yield XPHT-1776 (Asgrow) Medium-light green Re-evaluate XPHT-1784 (Asgrow) Medium-dark green Drop Insufficient yield XPHT- 1814 (Asgrow) Medium-dark green Drop Insufficient yield 'Based only on 1998 trials SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 39 Will 'Athena' be Challenged by 'EXH-6332' on the Eastern- Type Cantaloupe Market? Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Jim Bannon, Robert Boozer, Jason Burkett, Tony Dawkins, Nadia Ouakrim, Jim Pitts, and Marvin Ruf Small melon (cantaloupe, honey dew, and specialty melons) variety trials were conducted at the E.V. Smith Research Center (EVSRC) near Shorter, the Chilton Area Horticulture Substation (CAHS) in Clanton, and the Sand Mountain Substation (SMS) in Crossville (Tables 1 and 2). Selected varieties of small melons were direct seeded in single rows on four-foot-wide and 30-foot long beds, at a three foot within-row spacing. Seed dates were May 4 at EVSRC, June 2 at CAHS, and May 13 at SMS. At all loca- tions, white plastic mulch and drip irrigation were used. At EVSRC, preplant fertilizer was broadcast applied on April 9 and provided (per acre) 50 pounds of N and phos- phorus (P 2 0 5 ), and 100 pounds of potassium (K20) as 10- 10-20. On April 10, beds were fumigated with methyl bro- mide at a rate of 400 pounds per acre. Between May 16 and August 1, six pounds of N were injected weekly, alterna- tively from 20-20-20, Ca(NO 3 ) 2 and KNO 3 . A total of 72 pounds of N was injected. Preplant herbicide was Sonalan (at a rate of 4.5 pints per acre) applied on April 16. Insect control was provided by applications of Thiodan 3EC (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) on June 5, June 19, and July 5; and Asana XL (at a rate of eight ounces per acre) on June 26. Fungicides used were Dithane DF (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on May 25 and June 19; Kocide (at a rate of three pounds per acre) on June 1, June 5, June 10, June 26, and July 5; Manzate 200 DF (at a rate of three pounds per acre) on June 5 and 26; and Manex (at a rate of 1.5 quarts per acre) on June 10. Plants were also sprayed with Guthion 35W (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on May 25. At CAHS, beds were fumigated with 200 pounds of Methyl Bromide per acre. Preplant fertilization consisted of a broadcast application of 60-0-60 on May 20. Fertiliza- tion consisted of weekly, alternating injections of 20-20-20 and potassium nitrate beginning June 18 and ending Sep- tember 9, 1998. Pest control was provided by Thiodan (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on June 15; Imidan (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on June 9, July 24 and August 12; and Lannate (at the rate of one quart per acre) on July 16. Fun- TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 SMALL MELON VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location EVSRC CAHS SMS Weather 5 5 5 Fertility 5 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 5 Pests 5 5 5 Overall 4 5 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. gicides used were Dithane (at the rate of two pounds per acre) on June 15 and July 24; Kocide 101 (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on June 15, July 9, July 16, July 24, and August 12; Manzate (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on July 9 and August 12; Mannex (at the rate of one quart per acre) on July 16; and Bravo (at a rate of 1.5 quarts per acre) on September 1. Herbicide used was Poast and Crop Oil (each at a rate of one quart per acre) on July 16. At SMS, fertilization consisted of preplant applications on April 6 of concentrated superphosphate (at a rate of 100 pounds per acre); muriate of potash (KC1, at a rate of 120 pounds per acre) and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3, at a rate of 150 pounds per acre). Between June 8 and July 13, potassium nitrate (at a rate of 50 pounds per acre) and 20- 20-20 (at a rate of 30 pounds per acre) were alternatively injected weekly. Bravo fungicide (at a rate of one pint per acre) and Sevin XLR insecticide (at a rate of 1.5 pints per acre) were applied on June 9, June 22, June 29, and July 16. Ridomil fungicide was applied on June 16 at a rate of one pint per acre. Harvesting small melons at an over-ripe stage may re- duce shelf-life and increase the risk of splitting during trans- portation. Flavor may also be adversely affected. Selected cantaloupe varieties may be harvested at half-slip. Honey dew melons do not slip naturally from the vine and are con- sidered vine-ripped when the pubescence on the melon falls and/or when rind color changes from green to yellowish. Honey dew melons may be harvested at an immature stage; 40 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 41 they will continue to ripen and become sweeter during stor- age. Hence, sugar content at harvest is not a good indicator of sweetness at maturity. Melons were harvested and graded on July 3, 11, and 18 at CAHS, July 8, July 11, July 15, July 16, July 19, July 22, July 25, July 29 and August 1 at EVRSC , and on July 12, July 16, July 19, July 22, July 24, July 26, July 29, July 31, August 2, and August 6 at SMS (Table 3). On eight representative melons of each variety at each location, soluble-solid content was determined with a hand-held re- fractometer. Soluble-solid content is a practical measure- ment of sweetness. The list of entries was similar at all three locations. In the Eastern-type cantaloupe group, differences in yields did not tend to be significant. Yet the experimental 'EXH-6332' out performed the standard 'Athena' at all three locations. In the Western-type cantaloupe group, differences among varieties were not significant. The standard 'Mission' and 'Otero' were top yielders at EVSRC and CAHS, while 'Laredo' and 'Hi-Mark' were top yielders at SMS. The ex- perimental 'AC-82-37-RNL' showed acceptable yield and good fruit quality, but as observed in the past tended to be late. This AU experimental could be released for the home- garden market. The fruits of 'AC-75-1-A' were very uni- form, but consistently too small. This other AU experimen- tal could be best used if crossed with a large fruited parent in breeding a hybrid line with uniform, quality melons. Comparisons among honey dew entries are difficult because the standard 'Early Dew' has a typical green flesh, while 'Honey Orange' has an orange flesh. The flesh color of 'Tesoro Dulce' is rather typical, but its yellow skin, and pear-like texture and flavor are not. All three could be ac- ceptable as specialty melons. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED VARIETIES OF SMALL MELONS Variety Type Seed source Rind Flesh Days to Disease Years aspect' color harvest claims 2 evaluated Cantaloupe (Muskmelon) AC-75-1-A OP Auburn U. W 0 - - 98 AC-82-37-RNL OP Auburn U. W O - - 98 Athena F1 Novartis E O 80 FW, PM 94-98 Banana Sweet - Kelly Spe Y - - 98 Butterscotch Sweetie No.6 Fl Johnny's Spe O-Gr 75 FW l&2, PM,DM 98 Cordele F1 Asgrow E 0 85 FW, PM 94-98 Cristobal F1 Asgrow W 0 - FW, PM 98 Durango F1 Petoseed W O 83 FW, PM, Su 96-98 Earli-Dew Fl Petoseed HD Gr 80 FW 95-98 Eclipse Fl Petoseed E O 85 FW, PM 96-98 EXH-6332 Fl Asgrow E 0 - - 98 Honey Orange F1 Johnny's HD 0 80 - 98 Hy-Mark Fl Petoseed W O 83 PM,Su 94-98 Laredo Fl Petoseed W O 82 PM, Su 96-98 Mission F1 Asgrow W O 80 PM, Su 94-98 Otero F1 Hollar W 0 - - 97-98 Passport 3 F1 Stokes Spe Gr 75 ANT, GSB 96-98 Tesoro Dulce F1 Asgrow HD Gr - - 98 Rocky Ford Green Fl Kelly Spe Gr - - 98 - = not found; from seed catalogues 'Rind Aspect: Sm = Smooth; N = Netted ; Su = Sutured; Flesh Color: O = Orange; Gr = Green; Y = Yellow 2 Disease Claims: FW = Fusarium Wilt; PM = Powdery Mildew; ANT = Anthracnose; DM = Downy Mildew; Su = Sulfur 3 Honey Dew x Galia cross SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 41 42 AABAA AGC UTRLEP IMN SAIO TABLE 3. YIELD OF SELECTED SMALL MELON VARIETIES Marketable Marketable Individual Soluble Culled Variety Type yield fruits fruit wt. solids Cull wt. fruits lbs/a #/a lb ?Brix lbs/a E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER EXH-6332 Eastern 34,768 6,670 5.2 8.4 4,075 Eclipse Eastern 31,381 6,380 5.2 8.2 3,005 Athena Eastern 28,755 6,380 4.5 8.4 4,793 Cordele Eastern 26,772 6,018 4.2 7.9 2,465 Cristobal Eastern 24,431 6,525 3.5 9.2 609 Honey Orange Honey Dew 32,700 7,178 4.4 11.1 1,744 Tesoro Dulce Honey Dew 31,515 5,655 5.7 11.1 1,360 Earli-Dew Honey Dew 16,415 3,988 4.1 9.4 15,482 Passport Specialty 36,754 9,933 3.7 9.5 6,928 Butterscotch Specialty 7,856 4,350 1.8 11.3 2,751 Mission Western 33,876 8,990 3.6 9.9 2,590 Otero Western 28,292 7,613 3.8 9.5 1,234 AC-82-37-RNL Western 27,696 10,440 2.7 7.8 1,425 Hi-Mark Western 25,648 5,873 4.4 9.9 665 Laredo Western 21,722 6,743 3.1 8.7 1,485 Durango Western 19,679 5,510 2.8 9.0 606 AC-75-1-A Western 12,764 5,719 2.2 8.5 738 R2 0.21 0.19 0.64 CV 67 60 23 lsd 24,600 5,696 1.2 CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION EXH-6332 Eastern 17,490 6,090 3.0 9.1 Athena Eastern 16,120 6,815 2.4 11.1 Cordele Eastern 15,034 5,583 2.7 10.0 Eclipse Eastern 14,739 5,583 2.6 10.4 Tesoro Dulce Honey Dew 16,367 6,453 2.6 11.2 Earli-Dew Honey Dew 12,427 5,873 2.1 12.0 Banana Sweet Specialty 9,102 3,480 2.6 10.6 Passport' Specialty 5,085 2,538 2.1 11.1 Rocky Ford Green Specialty 3,434 3,408 1.0 11.0 Otero Western 12,210 7,178 1.7 11.5 Mission Western 12,197 7,758 1.6 12.1 Durango Western 11,036 5,510 2.1 10.8 Cristobal Western 9,694 6,380 1.5 11.5 Hi-Mark Western 9,382 5,728 1.6 11.7 AC-82-37-RNL Western 8,875 6,888 1.3 11.5 AC-75-1-A Western 8,456 6,525 1.3 11.1 Laredo Western 8,274 5,800 1.4 11.1 R. 0.64w0.48/0.82 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION42 TABLE 3, CONTINUED. YIELD OF SELECTED SMALL MELON VARIETIES Marketable Marketable Individual Soluble Culled Variety 'Type yield fruits fruit wt. solids Cull wt. fruits lbs/a #/a lb ? Brix lbs/a #/a SAND MOUNTAIN SUBSTATION EXH-6332 Eastern 43,232 5,293 8.2 9.5 Eclipse Eastern 39,433 5,438 7.2 9.5 Cordele Eastern 35,960 5,655 6.4 8.7 Athena Eastern 33,009 5,728 5.8 10.6 Tesoro Dulce Honey Dew 25,411 3,553 7.1 8.4 Earli-Dew Honey Dew 16,958 3,843 4.3 9.9 Banana Sweet Specialty 29,950 5,510 5.4 7.7 Passport Specialty 26,876 6,598 3.9 9.4 Rocky Ford Green Specialty 22,997 11,020 2.1 9.5 Laredo Western 29,435 7,250 4.1 9.3 Hi-Mark Western 29,131 7,758 3.8 10.6 AC-82-37-RNL Western 27,992 9,788 2.8 10.4 Cristobal Western 27,057 7,250 3.7 8.3 Mission Western 26,680 7,250 3.7 12.8 Durango Western 26,528 6,090 4.3 9.2 AC-75-1-A Western 26,216 9,135 2.9 8.1 Otero Western 25,933 6,308 4.1 9.8 R 2 0.49 0.63 0.91 CV 24 25 13 lsd 10,005 2,395 0.9 S= not available SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 43 'Bronco' Out-Performed by Several Green Bean Varieties Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Bobby Boozer, Tony Dawkins, Jim Pitts, and Marvin Ruf Green bean variety trials were conducted at the Chilton Area Horticulture Substation (CAHS) in Clanton and the Sand Mountain Substation (SMS) in Crossville (Tables 1 and 2). At both locations, beans were direct seeded on bare ground into 20-foot long, two-row plots at a within row spacing of one foot. Planting dates were May 27 at CAHS and May 15 at SMS. At SMS, preplant fertilization consisted of concen- trated superphosphate (at a rate of 300 pounds per acre); muriate of potash (KC1, at a rate of 60 pounds per acre) and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3, at a rate of 210 pounds per acre) applied on May 14. Green beans were sidedressed w h cab.r ni e atO 3 ) 2 ], at a rate of 100 pounds per acre) on June 8 and 22. Weeds were controlled by one application of Dual herbicide (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on May 15. Fungicide used was Ridomil (at a rate of 1.5 pounds per acre) on June 16 and 22. Sevin XL insecti- cide was applied on June 17, June 22, and July 1 at a rate of 0.5 pound per acre. Green beans were hand harvested on July 16, 18, and 28 at CAHS, and July 7, July 14, July 21, and August 8 at SMS. Marketable yield, and weight and length of 50 pods were determined (Table 3). TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 GREEN BEAN VARIETY TRIALS 1 Location CAHS SMS Weather 5 5 Fertility 5 5 Irrigation 5 5 Pests 5 5 Overall 5 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Yield range was similar at both locations. At CAHS, 'Italian Flat', and the experimentals 'MB-8807' and 'QG- 7705' had significantly higher marketable yields than the standard 'Bronco'. At SMS, virus pressure was moderate and was likely to affect yield. Under these conditions, 'Hialeha', 'XPB- 378', and 'Stallion' had significantly higher marketable and total yields. The standard 'Bronco' was significantly out- performed by the above-mentioned top three varieties and by all the experimentals ('XPB-393', 'SSC-1204', 'SB- 4136', 'MB-8007', and 'XPB-394'). Overall, 'Stallion', 'SSC-1204', and 'XPB-378' had the most consistent performances. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES Variety Type Seed source Days to Growth Pod Pod Disease Years harvest habit color shape claims' evaluated Benchmark OP Novartis 55 Bush Lt. Green Round CBMV,NY15MV 97,98 Bronco OP Asgrow 53 Bush Green Round CBMV 97,98 Carlo OP Asgrow 55 Bush Green Round CBMV 97,98 Cloudburst OP Asgrow . Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Hialeah OP Ferry-Morse 53 Bush Lt. Green Oval NY15MV 97 Hirada OP Novartis . Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Italian Flat OP Johnny's . Bush Green Flat - 98 La France OP Burpee . Bush Green Round - 98 .= not available; -= none; from seed catalogues. 'Disease Claims:Bacterial Blight=BB; BS=Brown Spot; CBMV=Common Bean Mosaic Virus; NY15MV=NY15 Mosaic Virus; Halo Blight=HB; RB=Bean Rust; PM=Powdery Mildew 44 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1 998 VEG ETABLE VARI ETY TRIALS 4 TABLE 2, CONTINUED. SEED SOURCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES Variety 'Tpe Seed source Days to Growth Pod Pod Disease Years harvest habit color shape claims' evaluated MB-8007 OP Novartis - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Nickel OP Vilmorin 52 Bush Green Round BS,WM 97,98 Narbonne OP Johnny's 52 Bush Green Round BB,HB 98 QG-7705 OP Novartis - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Seville OP SeedWay 56 Bush Lt. Green Round CBMVNY15MV 97,98 Sonata OP Ferry-Morse - Bush Green Round - 97,98 SSC-1204 OP Shamrock - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Stallion OP Asgrow - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Storm OP Asgrow - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 Strike OP Kelly 55 Bush Lt. Green Round CBMV 98 Xera OP Johnny's 53 Bush Green Round CBMV,HB 98 XPB-378 OP Asgrow - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 XPB-393 OP Asgrow - Bush Lt. Green Round - 98 XPB-394 OP Asgrow - Bush Green Round - 98 'Disease Claims:Bacterial Blight=BB; BS=Brown Spot; CBMV=Common Bean Mosaic Virus; NY15MV=NY15 Mosaic Virus; Halo Blight=HB; RB=Bean Rust; PM=Powdery Mildew TABLE 3. YIELD AND POD CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES Percent Percent Marketable Cull Pod Pod Variety plant diseased yield weight weight. length stand plants lbs/a lbs/a lbs/1O0 pods in/pod CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE SUBSTATION Italian Flat 3,954 0.80 2.7 MB-8007 2,523 0.73 2.6 QG-7705 2,511 0.64 2.4 Storm 2,240 0.66 2.5 SSC-1204.. 2,108. 0.73 2.9 Strike . 2,053. 0.48 2.5 Stallion.. 1,981 . 0.62 2.5 XPB-378.. 1,790. 0.63 2.4 Hialeha . 1,650. 0.52 2.6 Hirada.. 1,535. 0.52 2.6 Benchmark. . 1,491. 0.51 2.9 Bronco. . 1,443. 0.65 2.3 La France.. 1,401. 0.20 Cloudburst.. 1,367. 0.56 2.4 Seville.. 1,232. 0.56 2.5 Narbonne . 901. 0.55 2.2 Xera .853 .0.39 XPB-393. 777 . 0.61 2.5 XPB-394 . 658 . 0.62 2.6 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 45 TABLE 3, CONTINUED. YIELD AND POD CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES Percent Percent Marketable Cull Pod Pod Variety plant diseased yield weight weight. length stand plants lbs/a lbs/a lbs/100 pods in/pod SAND MOUNTAIN SUBSTATION Hialeha 99 11 3,505 230 1.19 1.9 XPB-378 93 18 3,368 803 1.30 2.0 Stallion 93 28 3,141 700 1.38 2.2 Storm 93 15 2,843 217 1.08 1.7 Italian Flat 84 38 2,797 116 2.46 3.9 XPB-393 89 20 2,683 545 1.25 2.0 SSC-1204 104 24 1,823 426 1.52 2.4 SB-4136 99 46 1,799 213 1.15 1.8 MB-8007 95 25 1,601 268 1.56 2.5 XPB-394 92 16 1,334 167 0.99 1.6 Cloudburst 98 26 1,284 382 1.19 1.9 Benchmark 87 34 1,191 282 1.28 2.0 Mirada 93 41 819 253 1.02 1.6 Bronco 83 41 747 86 0.78 1.2 Seville 98 18 525 39 1.15 1.8 Narbonne 101 13 509 245 1.14 1.8 Strike 89 34 484 252 1.04 1.6 Xera 86 46 474 684 0.83 1.3 La France 93 27 354 757 0.67 1.1 Carlo 71 11 280 148 0.88 1.4 Nickel 33 18 0 241 0.68 1.1 R2 0.65 0.29 0.79 0.59 0.86 0.44 CV 11 78 41 63 15 12 lsd 556 305 0.06 0.8 46 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 47 Lettuce Varieties Suffer from Heat Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson and Brian Gamble, and Larry Wells A lettuce variety trial was conducted at the Wiregrass Substation (WS) in Headland. Lettuce was grown on white- plastic mulch and drip irrigation. Six-week-old lettuce were transplanted in staggered, double rows 12 inches apart at an in-row spacing of 12 inches. Plots were 25-feet long and contained 50 plants. This created a stand of approximately 21,800 plants per acre. Preplant fertilization consisted (per acre) of one ton of lime on March 25, one ton per acre of chicken litter on March 30, 60 pounds per acre of phosphorous (P 2 0 5 ), and 60 pounds per acre of potassium (1(20). Weekly injections at a rate of six pounds of N per acre were made weekly from transplanting to harvest. Plants were sprayed with Bravo fungicide (at a rate of three pints per acre) on May 28. Lettuce were harvested on June 6 at marketable size and graded according to the U.S. Standards for Grades of Romaine (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Publication 60-6130). Heads were culled because of bolting or insufficient head size (Table 3). TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1998 LETTEUCE VARIETY TRIAL 1 Location WS Weather 3 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 5 Overall 4 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Along with bell peppers, lettuce was the crop the most adversely affected by heat. Consequently, most varieties were bitter five days before harvest and all were at harvest. Only 'Target' and 'Green Vision' showed symptoms of tip- bum. Under these conditions, 'Target' (tip-bum); 'Jen-1197', 'Taglio', and 'Tango' (high fiber); and 'Greengo' (bitter) were the least acceptable. The varieties 'Red Fox'(red looseleaf), 'Mikola' (red Romaine), and 'Ermosa' (green butterhead) were the most acceptable. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, EARLINESS, AND DISEASE CLAIMS OF SELECTED LETTEUCE VARIETIES Variety Head type Seed source Days to Leaf Disease Years harvest color claims' evaluated Corsair Romaine Johnny's 58 Green LMV 98 Ermosa Butterhead Johnny's 48 Green LMV,TB,B 98 Greengo Looseleaf Asgrow . Green - 96-98 Green Vision Green Leaf Johnny's 54 Green B,TB 98 Jen 1197 Endive Johnny's . Green - 98 Kalura Romaine Johnny's 57 Green LMV,TB 98 Medallion Romaine Johnny's 60 Green B,LMV,TB 98 Mikola Red Butterhead Johnny's 49 Red B,Br,LMV,TB 98 Red Fox Red Leaf Johnny's 55 Red LMV 98 Taglio Endive Johnny's . Green - 98 Tango Looseleaf Johnny's 45 Green - 98 Target Crisphead Petoseed 65 Green DM 95,98 . = not found; -= none; from seed catalog 'Disease claims: BIT = Bitterness; Bolting = B; LMV = Lettuce Mosaic Virus; TB = Tip Burn; DM = Downy Mildew SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 47 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 3. YIELD OF SELECTED LETTEUCE VARIETIES AT THE WIREGRASS SUBSTATION Percent Marketable Marketable Percent Cull Cull Variety stand weight heads marketable weight heads lbs/a #/a heads lbs/a #/a Ermosa 98 7,765 16,752 96 87 349 Greengo 100 7,722 17,276 99 44 175 Taglio 94 7,617 15,880 92 1,745 698 Medallion 100 7,050 17,014 98 105 349 Corsair 96 6,744 15,967 92 1,745 698 JEN-1197 100 6,378 13,873 80 1,082 3,577 Kalura 100 6,238 17,188 99 0 0 Green Vision 100 5,078 17,276 99 17 87 Red Fox 100 5,061 16,927 97 96 436 Mikola 98 3,054 15,356 88 253 1,658 Tango 57 2,007 6,282 36 1,291 3,577 Target 99 0 0 0 6,906 14,658 R 2 0.70 CV 33 lsd 2,583 48 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 49 Sponsors and Suppliers Corporate Sponsors Micro Macro International, Inc. Mike Duemmel 183 Paradise Blvd., Suite 108 Athens, GA 30608 (706) 548-4557 Provided analytical services Lewis Taylor Farms, Inc. Bill Brim PO Box 822 Tifton, GA 31793 (912) 382-4454 Donated transplants Asgrow Seed Co. Greg Davis (South Alabama) Alachua, FL (904) 462-7838 Rusty Autry (Central Alabama) Tifton, GA (912) 382-0255 Ken Baker (North Alabama) Hendersonville, TN (615) 824-0383 Supporting Seed Companies American Sunmelon Carl Cadregari 4200 Perimeter Center Oklahoma City, OK 73112 Ph. (405) 943-9327 Fax (405) 943-5461 Hollar Seeds John Kolmer P.O. Box 106 Rocky Ford, Colorado 81067-0106 Ph (719) 254-7411 Fax (719) 254-3539 Internet: www.hollarseeds.com Seneca Hybrids Dr. Walt Whitwood PO Box 128 Hall, NY 14463 Fax (716) 526-5988 Shamrock Seed Co. Bill Johson 3832 Hanover Hill Dr. Valrico, FL 33594 (813) 245-1371 Novartis (Rogers Brand) Curt Pollard 2101 Melrose Drive Valdosta, GA 31602 (912) 560-1863 E-mail curt.pollard @seed.novartis.com Fast Track John Van Diepen 4990 Highway 9 Felton, CA 95018 Ph./Fax (408) 335-1143 E-mail jvdiepen@mtnweb.com Stokes Seeds Inc Joe Butwin PO Box 548 Buffalo, NY 14240-0548 (716) 695-6980 SPRING 1998 VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 49 50 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Sponsors and Suppliers, continued Seed Suppliers Abbott & Cobb Inc. Pete Suddarth 207 Wellington Woods Dr. Hahira, GA 31632 (912) 249-8135 Burpee Seeds 300 Park Avenue Warminster, PA 18991-0001 Ph. (800) 333-5805 Fax (800) 487-5530 Ferry-Morse Seed Co. Glenn McKay PO Box 392 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 (608) 837-6574 Harris Moran Ms. Dottie Robustelli Harris Seeds 60 Saginaw Dr. PO Box 22960 Rochester, NY 14092-2960 Ph. (800) 544-7938 Fax (716) 442-9386 Jimmy Street/Sunseeds P.O. Box 1047 Theodore, AL 36590 Ph. (334) 653-9206 Johnny's Select Seeds Steve Bellavia Foss Hill Rd., RR1 Box 2580 Albion, ME 04910 Ph. (207) 437-4395 Fax (800) 437-4290 E-mail commercial @johnnyseeds.com Kelly Seed Company Jack Stuckey 100 Shilo Rd. Harford, AL 36344 (800) 654-0726 Solar Seed Co. Roland Verlaik 302 South Center Street Eustis, FL 32726 (800) CARROTS Wax Seed Co. Whillhite PO Box 23 Poolville, TX 76487 Ph. (800) 828-1840 Fax (817) 599-5843 Petoseed Co. John Mance 926 Sweet May CT. Macon GA, 31204 Ph. (912) 477-5544 E-mail john.mance@svseeds.com Sakata Seeds Co. Howard Adams P.O. Box 1103 Lehigh, FL 33970-1103 Ph. (813) 369-0032 SeedWay Neal Shank 1225 Zeager Road Elizabethtown, PA 17022 (800) 952-7333 E-mail info@seedway.com Steve Olsen U. of Florida NFREC Route 3 Box 4370 Quincy, FL 32351 Ph. (904) 875-7144 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 50