trtrkIS~ 4 is 44 ##~ / -7 Alabama Agnicultural Experiment Stations John Jenisen, Interim Director Auburn University Auburn, Alabama I A N w :Fiis " E Y r r r = k Contents Authors 2 Introduction: Tips for Interpreting Vegetable Variety Performance_3 Brewton Hosts First Lima Bean Trial_5 Few Differences Found Among White and Yellow Supersweet Corn Varieties_7 Short-Day Onion Variety Trial, 2002_9 'Medallion' and 'Gentry' - Top Squash Varieties Overall_12 Tomato Varieties Perform Well in North and South Alabama_15 Experimental Small Melon Varieties Perform Well_17 Watermelon and Cantaloupe Variety Trials in Georgia___19 Differences Found Among Allsweet Watermelons__23 Triploid Watermelon Cultivar Trials_25 Elongated Triploid Watermelons Evaluated in Northern Mississippi_27 Elongated Triploid Watermelon Cultivar Trials in Southern Mississippi_30 Seed Sources for Alabama Trials _______________________________31 Guidelines for Contributions to the Vegetable 'Variety Regional 'Bulletin Names of chemicals are mentioned only for describing the production practices used. This represents neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of these products. Information contained herein is available to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin. Randy Akridge Superintendent Brewton Agricultural Research Unit Brewton, AL (334) 867-3139 George E. Boyhan Assistant Professor and Ext. Specialist Georgia Cooperative Extension Ser- vice, Statesboro, GA (912) 386-3442 Jason Burkett Superintendent, Horticulture Unit E.V. Smith Research Center Shorter, AL (334) 727-6159 Arnold Caylor Superintendent North Alabama Horticulture Research Center, Cullman, AL (256) 734-5820 Christine E. H. Coker Beaumont Horticultural Unit Coastal Research and Ext. Center Beaumont, MS 39423 (601)788-6616 M. Jefferson Cook County Extension Agent Tattnall County Extension Office P.O. Box 580 Reidsville, GA 30453 David E. Curry County Extension Coordinator Toombs County Extension Office Courthouse Square Lyons, GA 30436 Kent Cushman Associate Research Professor Mississippi State University North Mississippi Research and Ext. Center, Verona, MS 38879 Tony Dawkins Superintendent Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center, Crossville, AL (256) 528-7133 Mike Ely Research Associate Beaumont Horticultural Unit Coastal Research and Ext. Center Beaumont, MS 39423 Thomas Freeman Research Associate Beaumont Horticultural Unit Coastal Research and Ext. Center Beaumont, MS 39423 Brian Gamble Associate Superintendent Wiregrass Research and Extension Center, Headland, AL (334) 693-2363 Greg Hardison County Extension Coordinator Montgomery County Extension Office P.O. Box 276 Mount Vernon, GA 30445 C. Randell Hill Research Station Superintendent 8.163 Hwy 178 Lyons, GA 30436 Thomas Horgan Research Associate Mississippi State University North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Verona, MS 38879 Joe Kemble Associate Professor and Ext. Horticulturist Department of Horticulture Auburn University, AL (334)844-3050 KennethL. Lewis Crisp County Extension Agent University Of Georgia Cordele, GA 31015 (229) 276-2612 Ron McDaniel Superintendent Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, Fairhope, AL (334) .928-2740 Gilbert Miller Clemson Extension Service P. O. Box 299, Bamberg, SC 29003 GMLLR@CLEMSON.EDU 803-245-2661 John Mueller Edisto Research and Education Center 64 Research Road, Blackville, SC 29817 JMLLR(ACLEMSON.EDU 803-284-3343 J. Thad Paulk Agricultural Research Assistant Ill Department of Horticulture Coastal Plain Experiment Station Tifton, GA 31793-5401 Malcomb Pegues Assistant Superintendent Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, Fairhope, AL (334) 928-2740 Albert C. Purvis Professor Department of Horticulture Coastal Plain Experiment Station Tifton, GA 31793-5401 William M. Randle Professor Department of Horticulture University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-7273 Anna Resurreccion Professor University Of Georgia Griffin, GA 30223-1797 (770) 412-4736 Raymond Thomas Graduate Research Assistant Department of Horticulture Auburn University, AL (334)844-3050 Reid L. Torrance County Extension Coordinator Tattnall County Extension Office P.O. Box 580 Reidsville, GA 30453 Joe Varn Clemson Extension Service P. O. Box 468, Barnwell, SC 29812 JVARN@CLEMSON.EDU 803-259-7141 Edgar Vinson, III Research Assistant Department of Horticulture Auburn University, AL (334) 844-3041 Larry Wells Superintendent Wiregrass Research and Extension Center, Headland, AL (334) 693-2363 Floyd Woods Associate Professor Department of Horticulture Auburn University, AL (334) 844-3050 Authors SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 3 Introduction: Tips for Interpreting Vegetable Variety Performance Edgar Vinson and Joe Kemble The Spring 2002 Commercial Vegetable Variety Trials bulletin is a compilation of vegetable variety information from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina. In this bulletin, growers, extension specialists, and seed companies will be able to see the performance of stan- dard market varieties as well as their favorite varieties in other areas of the Southeast. The main purpose of vegetable variety evaluation, however, is to provide growers and seed retailers with practical information on varieties and to assist growers in selecting a good variety. Here are a few tips to get the most out of vegetable variety trials results. Open pollinated or hybrid varieties In general, hybrids (also referred to as F 1 ) are earlier and produce a more uniform crop. Often they have im- proved disease, pest, or virus tolerance/resistance. Hy- brid varieties are often more expensive than open polli- nated varieties (OP), and seeds cannot be collected from one crop to plant the next. Despite the advantages hy- brids offer, OP are still often planted inAlabama. Select- ing a hybrid variety is the first step toward earliness and quality. Yield potential Yields reported in variety trial results are extrapo- lated from small plots. Depending on the vegetable crop, plot sizes range between 100 to 500 square feet. Yields per acre are estimated by multiplying plot yields by cor- rective factors ranging from 100 to 1,000. Small errors are thus amplified, and estimated yields per acre may not be realistic. Therefore, locations cannot be compared by just looking at the range of yields actually reported. However, the relative differences in performance among varieties are realistic, and can be used to identify best-performing varieties. Statistical interpretation The coefficient of determination (R 2 ), coefficient of variation (CV), and least significant difference (lsd, 5%) are reported for each test. These numbers are helpful in separating the differences due to small plots (sampling error) and true (but unknown) differences among entries. 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 of lesser importance. CV is an expression of yield variability relative to yield mean. Low CVs are desirable (under 20%), 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 is less than the Isd value, one cannot conclude that there is any real difference between two varieties. For example, in the watermelon trial presented in this issue conducted at the Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, 'Legacy' yielded 41,688 pounds per acre, while 'Carnival' and 'Montreal' yielded 39,060 and 34,506 pounds per acre, respectively. Since there was less than a 6,960 difference between 'Legacy' and 'Carni- val', there is no statistical difference between these two varieties. However, the yield difference between 'Legacy' and 'Montreal' was 7,182, indicating that there is a real difference between these two varieties. From a practical point of view, producers should place the most impor- tance on lsd values when interpreting results. Testing conditions AU vegetable variety trials are conducted under stan- dard, recommended commercial production practices. If the cropping system to be used is different from that used in the trials, the results of the trials may not apply. Information on soil type (Table 1), planting dates, fertil- izer rates, and detailed spray schedule are provided to help producers compare their own practices to the stan- dard one usedin the trials, and make relevant adjust- ments. 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Ratings of trials At each location, variety trials were rated on a 1 to 5 scale, based on weather conditions, fertilization, irriga- tion, pest pressure and overall performance (Table 2). Results from trials with ratings of 2 and under are not reported. These numbers may be used to interpret differ- ences in performance from location to location. The over- all rating may be: used to give more importance to the results of variety performance under good growing con- ditions. Where to get seeds Because seeds are alive, their performance and ger- mination rate depends on how old they are, where and how they were collected, and how they have been handled and stored. It is always preferable to get certified seeds from a reputable source, such as the ones listed in Seed Sources forAlabama Trials (p. 31). Several factors other than yield have to be consid- ered when choosing a vegetable variety from a variety trial report. The main factors are type, resistance and tol- erance to diseases, earliness, and, of course, availability and cost of seeds. It is always better to try two to three varieties on a small scale before making a large planting of a single variety. Vegetable trials on the Web For more vegetable variety information be sure to visit the vegetable varieties Web page at www.aces.edu/ department/com veg/trials/vegetabl.htm. This Web site describes variety types, explains the ratings system, and presents information about participating seed companies. More detailed information on how to use this site may be found in "AU Vegetable Varieties Online,"ANR-11-66 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. TABLE 1. SOIL TYPES AT THE LOCATIONS OF THE ALABAMA TRIALS Location Water-holding Soil type capacity (in/in) Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center (Fairhope) 0.09 - 0.19 Malbis fine sandy loam Brewton Agricultural Research Unit (Brewton) 0.12- 0.14 Benndale fine sandy loam Wiregrass Research and Extension Center (Headland) 0.14 -0.15 Dothan sandy loam Lower Coastal Plain Substation (Camden) 0.13 - 0.15 Forklandfine sandy loam E.V. Smith Research Center, Horticultural Unit (Shorter) 0.15 - 0.17 Norfolk-orangeburg loamy sand Chilton Research and Extension Center (Clanton) 0.13 - 0.15 Luvemrnue sandy loam Upper Coastal Plain Agricultural Research Center (Winfield) 0.13 - 0.20 Savannah loam North Alabama Horticultural Research Center (Cullman) 0.16 - 0.20 Hartsells-Albertville fine sandy loam Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center (Crossville) 0.16 - 0.18 Wynnville fine sandy loam TABLE 2. 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 SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 5 Brewton Hosts First Lima Bean Trial Joe Kemble, Edgar Vinson, and Randy Akridge A lima bean variety trial was conducted at the Brewton Agricultural Research Unit in Brewton, Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). Six lima bean varieties were direct seeded into 20-foot by 3-foot bare ground plots at a within row spacing of 1 foot. This provided a stand of approximately 14,520 plants per acre. Preplant fertilization consisted of 70 pounds per acre of nitrogen, 70 pounds per acre ofP 2 0 5 , and 100 pounds per acre of K 2 0. Lima bean plants were sidedressed with 15 pounds per acre of Ca(NO 3 ) 2 from firstbloom and alter- nate weeks thereafter. Current production practices for lima beans can be found in Vegetable Crop Guidelines for the Southeastern U.S. (bulletin published by the North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association). Lima beans were harvested at mature green stage once weekly from July 2 through July 29 (Table 3). The top three varieties were 'Jackson Wonder', 'Dixie Speck- led', and 'Henderson Bush'. Of the three varieties, 'Dixie Speckled' and 'Henderson Bush' had the highest shell- out percentages. 'Dixie Speckled' was the number one variety in the shelled weight category though these dif- ferences were not significant. TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED LIMA BEAN VARIETIES Variety Total Shelled yield weight Shellout lbs/ac lbs/ac % Jackson Wonder 4,245 1,167 27 Dixie Speckled 4,066 1,354 33 Henderson Bush 3,254 1,091 33 Baby Lima 2,514 675 27 Fordhook 242 788 183 22 Burpee Improved 160 42 26 S0.83 0.83 0.70 CV 32 34 11 lsd 1,194 383 4 TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 2002 LIMA BEAN VARIETY TRIAL 1 Location BARU Weather 5 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 5 Overall 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. TABLE 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED LIMA BEAN VARIETIES Variety Seed Pod shape Days source and length Color to harvest Baby Lima Seedway Flat Green 80 Burpee Improved Rupp Flat Lt. green 80 Dixie Speckled Rupp - Red speckled 75 Fordhook 242 Gurney's Plump Cream 75 Henderson Bush Gurney's Plump White 65 Jackson Wonder Gurney's Plump Purple 65 SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 5 sowPVI UJL L 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Few Differences Found Among White and Yellow Supersweet Corn Varieties Joe Kemble, Edgar Vinson, and Arnold Caylor r , _ .t Yellow and white supersweet sweet corn varieties were evaluated at the North Alabama Horticulture Re- search Center (NAHRC) in Cullman, Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). Yellow and white sweet corn varieties were sepa- rated by 300 feet because cross pollination alters grain characteristics. Two-row plots 20 feet by 3 feet were established with a within row spacing of 8 to 10 inches, creating a stand of approximately 26,000 plants per acre. Soils were fertilized according to the recommenda- tions of the Auburn University Soil Testing Labora- tory. Current production practices for sweet corn can be found in Vegetable Crop Guidelines for the Southeast- ern U.S. (bulletin published by the North Carolina Veg- etable Growers Association). TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 2002 SWEET CORN VARIETY TRIAL' Location NAHRC Weather 5 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 5 Overall 5 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. Fertilization consisted of an application of ammo- nium nitrate at a rate of 80 pounds nitrogen per acre preplant and a sidedress of ammonium nitrate at a rate of 40 pounds nitrogen per acre. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, TYPE, COLOR, AND EARLINESS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Seed Days Disease resistance Years source Color Type to harvest tolerance 2 evaluated Attribute (GSS-0966) 1 Novartis Y sh 2 78 CR, NCLB, SBW 99,02 Boreal Novartis W sh 2 78 CR, NCLB, SBW 02 Envy Seedway Y sh2 81 CR, NCLB, SBW,SCLB 02 Flagship Seedway W sh, 84 NCLB, SBW 02 Ice Queen Harris W sh 2 77 CR, MDMV, NCLB, SBW 02 Millennium Seedway W sh 2 82 CR, NCLB, SBW 02 Primetime Novartis Y sh 2 79 NCLB, SBW 97-99,02 Saturn Seedway Y sh 2 75 CR, NCLB, SBW,SCLB 02 SS 8101 Abbott & Cobb W sh, 81 NCLB, SBW 96,97,99,02 Treasure SeedWay W sh 2 83 NCLB, SBW 95,96,99,02 Variety 6800 Abbott & Cobb Y sh 2 72 NCLB, SBW 02 Variety 7311 Abbott & Cobb W sh 2 73 NCLB, SBW 02 Variety 8100 Abbott& Cobb Y sh, 81 NCLB, SBW 02 Windham Novartis W sh 2 79 CR, NCLB, SBW 02 'Insect-protected hybrid. 2 Disease resistance/tolerance: CR = Corn Rust; MDMV = Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus; NCLB = Northern Corn Leaf Blight; SBW = Stewart's Bacterial Wilt; SCLB = Southern Corn Leaf Blight. 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 7 Sweet corn varieties were harvested on July 23 and were graded following the Sweet Corn Grader's TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED WHITE Guide (Circular ANR-680 of the Alabama Cooperative AND YELLOW.SUPERSWEET CORN VARIETIES Extension System). Yield (Table 3) and ear characteris- Variety Type Yield Ear number Stand tics (Table 4) were also determined. lbs/ac no/ac % Very few differences were exhibited among the white supersweet varieties. 'Flagship' had the highest Flagship W Sh 2 17,140 24,775 75 Windham W Sh 16,598 23,595 69 numerical yield but this yield was similar to all other SS 8101 WShe 16,512 25289 80 white supersweet varieties with the exception of 'Trea- Variety 7311 W Sh 2 15,793 21,689 72 sure', which produced significantly lower yields than Ice Queen W Sh 2 14,288 21,417 67 all other varieties. In the ear number category, no dif- Boreal W Sh 2 13,022 19,511 69 ferences were found. Among yellow supersweet vari- Millennium W Sh 2 12,174 15,972 44 eties no differences in yield or ear number were found. Treasure W Sh 2 6,978 9,620 47 In both yellow and white supersweet varieties, the Saturn Y Sh 2 15,725 24,230 60 Envy Y Sh 2 15,243 23,958 64 percent stand did not appear to impact yield signifi- Variety 8100 Y Sh 2 14,747 23,323 49 cantly. Varieties with comparatively low stands were Primetime Y Sh 2 14,068 22,869 59 still capable of producing yields comparable to variet- Variety 6800 YSh 2 12,428 17,878 61 ies with high stands. Attribute Y Sh 2 11,401 17,606 69 r2 0.31 0.35 0.30 CV 33 32 28 lsd 6,654 9, 741 26 TABLE 4. QUALITY RATINGS OF SELECTED WHITE AND YELLOW SWEET CORN VARIETIES Variety Quality Tip Ear tip Eye Ear Ear Type rating' covert fill appeal 2 length diameter in in Millennium W 15.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.0 1.2 Variety 7311 W 15.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 7.8 1.7 Flagship W 14.75 5.00 4.75 5.00 7.5 1.8 SS 8101 W 14.33 4.33 5.00 5.00 7.7 1.8 Ice Queen W 14.25 4.25 5.00 5.00 7.8 1.7 Boreal W 14.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 7.0 1.6 Treasure W 14.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 5.0 1.3 Windham W 13.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 7.5 1.8 GGS-0966 Y 15.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 8.0 1.8 Envy Y 14.75 5.00 4.75 5.00 7.3 1.7 Saturn Y 14.75 4.75 5.00 5.00 7.3 1.8 Primetime Y 14.50 5.00 4.50 5.00 7.8 1.7 Variety 6800 Y 14.50 4.75 4.75 5.00 7.5 1.8 Variety 8100 Y 14.50 4.50 5.00 5.00 7.0 1.8 Attribute Y 14.33 4.33 5.00 5.00 7.0 1.7 S 0.22 0.30 0.23 0.33 0.22 CV 6.3 17 8 20 22 lsd 1.4 1.2 0.64 2.3 0.58 '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; '=very poor. 8 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Shor t-Day Onion Variety Trial, 2002 George E. Boyhan, William M. Randle, Anna Resurreccion, Albert C. Purvis, Reid L. Torrance, David E. Curry, Greg Hardison, M. Jefferson Cook, C. Randell Hill, and J. Thad Paulk, Southeast Georgia is ideal for onion production. This region of Georgia is noted for its mild winters, abundant water supply, and low sulfur soils. The soils are generally so low in sulfur in this region that extra sulfur must be added to produce onions. The sulfur, however, can be managed in such a way that by the time the crop is har- vested much of the sulfur is used up, resulting in a par- ticularly mild onion. Short-day onion (onions that bulb during the short days of winter) can be produced throughout the South where winters are mild, but to produce particularly mild onions the soils must be low in sulfur and there must be access to irrigation water. Even in Georgia the upland soils of the Piedmont are not suitable because of the high sulfur content. In addition, onions grown on clay soils are difficult to harvest and are prone to damage in the harvesting process. The onion variety trials held in Georgia are unique in that the results are used to make recommendations for onions suitable for Vidalia onion production. New onion varieties must be trialed for three years and have favor- able flavor characteristics two out three years to be rec- ommended for inclusion on the official list of varieties. The Georgia Department of Agriculture has final say as to which varieties are suitable for Vidalia onion production. These trials begin in the fall of 2001 with the produc- tion of transplants. This year's trial was conducted at the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia (Table 1). Fields were prepared in August; prepa- ration included the application of 63 gallons of 42% metam sodium per acre. On September 12,800 pounds of5-10-15 with 9% sulfur was broadcast preplant. Seed of each va- riety were sown on September 27 in high-density plantings with a Monosem planter set to deliver 50 to70 seed per linear foot. On September 28, 150 pounds of diammonium phosphate (18-46-0, DAP) was applied. This was followed by applications of 200 pounds of CaNO3 on October 25 and 200 pounds of CaNO 3 on November 7. Transplants were pulled and planted at their final spacing on November 26. Final spacing was on beds pre- TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 2002 ONION VARIETY TRIAL' Location VOVRC Weather 2 Fertility 5 Irrigation 5 Pests 2 Overall 3 'See introduction for a description of rating scales. pared to have a 6-foot center-to-center spacing with four rows on a bed. Each plot consisted of 50 feet of bed with 25 feet being harvested for yield data. Counts of doubles were conducted over the entire 50-foot bed. The experi- mental design was a randomized complete block. Beds were fertilized with 400 pounds of 5-10-15 with 9% sulfur on November 5. These rows were set 12 inches apart and plants were set 5.25 inches in the row. Additional fertilizer applications included 150 pounds of DAP applied on December 6, 200 pounds of 6-12-18 with 5% sulfur ap- plied on January 9 and January 23, and 200 pounds of CaNO 3 applied on February 5 and February 19. Disease control consisted of applications of Dithane with copper fungicide alternating with Bravo on the trans- plants beginning immediately after emergence and continu- ing weekly until transplanting. After transplanting Dithane, Kocide, Bravo, Rovaral, Mankocide, and Quadris were ap- pliedin various combinations beginning December 20, 2001 and continuing weeklyuntilApril 16, 2002. Weed control consisted of two applications of Goal herbicide at 3 ounces per acre applied to the direct seeded transplants on October 29 and November 19. After on- ions were transplanted to their final spacing, a single application of Goal and Prowl was applied at 1.5 pints per acre on December 19. Onion harvest began on April 15,2002 when the ear- liest maturing onions were pulled and allowed to dry in the field followed by clipping two days later at which time field weights were recorded. Onions were then dried with SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 9 forced air-drying at 950 Fahrenheit. Onions were removed from the dryers and graded on April22. Three more har- vests were conducted as onions matured on April 19, April 25, and May 2, respectively. The clipping dates were April 22, April 29, and May 6, and the grading dates were April 29, May 6, and May 9, respectively. Ten bulb samples from each replication of each vari- ety were tested for pungency using the pyruvate test which measures the development of pyruvate as micro- moles per gram fresh weight (um/gfw). In addition, a ten- bulb sample of replications .1 and 2. of each variety was evaluated by a professional taste panel. Yield data are presented in Table 2, which is sorted in descending order based on marketable yield. The top five varieties for marketable yield were DPS 1039, 'Nir- vana', DPS 1024, DPS 1032, and Sugar Belle F' When the data were sorted by harvest date, there was a strong correlation between this parameter and per- cent marketable yield with those varieties harvested later having a lower percent marketable yield. There was a high incidence of late season bacterial diseases particularly sour skin (Burkholderia cepacia), which lowered the mar- ketable yields of late season varieties. Sortingby fieldyield gave a good indication ofthepoten- tialforavariety'syieldingability. The top five varieties for field yield were 'Savannah Sweet', DPS 1033, RCX 5 195-1, DPS 1039, and DPS 1024. Variety DPS 1024 was among the top five performers for both field yield and marketable yield. TABLE 2. VIDALIA ONION VARIETY TRIAL YIELD RESULTS Seed Clipped Field Cured Marketable Percent Variety company (date) yield yield Jumbos Mediums yield marketable 50 lb. bags/ac DPS 1039 Nirvana (1027) DPS 1024 DPS 1032 SugarBelle Fl (SSC 6371) SSC 6372 F1 SweetAdvantage Sweet Vidalia WI-3115 99C 5092 1 Sweet Melissa DPS 1033 Granex 33 Yellow Granex PRR RCX 6043 EX 07592001 WI-609 Cyclops (XP? 6995) Rio Bravo RCX 5195-1 PS 7092 EX 19013 SouthemnBelle NumexChaco EX .07592000 Savannah Sweet Liberty Sweet Melody Southern Honey Pegasus GranexYellow, PRR D. Palmer Seed Sunseeds D. Palmer Seed D. Palmer Seed Shamrock Shamrock D. Palmer Seed Sunseeds Wanaaer Sakata Sunseeds D. Palmer Seed Seminis/Asgrow Sunseeds Sunseeds Seminm's/Asgrow Wannamaker Seminis/Asgrow Sunseeds Sunseeds Seminis/Petoseed Seminis/Asgrow. D. Palmer Seed Lockhart Seminis/Asgrow Seminis/Petoseed Bejo Seed Co. Sunseeds D. Palmer Seed Seminis/Asgrow Semiinis/Asgrow Adjusted lsd (p < or .0.05) 'Only 99C 5092 had any seedstems (two in a single plot) as counted on 3/26/02. 4/29/02 4/22/02 4/29/02 4/22/02 4/22/02 4/22/02 4/17/02 4/22/02 4/17/02 4/22/02 4/29/02 5/6/02 4/29/02 5/6/02 4/29/02 4/29/02 4/17/02 5/6/02 4/29/02 5/6/02 4/29/02 5/6/02. 4/17/02 5/6/02 4/29/02 4/29/02 5/6/02. 5/6/02 4/29/02 5/6/02 5/6/02 827 740 820 706 664 679 608 658 713 711 750 853 660 776 ..675 759 627 734 656 830 579 782 573 751 714 867. 615 502 558 633 633 .'0.331 23% 262 804 706 789 669 638 647 606 623 654 673 695 821 637 753 650 566 475 714 620 813 551 765- 455 736 679 678 576 495 522. 611 599 0.247 29% 354 583 572 574 542 542 522 419 480 467 450 450 476 457 442 454 374 387 390 374, 399 368 387 300 377 363 358 263 269 212 237 226 0.405 39% 263 630 611 603 600 584 582 557 554 550 521 497 492 492 465 465 434 433 418 410 406 400 395 394 389 384 377 292 281 261 250 232 47 39 29 57 42 60 139 73 83 71 47 17 35 23 11 60 47. 28. 36 7 32 8 94 12 21 19 29 12 49 13 6 0.756 84%. 35. 78 86 76 90 92 90 92 89 84 77 72 60 77 62 72 77 91 59 66 50 73 52 87 53 57 56- 51 35 50 41 39 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION None of the varieties had less than 80% jumbos of their marketable yields. The top five varieties for jumbo yield correspond to the top five varieties for marketable yield. The top five varieties for jumbos had better than 90% of their marketable yield as jumbos. Pungency, sugar content, and number of doubles are listed in Table 3. Seedstems were not a problem this year within the variety trial. Pungencies ranged from 1.1 to 3.5 um/gfw, which is considered quite good overall. The five mildest varieties were 'Sweet Melody', RCX 6043, SSC 6372 F,, 'Sweet Vidalia', and 'Savannah Sweet'. Taste panel evaluations are listed in Table 4. This year only the bitterness criterion was used to assess va- rieties for inclusion on the official variety list. The five varieties with the lowest bitterness were 'Sweet Melody', RCX 5195-1, 'Savannah Sweet', 'Liberty', and 'Yellow Granex PRR Sunseed'. Surprisingly, among all the param- eters listed for taste, 'Granex 33' was one of the poorest performers. 'Granex 33' is the standard variety for evalu- ating varieties for inclusion on the official list of varieties. In conclusion, this was a very unusual year. There was freezing weather at the end of February followed by very warm temperatures in March. The freezing weather is believed to have damaged the onion tops, setting them up for severe Stemphylium leaf blight (Stemphylium vesicarium) infection, which was particularly bad across most of the onion belt. Bacterial infection wasn't as bad in the location of this study as it was in some other loca- tions, but coupled with the warm weather in March, the bacterial infection was still severe. Because of this, on- ions were harvested earlier than they would have been harvested in a normal year. Even so, the later harvested varieties had much lower percent marketable yield. These unusual conditions may also have played a role in the taste testing where 'Granex 33' did so poorly. Due to the unusual conditions in this production year, it is difficult to assess the impact of the information from these trials. In determining the suitability of a particular variety for a particular situation, it is a good idea to use several years' worth of data. TABLE 3. VIDALIA ONION VARIETY TRIAL QUALITY PARAMETERS, 2002 Pungency Sugar Doubles Variety um/gfw % no/50-ft plot Southern Belle 3.5 a 1 9.9 69 Numex Chaco 2.8 ab 7.6 6 Sweet Advantage 2.8 ab 10.0 42 Liberty 2.7 be 7.7 2 Southern Honey 2.5 bed 8.6 8 WI-3115 2.3 bede 8.7 13 DPS 1039 2.3 bcdef 9.7 43 EX 07592001 2.2 bcdefg 8.1 13 Granex Yellow, PRRAsgrow 2.1 bcdefgh 8.6 6 DPS 1033 2.1 bcdefghi 8.0 8 Cyclops (XP 6995) 2.1 bedefghij 8.3 14 PS 7092 2.0 cdefghijk 9.4 9 EX 19013 1.9 cdefghijkl 8.4 1 DPS 1032 1.9cdefghijklm 8.7 6 DPS 1024 1.9defghijklm 8.9 5 Granex 33 1.8 defghijklm 8.3 7 Pegasus 1.8 defghijklm 8.5 1 Rio Bravo 1.8defghijklm 8.7 8 Yellow Granex PRR Sunseed 1.8 defghijklm 8.2 5 Nirvana (1027) 1.7 defghijklm 8.4 8 WI-609 1.7 defghijklm 9.0 7 Sugar Belle F1 (SSC 6371) 1.7 efghijklm 8.3 5 EX 07592000 1.7 fghijklm 8.0 3 99C 5092 1.6 ghijklm 9.0 3 RCX 5195-1 1.5 hijklm 7.7 4 Sweet Melissa 1.4 ijklm 8.3 8 Savannah Sweet 1.3 jklm 7.2 6 Sweet Vidalia 1.3 klm 8.5 7 SSC6372F1 1.2 1m 9.4 5 RCX 6043 1.1m 7.6 1 Sweet Melody 6 r 2 0.613 0.745 0.657 CV 35% 9% 64% Adjusted lsd (p. or =0.05) 0.9 0.8 5 ' Means followed by the same letter are not different by Duncan's multiple range test (p < or -=0.05). 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SING 2002 COM~ERCIAL VE~t ABLE VARIt lY TRI~ALS TABLE 4. TASTE TEST EVALUATIONS, 2001-2002 Variety Total sulfur Bitter Pungency Heat Sweet Granex 33 WI-3115 DPS 1032 DPS 1024 DPS 1039 SweetAdvantage Southern Belle Southern Honey Sweet Melissa Rio Bravo Numex Chaco SSC 6372 Fl RCX 6043 Sugar Belle Fl (SSC 6371) Nirvana (1027) Sweet Vidalia EX 19013 WI-609 GranexYellow, PRRAsgrow 99C 5092 EX 07592001 EX 07592000 Pegasus PS 7092 DPS 1033 Cyclops (XP 6995) Yellow Granex PRR Sunseed Liberty Savannah Sweet RCX 5195-1 Sweet Melody 18.3 abc'1 16.5 bcdefghijkl 19.4 ab 21.2 a 16.1. cdefghijklmno 14.8 nmno 16.3 bcdefghijkhnno 17.5 bcde 15.1 lmno 14.6 no 17.0 bcdefg 16.5 bcdefghijk 17.9 bcd 16.6 bcdefghij 17.5 bcdef 16.1 bcdefgbijklmno 16.5 bcdefghijklm 13.3o 16.4 bcdefgbijklmn 15.2 klmno 16.2 bcdefghijklmno 15.9 efghijklmno 15.9 defghijklmnno 16.1 bcdefghijklmno 16.9 bcdefgh 15.3 jklmno 15.9 fghijklnino 15.6 hijklnino 15.5 ijkhnno 15.7 ghijklmnno 16.7 bcdefghi 19.8 a 19.7 ab 18.7 abc 18.4 abcd 17.7 abcde 17.4 abcdef 16.9 abcdefg 16.1 bcdefgh 15.4 cdefghi 15.3 cdefghi 14.9 defhgij 14.7 defghijk 14.5 efghijk 14.4 efghijk 13.7 fghijkl 13.6 fghijkl 13.3 ghijkl 12.5 hijklm 12.3 biklrnn 12.1 ijlnno 12.1 ijklmn 11.8 ijklmno 1 1.3 jklmno 1 1.0 jklmno 10.9 klnino 10.3 limo 10.3 lmno 10.0 lmo 9.1 nino 8.5 no 8.3 o 34.7 a 19.61mr 27.5 bcdef 28.0 bcde 30.0Ob 16.4 m 21.8 ijkl 25.7 bcdefghijk 29.4 bcd 29.6 bc 26.0 bcdefghijk 26.4 bcdefg 24.8 bcdefghijkl 26.0 bcdefgh 26.0 bcdefghij 26.0 bcdefghi 23.8 defghijkl 14.4 a 23.6 efghijkl 24.7 bcdefghijkl 25.3 bcdefghijkl 25.1 bcdefghijkl 24.8 bcdefgbijkl 25.2 bcdefghijkl 24.3 cdefgbijkl 21.0 jklrn 22.6 fghijkl 22.5 ghijl 19.61mr 20.7 klm 22.0Ohijkl 35.8 a 19.9 hijklmm 25.5 bcdefg 26.0 bcdef 27.7 bc 21.3 fghijklrn 24.2 bcdefghi 24.9 bcdefgh 28.0Ob 26.7 bcde 27.3 bcd 22.6 bcdefghijkl 23.3 bcdefghijkl 18.4 ijklmm 21.9 cdefghijklm 22.2 cdefghijklm 24.0 bcdefghij 15.9n 25.2 bcdefg 21.0 gbijklmm 18.2 jklmm 17.9 khnn 23.3 bcdefghijk 18.4 ijklmn 22.9 bcdefgbijkl 21.6 defghijklm 21.3 efghijklr 22.3 bcdefghijklm 16.7 mm 17.61lmm 21.5 defghijklm ' Means followed by the same letter in a column are not significantly different by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (p 10-20 lbs >20-30 lbs >30 lbs RWM 8074-VP #5031 Celebration Carnival SugarSlice Jamboree Ole' AU-Producer-98 #7167 WX255 Montreal Tri-X 313 AU-3 Pinata Revolution WX207 #7177 HQ Tri-X Brand Palomar Cooperstown Sweet Slice RWT 8096-VP #7187 HQ Festival AU-Allsweet-BL Gold Strike #5244, Dulce Seedless Sangria Rojo Grande Imagination #1075 Adjusted lsd (p 0.05) Rogers Seminis Rogers Rogers Wilihite Rogers Wilihite Auburn Univ. Abbott&Cobb- Wii hite Sunseed .Rogers Auburn Univ. Wiilhite Sunseed, .Willhite Abbott&Cobb. Rogers Seminis Wilihite Rogers Abbott&Cobb Wilihite Auburn-Univ.. Willhite Abbott&Cobb- Willhite Rogers Wilihite Rogers Seminis Allsweet Seeded Triploid Allsweet Seeded, RWM 8052-VP Hybrid Seeded, RXW 118 -VP Triploid Allsweet Seeded, RWM 8036 Hybrid Diploid Crimson Sweet SuperSeedless! Hybrid Triploid Hybrid Diploid. Red Seedless ZYMVTolerance? Hybrid Triploid Hybrid Super Seedless HQ /Hybrid Triploid Red Seedess Triploid Triploid Red Seedless. Super Seedless HQ I Hybrid Triploid Hybrid Diploid Allsweet Hybrid Summer Sweet!/Hybrid Triploid Hybrid Allsweet Seedless, RWT 8108-VP Hybrid Red Seedless, RWT 8089-VP Triploid 9 4 11 0 6 22 13 8 12 7 3 11 6 3 32 11 6 7 11 3 4 7 15 4 2 0 49 7 69,395 60,450 59,369 56,519 54,319 53,495 52,189 52,069 51,659 51,593 49,357 48,609 47,045 46,457 45,890 45,440 44,235 43,829 43,640 42,732 42,239 41,730 40,881 40,616 39,977 38,9:17 36,496 34,354 34,235 27,530 26,612 0.264 39% 30,922 38 74 58 47 78 38 49 42 78 71 49 64 49 44 71 42 79 66 81 92 75 81 48 44 75 80 43 51 43 51 76 49 17 37 42- 10 55 39 40 0 16 43 24 38 42 18 47 15 2 7 1 18 8 47 51 18 5 47 44 54 0 17 12 1 4 8 1 5 12 12 0 0 0 0 6 11 0: 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 6 2 2 0 0 I1L-~~ JLJ -~W~10 I~U UI~~D 7VI 20 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 OMMOERCA VEGETABBLE VRIY Iv ALS 2 TABLE 3. WATERMELON FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS Flesh Flesh color Fruit Rind Fruit Soluble Variety color rating' length Width thickness type solids in in in% #5244 Red/Pink 3.0 10.8 8.5 0.9 CrimsonSweet 11.6 Ole' Red 3.6 15.3 9.1 0.8 Allsweet 11.4 WX207 Red/Pink 3.1 16.2 8.9 0.8 Jubilee 11.4 Cooperstown Pink/Red 2.7 10.5 8.9 0.8 CrimsonSweet 11.3 Gold Strike Yellow 3.6 12.8 8.8 0.7 Allsweet 11.3 Imagination Red .3.3 8.3 8.5 0.9 Icebox 11.3 Sweet Slice Red/Pink 2.8 10.2 8.9 0.9 Crimson Sweet 11.3 Revolution Red/Pink 2.7 10.9 8.1 0.8 Blocky Crimson Sweet 11.3 Sugar Slice Red 3.1 10.1 9.1 1.0 CrimsonSweet 11.3 RWT 8096-VP Red/Pink 2.6 10.7 8.9 1.0 Crimson Sweet 11.2 RojoGrande Red/Pink 3.7 15.8 8.4 0.9 Allsweet 11.1 Tri-X Brand Red 3.1 9.0 9.1 0.9 Small Crimson Sweet 11.1 Palomar Dulce Red/Pink 3.0 15.9 8.9 1.0 Allsweet 11.0 Montreal Pink/Red 2.3 13.6 9.4 1.0 Allsweet 11.0 Carnival Red 3.5 14.7 9.6 0.7 Jubilee 10.8 Celebration Red 3.1 12.3 8.8 0.9 Allsweet 10.8 #7167 Red 2.6 9.9 .8.4 0.8 CrimsonSweet 10.7 Festival Red 3.3 15.2 9.1 0.8 Allsweet 10.7 Pinata Red/Pink 2.6 14.5 9.1 0.8 Allsweet/Jubilee 10.6 #1075 Red 2.5 10.5 9.4 1.0 Crimson Sweet 10.6 Tri-X 313 Red/Pink 2.6 11.2 8.8 0.9 Small AllsweetCrimson Sweet 10.6 #7177 HQ Pink/Red 2.3 10.8 9.0 0.9 Crimson-Sweet 10.4 #7187 HQ Pink/Red 2.6 10.5 9.0 1.0 Crimson Sweet 10.4 Jamboree Red 3.0 15.7 8.0 0.8 Allsweet 10.4 AU-3 Pink/Red 2.2 11.5 11.0 0.9 Crimson Sweet 10.3 RWM 8074-VP Red 3.6 15.9 8.8 0.7 Allsweet 10.1 AU-Allsweet-BL Pink 1.6 14.2 8.9 1.0 Allsweet 10.1 #5031 Red/Pink .2.9 11.7 8.7 0.9 Crimson Sweet/Allsweet 10.0 AU-Producer-98 Red/Pink 3.3 .11.1 9.8 0.8 Crimson Sweet 9.9 Seedless Sangria Red 2.2 13.9 8.3 0.9 Allsweet/Jubilee. 9.9 WX255 Red/Pink 3.3 12.8 8.7 0.8 Allsweet 9.3 r2 0.331 CV 9% Adjusted lsd (p 0.05) 1.5 ' Flesh-color rating: 1-5 scale with 1 =poor color, 5=excellent color. low or orange variety. There is a genetic component to color obviously so some varieties will be pink-and never develop a dark red. color. The dark red color is considered more-desirable, but pink is perfectly acceptable. The color listing (red/pink or pink/red) reflects the perponderance of one color over the other for the melons that were: cut. The fruit -type reflects an assessment of the type of melon the :particular variety produces. These fruit types are based on older standard varieties that most growers and. researchers are familiar with. Crimson sweet is a round melon in the 15- to 25-pound-class with a striped rind. An allsweet type -is -a small oblong melon (20 to 30 pounds) with a dark green rind and light green or .yellow stripe. The flesh-tends to be dark -red. A jubilee type is a large oblong melon (greater than 25 pounds) with a striped rind. An icebox type is small melon -(10 to 15 pounds) that may have one of several different rind patterns.. As the name implies the melon is small enough to fit into a refrig- erator. Along. .with .fruit length and. width, rind thickness was 'recorded.. Generally because of their genetics, trip- bids will have a thicker rind than diploid melons. Athicker rind is desirable for shipping since it is less. prone to. breakage. It is not very-desirable, however, for marketing where a -thin rind is more pleasing and indicates a greater portion of the flesh is edible. A second trial was held at an on-farm location in Crisp County, Georgia. This trial consisted of 10 diploid SPRIG 202 COMERIAL EGETBLEVARITY TIAL 21 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION varieties. Only the yield and count was recorded for each plot (Table 4). Yields ranged from 44,972 to 88,572 pounds per acre with the highest yield from 'Dulce'. 'Dulce' had a significantly higher yield than 'Rojo Grande'. A cantaloupe trial was held at the VOVRC (Tables 5 and 6). Cantaloupe production in Georgia continues to be dominated by Eastern shipping type melons such as 'Athena'. These melons are picked at full maturity and have good post-harvest keeping quality.. The highest yielding variety was ACX 4757 with 55,460 pounds per acre yield. This is an Eastern type with high sugars and pleasing flesh color. 'Athena' continues to do well with large fruit and good yields. Most growers and seed companies use this variety as the standard to compare against. TABLE 4. WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL, ON-FARM, CRISP COUNTY, 2002 Variety Yield Average fruitweight lbs/acre lbs Dulce 88,572 25 Festival 79,731 23 Gold Strike 71,975 22 Carnival 71,894 24 Celebration 69,333 24 Ole 66,441 22 Montreal 65,695 24 Jamboree 59,645 23 WX2SS 59,274 17 Rojo Grande 44,972 21 (0.458 CV 25% Adjusted lsd (p 0.05) 34,552 TABLE 5. CANTALOUPE VARIETY TRIAL, 2002 Yield Number of fruit Fruit weight Variety Source lbs/ac no/ac lbs ACX 4757 Abbott & Cobb 55,460 9,317 6.0 Athena Rogers 37,468 5,566 6.7 AC-89-55 MI Auburn Univ. 37,135 12,403 3.0 RML 8793-VP Rogers 36,778 12,221 3.0 Odyssey Sunseed 36,500 6,111 6.0 AC-82-37-RNL Auburn U. 34,836 5,808.6.0 ACX 3908 Abbott & Cobb 32,991 14,399 2.3 AC-75-1A Auburn Univ. 29,324 7,563 3.9 r2 0.346 CV 33% Adjusted lsd (p 0.05) 23,426 TABLE 6. CANTALOUPE VARIETY TRIAL, 2002 Flesh Fruit Color Soluble Variety Length Width Thickness type rating' Color solids in in in AC-82-37-RNL 7.0 6.0 1.5 -Western 2.8 Orange 10.6 ACX 4757 8.3 6.6. 1.8 Eastern 3.3 Orange 110.5. ACX 3908 8.7 7.3 2.4 Eastern 3.0 Orange 10.3 AC-89-55 MI 7.5 6.4 1.8 Eastern 3.4 Orange' 10.2- Athena 7.2 6.4 2.1 Eastern 3.3 Orange. 9.9 Odyssey 7.7 6.7 2.1 Eastern 3.4 Orange 9.:8 RML 8793-VP 5.6 5.2 Western 2.7 Orange 9.2 AC=75-1A 5.1 5.0 Western 3. Orange 7. 7 0.310 CV 17% Adjusted lsd (p 0.05) 3.0 ' Color rating: 1-5 scale with 1=poor color and -5=excellent: color. 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 23 Differences Found AmongAllsweet Watermelons r J Joe Kemble, Edgar Vinson, Ron McDaniel, Malcomb Pegues, Larry Wells, Brian Gamble, and Arnold Caylor Watermelon trials were conducted at the Gulf Coast Re- search and Extension Center (GCREC) in Fairhope, Alabama, the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center (WREC) in Headland, Alabama, and the North Alabama Horticulture Research Center (NAHRC) in Cullman, Alabama. Allsweet watermelon varieties were direct seeded on 60 foot by 10 foot plots with a within row spacing of 5 feet on March 25 at GCREC andApril 16 at NAHRC. At WREC, seedless watermelon varieties were used. This required the use of transplants rather than direct deeding because of the low germination rate of seedless watermelons. Wa- termelons were grown on silver plastic mulch at NAHRC and on bare ground at WREC and GCREC. Currentproduc- tion practices for watermelon can be found in Vegetable Crop Guidelines for the Southeastern U.S. (bulletin published by the North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association). TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 2002 WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL 1 Location GCREC WREC NAHRC 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. AtGCREC, fertilization consisted oftwo applications of ammonium nitrate (at a rate of 110 pounds per acre) on May 3 and May 16. Herbicide was applied onApril 16 and fungi- cides were applied one time per month from May 28 through July2. TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED WATER- MELON VARIETIES Variety Type 2 Seed Fruit Flesh Days to Disease Years source shape color harvest claims 1 evaluated Summer Flavor 790HQ AS A&C Elongated Red 3 02 (formerly ACX 5411) ACX 5451 AS A&C Elongated Red - - 02 Athens AS Sunseeds Blocky Red - - 00,01 Carnival AS Novartis Blocky Red 86 ANT,FW 97-01 Festival AS Willhite Elongated Red 85 FW 02 Legacy AS Willhite Elonageted Red - 01 Montreal AS Sunseeds Elongated Red FW 4 01 Seedway 4502 AS Seedway Round Red 85 - 02 SR 8313WM AS Sunseeds Elongated Red - - 02 Starbrite AS Seminis Oblong Red 85 FW 4 97-01 Variety 710 JU A&C Blocky Red 85 - 02 Variety 800 AS A&C Oblong Red 87 - 02 Variety 900 AS A&C Elongated Red 86 - 02 Variety 910 AS A&C Elongated Red 86 - 02 Variety 7177 XXX A&C Blocky Red - - 02 Constitution XXX Sunseeds Blocky Red 87 FW 02 Freedom XXX Sunseeds Blocky Red 87 FW 02 Revolution XXX Sunseeds Blocky Red 85 FW 02 Tri-x-313 XXX Sunseeds Blocky Red 85 - 02 Variety 5244 XXX A&C Blocky Red - - 02 Variety 7167 XXX A&C Blocky Red - - 02 'Disease claims: ANT = Anthracnose; FW= FusariumWilt. 2 Type: AS = Allsweet; Ju=Jubilee; XXX=Triploid (seedless). _= not available from seed catalogues. 4 Race 1 only. SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 23 TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED SEEDED AND SEEDLESS WATERMELON VARIETIES Marketable Total Individual Soluble Hollow Rind Variety Type yield number fruit weight solids heart thickness lbs/ac no/ac lbs brix in cm Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center Variety 710 Legacy Starbrite Festival Variety 800 Carnival Summer Flavor 790HQ Montreal Variety 910 ACX 5451 Athens SR8313WM Variety 900 Seedway 4502 r lsd JU AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS 43,704 41,688 41,148 40,752 39,456 39,060 36,504 34,506 34,326 34,218 34,128 32,094 28,134 20,976 0.64 13 6,960 2,286 2,106 2,034 2,304 2,016 2,286 2,016 1,962 2,088 1,782 1,854 2,178 1,512 1,464 0.47 15 445 19 20 20 18 20 17 18 18 16 19 19 15 19 14 0.63 8 3.9 11.50 10.63 11.09 10.10 11.85 11.25 11.50 10.90 11.50 11.25 11.68 11.48 11.05 11.10 0.44 5.17 1.67 9 4 11 21 9 14 11 7 5 2 9 13 0 0 0.66 55 3.9 Wiregrass Research and Extension Center Tri-x-313 Constitution Variety 5244 Freedom Variety 7177 Revolution Variety 7167 r2 CV lsd 18,335 15,316 9,164 7,899 7,631 7,054 6,895 0.40 62 4,777 1,015 906 580 399 471 399 399 0.43 54 232 18 16 14 19 16 18 14 0.20 25 6.2 9.35 11.05 10.35 10.70 10.20 10.10 8.35 0.60 9 1.3 1.80 1.65 2.43 1.58 1.63 1.65 1.78 0.50 19 0.5 1*= not reported. 0 At WREC, 400 pounds per acre of 15-0-15 were ap- plied preplant on April 17 to meet soil test recommenda- tions. Fertilization consisted of one application of ammo- nium nitrate at a rate of 75 pounds N per acre. Fungicides were applied between May 31 and July 3. AtNAHRC, ammonium nitrate was applied preplant. Fertilization consisted of weekly injections of 6 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Fungicides were applied one week after planting and throughout harvest. Watermelons were harvested on July 2 at GCREC, July 15 and July 22 at WREC, and July 23 atNAHRC. Due to excessive feeding by coyote populations, data from NAHRC cannot be included. Watermelons were graded according to the Watermelon Grader's Guide (Circular ANR-681 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Sys- tem) and marketable yield was determined. Other useful information collected were sweetness, hollow heart, and rind thickness. Two melons from each plot were used to measure soluble solids (sweetness), hollow heart, and rind thickness. Sweetness was measured using a hand held refractometer. Watermelons with soluble solids reading below 100 Brix do not taste sweet. Hollow heart is the measure of the fissure of space at the heart of the melon. Watermelons with excessive incidences of hollow heart are not desirable. The rind thickness of a melon deter- mines how melons will endure shipping. At GCREC, 'Legacy', 'Starbrite' and 'Festival' were the top three performers. The yields of these varieties were also similarto 'Variety 800', 'Camrnival' and 'SummerFlavor790HQ'. 'Variety 800' had the highest brix reading (sweetness). 'Festival' had the lowest. 'Festival' also had the highest inci- dence ofhollow heart followedby 'Carnival', 'Starbrite' and 'Summer Flavor 790HQ'. 'Legacy' had the lowest incidence ofhollow heart. Among the seedless varieties at WREC, 'Constitution' performed as well as 'Tri-X-313', the market standard. The next variety in order ofyield significance was the experimen- tal variety 'Variety 5244' which also had the thickest rind. 24 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION I _ , _ ~~_~~_~ I - 9 ~SU~ 14_2' Wiregrass Research and Extension Center ----J CX 5451 SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 25 Triploid Watermelon Cultivar Trials Gilbert Miller, John D. Mueller, and Joe Varn During the annual South Carolina Watermelon As- sociation Meeting, members were asked to rate an exten- sive list of seedless watermelon varieties. The twelve seed- less watermelon varieties that received the most votes, were included in a variety trial at Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, South Carolina. The twelve seedless varieties are all commercially planted in South Carolina. The variety trial was planted later than normal for this area of South Carolina so that growers would be finished with the bulk of their watermelon harvest and could attend a July 11 field day to view the seedless vari- ety trial. Seeds were planted in the greenhouse on March 21 and transplanted to the field on April 22 and 23. Most growers in this area have completed planting watermelon transplants by the first week of April. Soil nutrient samples indicated very high phospho- rus (122 pounds per acre), medium potassium (98 pounds per acre), medium calcium (750 pounds per acre), and high magnesium (170 pounds per acre). The Clemson fertility recommendation based on soil samples was 120 to 140 pounds per acre nitrogen, no phosphorus, and 120 pounds per acre potassium. On March 25, 40-0-40 pounds per acre of fertilizer was banded and incorporated. Plasticmulch and drip irrigation was applied immedi- ately after fertilizer was incorporated. Row spacing was 8 foot on center. Fifty-four inch plastic mulch was used, giving a 30-inch bed top. Eurodrip drip tape with 12-inch emitter spacing rated at 0.43 gallons per minute per 100 feet was buried 2 inches beneath the bed surface. Plots were 30 feet long with plants spaced 3 feet apart in the row. The seedless watermelon transplants and pollinator plants were planted in the field on April22 and April 23. A total of 10 plants were planted per plot while each vari- ety was replicated four times. The cultivar 'Charleston Elite', was used as the pollinator because of its distinctly different rind pattern and color. Pollinator rows were placed adjacent to seedless rows. The variety trial was grown on a Dothan (DaB) soil with a medium water-holding capacity rated between 0.08 to 0.13 available water-holding capacity. Soil texture de- terminations at 0 to 12 inches indicated 87.6% sand, 8% clay, and 6.4% silt. To allow for consistent and uniform water application, an automated irrigation system was employed. Two water cycles per day at 86 minutes per cycle were initiated prior to planting. Daily water applica- tion equaled 3,880 gallons per acre. Total rainfall for the growing and harvest season totaled 6.05 inches. A fertigation program was initiated on May 1, eight days after transplanting. A liquid fertilizer, 7-0-7, was used for fertigation. Nutrients were injected during the after- noon irrigation cycle. The fertigation schedule and amounts are included in Table 1. Total fertilizer applied for the entire season was 152.5-0-152.5. The row middles were cultivated once and Strategy at 3 pints per acre was applied for weed control on May 8. Weekly fungicide applications were made beginning May 13. Following two initial applications of Bravo, alternate weekly applications of the fungicides Quadris and Dithane DF plus Nova were made. Squash bugs were a problem early in the season and were controlled with Pounce. The variety trial was harvested three times; the first was July 1 [68 days after field planting (DAP)], the second harvest was July 8 (75 DAP), and the third harvest was July 16 (83 DAP). Each fruit harvested was weighed and categorized according to the following weight classes: TABLE 1. FERTIGATION SCHEDULE AND AMOUNTS Stage Amount (lbs/ac/day) Pre-plant 30% N- 100% P - 30% K Planting- Flowering 1.0 lb N & K Flowering - Fruit set 1.5 lbs N & K Fruit set - Ripe start 2.0 lbs N& K Ripe start - Harvest 1.5 lbs N & K Maintenance 1.0 lb N & K SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 25 -'r_ r } L } l _ ) small, less than 12 pounds; medium, 12 to 18 pounds; and tified. Finally three samples of each of the four replica- large, greater than 18 pounds. tions at each of the three harvests were checked for soluble At each harvest the percentage of the fruit for each solids and hollow heart. No cultivar had greater than 5% weight classification was determined. The average size hollow heart. The yield and quality evaluations are in- melon for each cultivar was also determined. The total cluded in Table 2. weight and yield per acre for each cultivar was also quan- TABLE 2. YIELD, FRUIT SIZE, AND QUALITY OF TRIPLOID WATERMELON VARIETIES Cultivar Fruit Small' Medium 2 Large 3 Average size Sugar Yield 4 no/ac % % % lbs brix lbs/ac Fandango . 3,993 1.468 39.17 59.35 18.44 10.53 73,616 Carousel 4,038 3.453 43.07 53.47 17.77 10.83 71,846 Ac 7187 4,628 0 42.31 57.68 18.41 10.16 85,141 Tri-X 313 3,584 6.171 56.39 37.43 15.66 10.14 55,929 Revolution 3,902 1.459 33.62 64.92 19.42 10.93 75,503 SugarHeart 3,720 5.556 65.05 29.39 14.92 12.82 55,680 AC 5244 4,582 3.505 50.72 45.77 17.13 10.06 78,562 Cooperstown 4,719 2.631 43.36 54.00 18.07 10.68 85,604 Slice N' Serve 4,597 6.633 45.37 47.99 17.13 10.50 78,928 Millionaire 4,537 2.657 38.78 58.55 18.47 10.18 83,998 Crispy Sweet 4,310 2.470 53.04 44.48 17.58 10.42 75,422 Freedom 3,448 1.573 34.86 63.56 18.08 11.31 62,835 1 Small = < 12 pounds, 2 Medium = 12 to 18 pounds, 3 Large= > 18 pounds. 4 Yield per acre based on linear row feet per acre at 5,445 feet (8-foot-on-center row spacing). 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIElY TRIALS 27 Elongated Triploid Watermelons Evaluated in Northern Mississippi Kent E. Cushman and Thomas E. Horgan S' r Ten entries of triploid (seedless) watermelons were grown in the spring of 2002 in northern Mississippi. Eight entries were elongated triploid types not previously evalu- ated at this location. Two entries were 'Tri-X Brand 313' type triploid watermelons and were the best performing entries grown at this site during the previous two grow- ing seasons. All entries were seeded into 72-cell flats in the green- house on April 3, 2002 and seedlings were planted to the field on April 29. Seedlings were spaced 4 feet apart in plots 40 feet long making a total of 10 plants per plot. Plant beds were spaced 6 feet apart, resulting in a plant population of 1,815 plants per acre and an area per plant of 24 square feet. Melons from the eight elongated en- tries were expected to weigh from 16 to 26 pounds ac- cording to seed company descriptions. Melons from the two 'Tri-X Brand 313' type entries were expected to weigh from 15 to 18 pounds according to seed company de- scriptions. 'Verona' was used as the pollenizer in this study because its dark green "black-diamond" exterior could be easily distinguished from the striped triploid en- tries. Time of seeding and transplant, and plant spac- ing were identical to that of the triploid entries. 'Verona' and triploid plots were arranged in a checkerboard pat- tern so that each triploid plot was surrounded on all sides by pollenizer plots. Two beehives were placed in close proximity to the field for the duration ofthe study. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. The soil was a Quitman silt loam. Plant beds were formed 6 inches high and 30 inches across the top with a press-pan-type bed shaper. Preplant fertilizer was placed in the plant bed during formation at the rate of 80 pounds N, 150 pounds P 2 0 5 , and 200 pounds K 2 0 per acre. Black plastic mulch and drip tape, rated at 0.3 gallons per minute per 100 feet at 10 pounds per square inch, was applied immediately after bed formation. Beds were not fumigated. Water or fertilizer solution was applied through the drip tape to supply at least 1 acre-inch of irrigation per week. Soluble fertilizer (side-dress) was applied twice by injecting a concentrated solution of CaNO 3 , the first time when vines began to run and the second time when early melons reached about 2 inches in diameter. Side-dress- ings supplied an additional 40 pounds N per acre. Strat- egy (ethalfluaralin and clomazone) herbicide was used to control weeds between the plastic-covered rows. Asana XL (esfenvalerate), Spintor (spinosad), or Thiodan EC (endosulfan) were mixed with Bravo WS (chlorothalonil) or Quadris (azoxystrobin) and sprayed on a 7- to 10-day schedule for insect and disease control. Applications of Bravo and Quadris were alternated every other week. A diazinon (diazinon) drench was applied soon after plant- ing to control an infestation of soil insects. Melons were harvested July 9, July 16, and July 23 for a total of three harvests. Melons from each plot were weighed individually. At least three melons from each plot were opened and observed for severity of hollow heart, bacterial rind necrosis, and number of colored seed. Hollow heart was evaluated by measuring the width of the gap formed at its widest point. Rind necrosis was rated using the following scale: 1-none, 2= a total of of the perimeter of therind affected, 3=a total of 1/4 to affected, 4=a total of to 3/4 affected, and 5=a total of 3 4 or more affected. Opened melons were observed for the number of colored seed apparent along the cut surfaces. Colored seed included both mature seed and hard seed coats. Opened melons were also tested for soluble solids concentration with a hand-held refractometer. Number of marketable melons and total weight of marketable melons per acre were statistically compared. Only melons weighing 10 pounds or more were included in the analysis of marketable yield. Only melons with soluble solids concentrations greater than 10 were in- cluded in the analysis of soluble solids concentration. None of the melons were rejected (culled) on the basis of rind necrosis or hollow heart ratings because most of the melons harvested during this study were not opened for internal observations. 'Vertigo,' a cultivar from Hazera, produced the high- est yields of marketable melons (pounds per acre and melons per acre), but these marketable yields were not SPRIG 202 OMMECIA VEETALE VRIEY TIAL 27 28 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION significantly different than any other entry. 'Vertigo' also produced the lowest yields of early melons (pounds per acre and melons per acre), but, as with marketable yields, these yields were not significantly different than any other entry. Tables 1, 2, and 3 list entries in descending order according to marketable yield (pounds per acre). SWS 4930 produced significantly larger melons (20.6 pounds) than most other entries. Only 'Seedless Sangria' and SR 8026 produced melons that were not significantly different in average weight than SWS 4930 (Table 1). Av- erage weight of marketable melons in this study ranged from a low of 16.1 pounds to a high of 20.6 pounds. As expected, the average weight of the two 'Tri-X Brand 313' type entries, 'Cooperstown' and 'Triple Crown,' was lower than that of the elongated entries. Values for soluble solids concentration, hollow heart, rind necrosis, and colored seed, as listed in Table 2, were not significantly different among any of the entries. Rind necrosis was a serious problem in watermelon plantings of previous years at this location, but few melons exhib- ited symptoms during this evaluation. Table 3 lists distri- bution of melons according to weight categories. 'Seed- less Sangria,' SWS 4930, and SR 8026 were the only en- tries with 70% or more ofmarketable melons weighing more than 18 pounds. Evaluations of these eight elongated entries were also made at locations in central and coastal Mississippi, and results of those evaluations will be presented in other re- ports. It is expected that these same entries will be evalu- ated again in 2003 at the same locations. TABLE 1. TOTAL AND EARLY MARKETABLE YIELD AND SIZE OF TEN TRIPLOID WATERMELON ENTRIES GROWN IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI IN SPRING 20021 Total marketable Early marketable Source Rind pattern Flesh color yield and size 2 yield and size 2,3 Entry lb/ac melons/ac lb/melon lb/ac melons/ac lb/melon Vertigo Hazera Crimson Sweet Medium red 82,000 4,540 18.1 16,300 910 18.0 Seedless Sangria Syngenta Allsweet Dark red 75,900 3,810 19.9 32,500 1630 19.9 Freedom Sunseeds Jubilee Dark red 74,700 3,900 19.1 34,700 1680 20.6 SWS 4930 Southwestern Allsweet Medium red 73,800 3,580 20.6 28,100 1270 22.2 Cooperstown 4 Seminis Crimson Sweet Medium red 70,700 4,400 16.1 36,200 2130 16.9 Revolution Sunseeds Allsweet Medium red 70,100 3,770 18.6 32,600 1720 18.8 Triple Crown 4 SeedWay Crimson Sweet Medium red 66,800 3,900 17.1 35,000 2040 17.1 Banner Sunseeds Allsweet Medium red 65,700 3,450 19.0 32,600 1630 19.9 SR 8026 Sunseeds Allsweet Medium red 60,900 3,040 20.0 32,900 1590 20.7 SXW 4016 Sunseeds Allsweet Medium red 60,000 3,180 18.8 29,700 1540 19.1 lsd5 NS NS 1.4 NS NS 1.7 ' Values in bold are not significantly different from the entry with the highest value. Valuesof yield andsizeare based on marketable melons greater than 10 lb. Yield based on plant population of 1,815 plants per acre (24 ft 2 per plant). Rows spaced 6 ft apart with plants 4 ft apart in the row. Least square means reported. 3 Early yield based on the first harvest out of a total of three. 4 Oval-shaped triploid melons similarto 'Tri-X Brand 313'. All other entries are elongated triploid melons. 5 Least Significant Difference (lsd) at P-=0.05. Treatments not significantly different (NS). 28 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIElY TRIALS 29 TABLE 2. QUALITY OF TEN TRIPLOID WATERMELON ENTRIES GROWN IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI IN SPRING 20021 Soluble solids Entry concentration 2 Hollow heart 2 Rind necrosis 2 Black seed 2 % % inches % rating % no Vertigo 12.4 29 0.2 6 1.1 31 0.5 Seedless Sangria 11.8 25 0.1 0 1.0 13 0.2 Freedom 12.4 8 0.0 0 1.0 29 0.4 SWS 4930 11.6 43 0.2 0 1.0 45 0.6 Cooperstown 3 12.1 23 0.2 0 1.0 0 0.0 Revolution 12.0 8 0.0 0 1.0 13 0.1 Triple Crown 3 11.4 15 0.1 0 1.0 21 0.2 Banner 12.0 25 0.1 0 1.0 35 0.5 SR 8026 11.8 27 0.1 0 1.0 33 0.6 SXW 4016 11.8 0 0.0 8 1.0 6 0.1 lsd 4 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 'Values in bold are not significantly different from the entry with the highest value orthe best rating. 2 At least three melons from each of four replications were opened for internal observations. Least squares means reported. Percent of opened melons exhibiting hollow heart, rind necrosis, and colored seed are reported. Hollow heart measured at widest point. Rind necrosis rated on a scale of 1-none, 2=a total of '/4 of the perimeter of the rind affected, 3=a total of to V2 affected, 4=a total of to3/4 affected, and 5=a total of 3/4 or more affected. The number of colored seed observed along the cut surfaces was: recorded. Hollow heart inches, rind necrosis rating, and number of colored seed are averages of all melons evaluated, not averages of melons with symptoms. 3 Oval-shaped triploid melons similar to 'Tri-X Brand 313'. All other entries are elongated triploid melons. 4 Treatments not significantly different (NS). TABLE 3. DISTRIBUTION OF FRUIT WEIGHT OF TEN TRIPLOID WATERMELON ENTRIES GROWN IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI IN SPRING 2002 Fruit weight (lbs) - Entry <10 10-14 14-18 18-22 >22 (%) Vertigo 1 1 51 39 8 Seedless Sangria 0 1 29 49 21 Freedom 0 6 31 44 19 SWS4930 1 1 28 38 33 Cooperstown ' 3 17 62 18 0 Revolution 0 7 37 41 14 Triple Crown' 1 13 53 26 7 Banner 0 4 33 43 20 SR 8026 0 0 28 46 25 SX 4016 0 6 29 53 13 ' Oval-shaped triploid melons similar to 'Tri-X Brand 313'. All other entries are elongated triploid melons. SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 29 30 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Elongated Triploid Watermelons Evaluated in Southern Mississippi Christine E. H. Coker, Mike Ely, and Thomas Freeman Previous studies in Mississippi have shown excel- lent yield potential for icebox-type triploid watermelons. Eight elongated triploid watermelon cultivars were se- lected for trial at three research stations throughout the state including the North Mississippi Research and Ex- tension Center at Verona; the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Truck Crops Branch Station at Crys- tal Springs; and the Coastal Research and Extension Cen- ter, Beaumont Horticultural Unit at Beaumont (Table 1). Results from the Beaumont Horticultural Unit will be dis- cussed here. Transplants were produced on-site according to in- formation provided with the seed. Trays were seeded on March 28, 2002. Transplants were set in the field onApril 18, 2002. Because of its distinctive rind color and shape, 'Verona' was chosen as the pollenizer. Each plot was 40 feet in length and included 10 plants. Between-row spac- ing was 6 feet and within-row spacing was 4 feet allowing 24 ft 2 per plant. Nitrogen, phosphate (P 2 0 5 ), and potash (K 2 0) were broadcast and incorporated preplant (13-13-13). CaNO 3 was applied via drip irrigation at a rate of 1 pound per 100 feet on May 13 and May 27. Asana and Bravo, copper and Thiodan, or diazinon and Benlate were applied at label rates in rotation. The beds were not fumigated. Eight harvests were conducted between June 19 and July 23. TABLE 1. TRIPLOID CULTIVARS INCLUDED IN THE TRIAL AT THE BEAUMONT HORTICULTURE UNIT, 2002 Entry Banner Freedom Revolution SR 8026WM SXW 4016 SWS 4930 Vertigo S dless S.anaria Seed source Sunseeds Sunseeds Sunseeds Sunseeds Sunseeds Southwestern Seed Co. Hazera Genetic LTD S n nta Data collected included weight, number, number of black seeds, soluble solids concentration, occurrence of hollow heart, and rind necrosis (Table 2). No significant differences were found among cultivars for number of fruit, number of black seeds per melon, or sugar content. Differences were shown, however, for the average weight of each cultivar. 'Seedless Sangria' produced the largest melons with an average weight of 20.92 pounds per fruit. 'Vertigo', 'Revolution', and 'Freedom' weighed signifi- cantly less at 18.53, 18.20, and 17.48 pounds per fruit, respectively. Therewas little occurrence of hollow heart, and no recorded occurrence of rind necrosis. TABLE 2. YIELD AND PERFORMANCE DATA FOR SELECTED TRIPLOID - WATERMELON VARIETIES Entry Yield Fruit Weight/melon Black seeds Soluble solids lbs/ac no.ac lbs no/melon concentration Banner 93,200 4,764 19.6 ab' 2.75 12.0 Freedom 73,526 4,220 17.5 b 2.5 12.1 Revolution 84,390 4,628 18.2 b 1.0 12.1 Seedless Sangria 89.,634 4,311 20.9a 1.75 11.5 SR 8026WM 83,410 4,265 19.5 ab 0.25 11.4 SWS 4930 80,092 4,220 18.9 ab 1.0 11.7 SXW4016 86,717 4,628 19.0 ab 0.25 11.7 Vertigo 95,585 5,173 18.5 b 1.0 12.0 ' Values followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's Multiple Range Test at the 5% level. 30 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIElY TRIALS 31 Abbott and Cobb, Inc. To order: (800)-345-SEED In TX: (800) 227-8177 Tech Rep: Russ Becham Ph: (800) 345-7333 Fax: (912)498-5857 1310 McGeeAvenue Berkeley, CA94703 Phone: (510)5264704 Email: mail@berkeleyhorLcom Gurney's Seed.& Nursery Con (605)665-1930 110 Capital Street Yankton, South Dakota 57079 Harris Seeds To order: (800) 544-7938 PO. Box22960 60 Saginow Dr. Rochester, NY 14692-2960 Hollar To order: (719) 254-7411 P.O. Box 106 Rocky Ford, CO 81067-0106 Ph: (719) 254-7411 Fax: (719) 254-3539 Website: www.hollarseeds.com Johnny's Select Seeds To order: (207) 437-4395 Tech. Rep: Steve Woodward 1 Foss Hill Road RR1,Box2580 Albion, ME 04910-973 1 Fax: (800) 437-4290 Rupp Seeds To order: (800) 700-1199 17919 County RoadB Waseon, OH 43567 Sandoz Rogers/Novartis To order: (912) 560-1863 Seedway To order: (800) 952-7333 Tech. Rep: James J. Pullins 1225 ZeagerRd. Elizabethtown, PA 17022 Ph: (717) 367-1075 Fax: (717) 367-0387 E-mail: info@seedway.com Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc Tech Rep: Rusty Autry 2221 North ParkAve. TiftonGCA3l796 Ph: (229) 386-0750 Sunseeds Richard Wojciak 12214 Lacewood Lane Wellington, Florida 33414-4983 Phone: (561) 7919061 Fax: (561) 798 4915 Mobile: (561)3712023 E-mail: ficbarcwojciaksunseeds.com Tifton Seed Distribution Center Tech. Rep: Van Lindsey Ph: (912) 382-1815 Wilihite To order: (800) 828-1840 Tech Rep: Don Dobbs P0. Box 23 Poolville, TX 76487 Fax: (817) 599-5843 SPRING 2002 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 31 Guidelines for Contributions to the Vegetable Variety Regional Bulletin Vegetable variety evaluation and selection is an essential part of production horticulture. The vegetable variety regional bulletin is intended to report results of variety trials conducted by research institutions in the Southeast in a timely manner. Its intended audience includes growers, research/extension personnel, and members of the seed industry. Timeliness and rapid turnaround are essential to better serve our audience. Hence, two bulletins are printed each year: one in November with results from spring crops, and another one in April with results from summer and fall crops. It is essential that trial results are available before variety decisions for the next growing season are made. Here are a few useful guidelines to speed up the publication process for the next regional bulletin (fall 2001). When: March 28, 2003 Deadline for fall 2002 variety trial report submissions. What: Results pertaining to variety evaluation in a broad sense. This includes field performance, quality evaluation, and disease resistance. Here are a few tips: * Follow the format used in the first five regional bulletins. * Include author's complete mailing address, e-mail address, and phone num- ber. * Follow your own unit's internal review process. Contributions will be ed- ited, but not formally reviewed. How: Send a disk and hard copy to: Edgar Vinson or Joe Kemble Department of Horticulture 101 Funchess Hall Auburn University, AL 36849-5408 Or send e-mail to: evinson@acesag.auburn.edu, or jkemble@acesag.auburn.edu CLEMSON UNIVERSITY I. Edisto Research and Education Center, Blackville, SC UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 2.Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, Lyons, GA 3. On-farm location in Crisp County, GA MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY 4. North Mississippi Research and Extension Center,Verona, MS 5. Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Raymond, MS 6.Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station, Crystal Springs, MS 7. Coastal Research and Extension Center, Beaumont, MS AUBURN UNIVERSITY 8. Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, Fairhope,AL 9. Brewton Agricultural Research Unit, Brewton,AL I O.Wiregrass Research and Extension Center, Headland,AL I I. E.V. Smith Research Center, Shorter,AL 12. Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center, Crossville,AL 13. North Alabama Horticulture Research Center, Cullman,AL