Spriny
1999
Commerciz 
Ye/e
6
hfe
'Cnie/y
Jpials
REGIONAL BULLETIN 
03
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
THE UNIVERSITY 
OF GEORGIA
MISSISSIPPI STATE 
UNIVERSITY
THE UNIVERSITY 
OF FLORIDA
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC 
INSTITUTE AND 
STATE UNIVERSITY
Alabama Agricultural 
Experiment Station 
Luther Waters, Director
Auburn University, 
Auburn, Alabama 
November 1999

Contents
Authors 2
Introduction: Interpreting Vegetable Variety Trial Information 3
Bell Pepper Trial at North Alabama 5
Several New Tomato Varieties Evaluated in North Alabama 7
'Chandler' and 'Camarosa' Best in North Mississippi Strawberry Trial 
9
Cantaloupe Variety Trial in Eastern Georgia 10
'Hy-Mark' is Still among Top Western-type Melons 
11
Green Bean Experimentals Released as 'Capricorn' and 'Mercury' 14
'Zephyr's' Green Blossom End Makes Squash Trials Colorful 
16
Sugary Enhanced White Sweet Corn Entries Yield as Well as 'Silver Queen' but Earlier 20
Sugary Enhanced Yellow Sweet Corn Entries Perform Better Than 'Merit' 22
Several Sweet Corn Varieties Show Good Yield and Quality 24
Last Year's Top Performing Okra Varieties Return this Year 27
Vidalia Onion Variety Trials Held in Georgia 30
Evaluation of Garlic Varieties 33
Tropical Pumpkin Hybrid Evaluation 35
Watermelon Variety Trial in Eastern Georgia 37
Seedless Watermelon Variety Trial in Southeast Virginia 39
Little Difference Found among Allsweet Watermelon 41
Seed Sources 44
AU Vegetable Varieties Online 
47
Guidelines for Contributions to the Vegetable Variety Regional Bulletin 
51
Information contained herein is available to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin.
Authors
Randy Akridge
Superintendent
Brewton Experiment Field
Brewton, AL
(334) 867-3139
Rasima Bakhtiyarova
Research Assistant
Department of Horticulture
Auburn University, AL
(334) 844-3041
Jim Bannon
Director
E.V. Smith Research Center
Shorter, AL
(334) 727-7403
Bob Bevacqua
Former Extension Agent
Southampton Extension Office,
Courtland, VA
(757) 653-2572
Bobby Boozer
Area Horticulturist
Department of Horticulture
Auburn University, AL
(205) 646-4123
George Boyhan
Assistant Professor and Extension
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 Station
Cullman, AL
(256) 734-5820
Kent Cushman
Assistant Research Scientist
North Mississippi Research And
Extension Center
Verona, MS
(601) 566-2201
Tony Dawkins
Superintendent
Sand Mountain Research and
Extension Center
Crossville, AL
(256) 528-7133
Brian Gamble
Associate Superintendent
Wiregrass Research and Extension
Center
Headland, AL
(334) 693-2363
Darby Granberry
Professor and Extension Specialist
Rural Development Center, Tifton, GA
(912) 386-3410
Joe Little
Superintendent
Lower Coastal Plain Research Station
Camden, AL
(334) 682-4662
Ronald McDaniel
Superintendent
Gulf Coast Research and Extension
Center
Fairhope, AL
(334) 928-2740
Donald N. Maynard
Professor
Gulf Coast Research and Education
Center, Bradenton, FL
(941) 751-7636
Malcom Pegues
Assistant Superintendent
Gulf Coast Research and Extension
Center
Fairhope, AL
(334) 928-2740
Jim Pitts
Superintendent
Chilton Area Horticulture Station
Clanton, AL
(205) 646-3610
Randal Rawls
Superintendent
Upper Coastal Plain Research Station
Winfield, AL
(256) 487-2150
Paul Rose
Assistant Superintendent
Lower Coastal Plain Research Station
Camden, AL
(334) 682-4662
Eric Simonne
Assistant Professor
Department of Horticulture
Auburn University, AL
(334) 844-3018
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
John Owen
Superintendent
Piedmont Research Station
Camp Hill, AL
(256) 896-4422
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 3
Introduction: Interpreting Vegetable Variety
Trial Information
Edgar Vinson and Eric Simonne
The Spring 1999 Commercial Vegetable Variety Trials
regional bulletin includes results from Mississippi (Missis-
sippi State University), Alabama (Auburn University), Geor-
gia (University of Georgia), Virginia (Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University), and Florida (University of
Florida). By including results from throughout the South-
east and data on disease reaction, more useful information
can reach a broader audience. Here are a few tips on how to
get the most out of the results.
Trial Ratings
Each test was rated on a 1 to 5 scale, based on weather
conditions, fertilizer, irrigation, pest pressure, and over-
all performance (Table 1). Results from trials with rat-
ings of 2 or less are not reported.
Fertilization, Insect, and Pest Control
Trials conducted at Auburn University Experiment
Stations and Research Units were fertilized according to
the recommendations of the Auburn University Soil Test-
ing Laboratory. The actual fertilizers and chemicals used
are described only to provide detailed information about
the cultural practices employed. Mention of fertilizers
or chemical names represents neither a recommendation
nor an endorsement of these products. A list of chemi-
cals recommended for pest and weed control in vegetable
production in Alabama may be found in IPM Commer-
cial Vegetables: Insect, Disease, Nematode and Weed
Control Recommendations (Publication 99IPM-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. CV is an expression of yield
variability relative to yield mean. Low CVs (under 20%)
are desirable but are not always achieved.
Lsd is the minimum yield difference that is to be
observed between two varieties to infer that the one with
the highest yield actually performed better. When the
difference in yield between two varieties is less than the
lsd value, one cannot conclude that one variety performed
better than the other, despite a numerical difference in
yield. For example, in the 1999 watermelon trial at the
Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, 'Big Stripe'
yielded 52,762 pounds per acre, while 'Summer Gold'
and 'Ferrari' yielded 30,470 pounds per acre and 28,453
pounds per acre, respectively. Since there was less than a
22,500 pounds per acre (the lsd value for yield) differ-
ence between 'Big Stripe' and 'Summer Gold' there is
no statistical difference between the yields of these two
varieties. However, the difference between 'Big Stripe'
and 'Ferrari' was 24,309 pounds per acre, indicating that
there is a real difference between the yields of these two
varieties. From a practical point of view, growers should
compare varieties in terms of lsd.
TABLE 1. DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS
Rating Weather Fertilier 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
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Using Variety Trial Information for Selection of a
Variety
The performance of a genotype is affected by fac-
tors such as soil type, growing environment, and weather
conditions. Therefore, the information in this report
should be used as a primary source of information to
pre-select the varieties that have shown under the condi-
tions described hereafter to have potential for high yields
and quality. Also, vegetable varieties come and go, and
good-performing varieties may not be available consis-
tently. Therefore, it is better 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.
Vegetable Variety Trial Information Available Online
Vegetable variety trial information can now be
viewed on the web. With just a few clicks of the mouse,
several practical features can be accessed: a list of veg-
etable crops, an explanation of the ratings system and
database, a description of variety types and crops, as well
as information on participating seed companies. Is there
a variety that could not be found in the AU variety trial
reports? Check the list of vegetable crops. This is long
list that allows people to search by name, type, and
source. The Auburn University Vegetable Variety Trial
website can be found at www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/hf/
faculty/esimonne. More descriptive information on how
to use this site can be found in "AU Vegetable Varieties
Online," ANR-1166 from the Alabama Cooperative Ex-
tension System. A copy of that publication is included at
the end of this bulletin (see page 47).
4
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
Bell Pepper Trial
at North Alabama
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, and Arnold Caylor
A bell pepper variety trial was conducted at the North
Alabama Horticulture Station (NAHS) in Cullman
(Tables 1 and 2). Five-week-old peppers were trans-
planted on four-foot wide, drip-irrigated, and plastic-
mulched beds. Peppers were planted in double rows one
foot apart, at a within-row spacing of one foot, which
created a stand of approximately 15,000 plants per acre.
Fertilizer was applied preplant on April 19 to sup-
ply 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Peppers were planted
on May 27 and fertilized with 10 pounds per acre of cal-
cium nitrate once per week between June 4 and August
6, for a total of 180 pounds of nitrogen for the growing
season. Insect control was provided by applications of
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 BELL PEPPER
VARIETY TRIAL
1
Location NAHS
Weather 5
Fertility 5
Irrigation 5
Pests 5
Overall 5
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
Mattach (at the rate of 64 ounces per acre) on July 15,
July 22, July 26, and July 28. Weed control consisted of
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED 
BELL
PEPPER VARIETIES
Variety Ty'pe' Seed source Color
2  
Days to Disease Years
harvest tolerance/resistance
3  
evaluated
Camelot X3R F1 Petoseed G-R 74 BLS(1,2,3),TbMV 
94-97,99
Capistrano OP Petoseed G-R 74 ThMV 
96,97,99
Enterprise F1 Asgrow G-R 77 BLS(1,2,3),TbMV 95-97,99
Sentry F1 Novartis G-R 70 BLS(1,2),PVY,Stip,TbMV 
97,99
Aladin XR3 F1 Petoseed G-Y 73 BLS(1,2,3),TBV,TbEV 
98,99
Lafayette F1 Novartis G-R - -
99
King Arthur F1 Petoseed G-R 72 BLS(2),PVY,TbEV,TbMV 
94-97,99
Purple Beauty OP Petoseed Bk-R 74 TbMV 96,97,99
Bamoa F1 Petoseed G-R 74 TBV,PVY 99
Spp 6112 Fl Novartis G-R - - 99
Rpp 6110-vp F1 Novartis G-R - - 99
Colosal Fl Novartis G-R 60 * 99
Summer Sweet #890 F1 A & C G-R 89 BLS(1,2,3),PVY,TMV 99
ACX 209 F1 A & C G-R 86 BLS(1,2,3) 99
Merlin F1 Seedway G-R 68 TMV 99
Yankee Bell OP Johnny's G-R 70 * 99
Ace F1 Johnny's G-R 60 BD 99
'Type: Fl = Hybrid; OP = Open Pollinated.
2
Color: Bk = black; G = green; R = red; Y = yellow.
3
Disease tolerance/resistance: BD = Blossom Drop; PVY = Potato Virus Y; TbEV = Tobacco Etch Virus; TBV = Tobomovirus; TbMV
= Tobacco Mosaic Virus; BLS = Bacterial Leaf Spot;- =not found in seed catalogues; * = none.
5
6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Gramoxone Extra (at a rate of three pints per acre) on ence varieties in this trial were 'King Arthur', 'Camelot
June 7. X3R', 'Enterprise', and 'Sentry'. 'King Arthur', 'Colos-
Bell peppers were harvested on August 11. Fruits sal', and 'Merlin' were the varieties with highest yields.
were harvested at the mature-green color stage, weighed, 'Colossal' was noted for its high number of fancy grade
and graded (Table 3) using the standards of the Sweet peppers. 'Capistrano', 'Yankee Bell', and 'Purple Beauty'
Pepper Grader's Guide (Circular ANR-784 of the Ala- were the only open pollinated varieties and were out per-
bama Cooperative Extension System). formed by most hybrids.
Overall yields were low compared to previous years
because only one harvest was made in 1999. The refer-
TABLE 3. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED BELL PEPPER VARIETIES
GROWN AT THE NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE STATION
1
Variety
Total market- Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual
able wt.' fancy wt. US#1 wt. US#2 wt. cull fancy no. US#1 no. US#2 
no. fancy wt.
lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a 
#/a lb
King Arthur 18,714
Colosal 18,688
Merlin 18,303
Lafayette 15,606
Ace 14,239
Camelot X3R 14,186
Spp 6112 13,219
Summer Sweet # 890 12,059
Sentry 11,315
Rpp 6110-vp 11,132
Enterprise 10,511
ACX 209 9,800
Bamoa 9,452
Capistrano 7,573
Purple Beauty 7,335
Yankee Bell 7,038
Alladin X3R 6,533
R
2  
0.66
CV 27
lsd 1,055
3,379
9,264
4,772
4,075
1,628
5,206
4,373
2,420
3,638
4,761
2,025
4,109
2,783
807
798
276
1,300
9,145 6,190 4,661 7,194 25,234 21,582
6,111 3,313 4,344 19,784 18,421 12,917
7,752 5,779 4,544 12,644 22,945 28,395
6,821 4,710 3,802 8,775 17,495 16,405
6,982 5,628 4,601 5,069 28,994 31,992
5,625 3,354 2,898 11,663 16,841 13,189
5,823 3,024 3,411 10,301 18,258 12,808
5,737 3,903 4,680 5,614 16,296 15,369
4,864 2,813 4,328 7,903 12,590 11,118
4,004 2,367 5,145 11,118 13,407 10,900
4,370 4,116 5,614 5,232 14,334 16,786
3,703 1,988 5,838 9,974 10,137 8,611
3,973 2,697 4,384 7,249 11,336 11,227
3,640 3,126 3,428 1,799 9,810 12,208
2,621 3,916 6,389 1,962 9,047 16,132
2,570 4,193 4,652 927 10,628 19,620
2,187 3,046 5,024 3,815 7,685 14,170
0.54
64
1,595
'Marketable weight was determined as Fancy weight + US#1 weight + US#2 weight.
0.47
0.47
0.39
0.48
0.36
0.46
0.41
0.46
0.47
0.44
0.42
0.43
0.43
0.49
0.40
0.26
0.36
0.51
13
0.10
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 7
SSeveral New Tomato
Varieties Evaluated
in North Alabama
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, and Arnold Caylor
A tomato variety trial was conducted at the North
Alabama Horticultural Station (NAHS) in Cullman
(Tables 1 and 2).
Five-week-old tomatoes were transplanted on May
27 onto three-foot-wide trickle-irrigated beds covered
with plastic. Plots were 12 feet long and five feet wide.
Within-row spacing was 18 inches, which created a stand
of approximately 5,800 plants per acre. Plants were staked
and tied.
Preplant fertilization consisted of an application of
80 pounds of nitrogen. Tomato transplants were injected
with five pounds of nitrogen per acre twice per week
from June 4 through August 6. Insects were controlled
by applications of Spintor (at a rate of three ounces per
acre) on June 25; Mattach (at a rate of two quarts per
acre) on July 2, July 15, July 22, and July 28; and
Asana XL (at a rate of 9.6 ounces per acre) on July 8.
Fungicides used were Bravo (at a rate of three pints per
acre) on July 8, July 15, and July 28; Ridomil (at a rate
of 1.7 pounds per acre) on July 2; Man-Kocide (at a rate
of 2.5 pounds per acre) on June 4, June 11, and June 18;
and Penncozeb (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on July
22.
Plots were harvested on August 3, August 10, Au-
gust 17, and August 19. Fruits were harvested at the
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 TOMATO VARIETY
TRIAL
1
Location NAHS
-Weather 5
Fertility 5
Irrigation 5
Pests 5
Overall 5
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
breaker stage, weighed, and graded. Grades and corre-
sponding fruit diameters (D) of fresh-market tomato were
adapted from the Tomato Grader's Guide (Circular ANR
643 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
and were Jumbo (D>3.5 inch), Extra-Large (D>2.9 inch),
Large (D>2.5 inch), or Medium (D>2.3 inch). Market-
able yield was calculated by combining the Jumbo, Ex-
tra-Large, and Large grades (Tables 3).
Overall tomatoes performed well despite late plant-
ing and increasing disease pressure. 'Sunpride', 'Carol-
ing Gold', and 'Mountain Spring' were three of the top
performers, out performing the standards 'Florida 47' and
'Agriset'. Two new varieties, 'Red Sun' and 'Voyager',
performed well also.
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 tolerance/resistance
3  
evaluated
Agriset 761 Fl, FM Agrisales/UF1 Det Red - - 97-99
Carolina Gold Fl, FM Novartis/N.C.State Det Yellow 75 FWVW 99
EX-10091 Fl, FM Asgrow Det Red - - 98,99
Fabulous Fl, FM Seedway Det Red 77 ASC,FW,St,TbMV, VW 99
Florida 47* Fl, FM Asgrow Det Red 75 ASC,FW,St,VW 97-99
Mt. Spring Fl, FM Sandoz Rogers Det Red 69 FW,VW 94-99
Red Sun Fl, FM Johnny's Det Red 72 FW, NE, TbMV, VW 99
RFT-6116 Fl, FM Novartis Det Red - - 98,99
Sunbeam F1, FM Asgrow Det Red 75 FW,VM 94-99
Sunbelt Fl, FM Petoseed Det Red 72 ASC,FW,NE,St,VW 96,97
Sunleaper Fl, FM Rogers Det Red 70 FW,VW 98,99
Sunpride Fl, FM Asgrow Det Red 80 ASC,FW,St,VW 94-99
Ultra Magnum Fl, FM Stokes Det Red 68 FW,TbMV,VW 94-99
Ultra Sweet Fl, FM Stokes Det Red 62 FW,TbMV,VW 95-99
Voyager Fl, FM Johnny's Det Red 78 FW,VM 99
XP10089 F1, FM Asgrow Det Red - - 99
*Formerly XPH10047; - = not available; from seed catalogues.
'Type: Fl = Hybrid; OP = Open pollinated; FM = Fresh Market; RO = Roma (Elongated fruits); CH = Cherry (Small, round
fruits);SA = Saladette; Plm= Plum.
2
Plant Habit: Det = Determinate; Indet = Indeterminate.
3
Disease Resistance/Tolerance: FW = Fusarium Wilt; VW = Verticillium Wilt; ASC = Alternaria Stem Canker; St = Stemphylium
(gray leaf spot); NE = Root-knot Nematodes; TbMV = Tobacco Mosaic Virus.
TABLE 3. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED FRESH-MARKET TOMATO
VARIETIES GROWN AT THE NORTH ALABAMA HORTICULTURE STATION
Total market- Total Total Total Total Total Total Individual
Variety able wt. jumbo wt. jumbo no. large wt. large no. medium wt. cull fruit wt.
lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a lbs/a lb
Sunpride 28,133 7,111 39,386 16,426 16,713 4,596 11,344 0.74
Carolina Gold 28,049 7,444 35,483 15,972 15,768 4,636 11,525 0.69
Mountain Spring 26,428 6,986 25,047 14,974 11,206 4,469 8,440 0.69
Red Sun 23,814 8,411 24,684 11,525 9,589 3,878 10,486 0.78
Voyager 23,332 8,319 30,129 11,525 12,443 3,488 10,255 0.61
Florida 47 22,442 6,297 26,318 12,887 11,228 3,259 7,805 0.67
Agriset 20,931 5,925 31,763 11,798 12,750 3,209 8,621 0.56
Sun Leaper 20,891 7,190 28,223 10,618 11,568 3,083 4,710 0.54
XP 10089 20,889 4,684 26,499 12,705 10,859 3,500 6,988 0.70
Sunbelt 20,411 4,843 16,607 12,070 8,608 3,498 5,717 0.74
Sunbeam 20,375 3,800 31,218 12,798 12,817 3,780 5,717 0.61
RFT6116 20,267 6,112 25,955 10,708 10,867 3,447 8,258 0.57
Ultra Sweet 20.262 1,358 19,874 14,611 8,528 4,293 1,180 0.74
EX 10091 17,910 5,912 27,407 9,438 13,084 2,559 9,892 0.51
Fabulous 15,932 5,885 22,778 7,805 9,601 2,242 6,534 0.46
Ultra Magnum 14,437 3,609 18,513 8,440 7,652 2,388 3,630 0.56
R' 0.23 0.24 0.24
CV 36 30 30
lsd 5,250 2,460 0.26
8 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
9
'Chandler' and 'Camarosa'
Best in North Mississippi
Strawberry Trial
Kent Cushman and Thomas Horgan
Fresh-dug 'Chandler' and 'Camarosa' plants were
obtained from Norcal Nursery Inc. of Red Bluff, Cali-
fornia. Fresh-dug 'Sweet Charlie' and 'Gaviota' plants
were obtained from Lewis Nursery and Farms Inc. of
Rocky Point, North Carolina. 'Pelican' and 'MSUS 572'
plants were obtained from Barbara Smith's USDA/MSU
program located in Poplarville, Mississippi.'Pelican' and
'MSUS 572' have been developed for resistance to com-
mon anthracnose diseases.
All plants were planted through the plastic by hand
during the first week of November 1998. Sprinkler irri-
gation was applied daily for a week to establish plants.
Plants were spaced 12 inches apart in double rows also
spaced 12 inches apart. Plots were 8.5 feet long and five
feet wide.
Preplant fertilizer was broadcast before bed forma-
tion at the rate of 40 pound of N, 20 pounds of P
2
0
5
, and
20 pounds of K20 per acre. Soluble fertilizer was ap-
plied throughout the spring growing season by injecting
a concentrated fertilizer solution [Peters 20-20-20 or
Ca(NO
3
)
2
] through the drip irrigation system to obtain a
final N concentration of 100 ppm in the irrigation water.
Soluble fertilizers contributed an additional 60
pounds of N, 40 pounds of P
2
0
5
, and 20 pounds of K1(20
per acre. Early season frost protection was not provided
during this study. There was no need for insect or dis-
ease control throughout the study.
Harvest began April 12 and ended June 4 for a total
of 18 harvests. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was our
usual picking schedule. Fruit from each plot was sepa-
rated into marketable and cull and then counted and
weighed (see table).
STRAWBERRY MARKETABLE YIELD
Entry Total Marketable Average
yield' yield
2  
berry wt.
lbs/a % oz
Chandler 11,500 64 0.58
Camarosa 10,800 73 0.58
MSUS 572 6,300 37 0.61
Pelican 6,300 43 0.52
Sweet Charlie 4,000 48 0.56
Gaviota 3,900 56 0.56
R
2  
0.71 0.88
CV 37 11
lsd 4,700 11
' Total yield of 18 harvests.
2 Relative number of marketable fruit as the percentage of
total number harvested (marketable plus culls).
'Chandler' and 'Camarosa' produced the greatest
total and the highest marketable yields in this study. There
were no significant differences in total and marketable
yields between these two entries. 'Chandler' was the high-
est yielding cultivar in our 1998 trial, but that trial did
not include 'Camarosa', 'Sweet Charlie', and 'Gaviota'.
'MSUS 572' produced the lowest marketable yield.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
9
10 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
Cantaloupe Variety Trial
in Eastern Georgia
George Boyhan and Darbie Granberry
A cantaloupe variety trial was conducted at the
Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Farm in
Reidsville, Georgia. The site for the trial was prepared
with the application of one ton of lime per acre. In addi-
tion, 400 pounds per acre of 15-0-15 fertilizer were ap-
plied preplant and incorporated on May 10, 1999. The
transplants were seeded on April, 15 1999 and were trans-
planted on May 12, 1999 to a spacing of five feet in the
row and six feet between the rows. The experimental
design was a randomized complete block design with
four replications. Curbit herbicide was applied at a rate
of 0.75 pounds active ingredient per acre. Hand weed-
ing was also used as needed. Two hundred pounds of
additional fertilizer as NH4NO3 was applied on July 1,
1999.
The trial was harvested on July 9, 1999. Harvested
fruits were counted and weighed. Two representative
fruits from each plot were selected and additional data
were collected. This included the fruit length and width
as well as flesh thickness. In addition, the soluble solids
(sugar content) were recorded for each fruit. The fruit
type and flesh color were also noted.
Yields ranged from 2,428 pounds per acre for 'AC-
89-55MI' to 11,013 for 'SXM7204' with an lsd of 3,747
pounds per acre. There were no significant differences
for soluble solids (sugar content).
CANTALOUPE VARIETY TRIAL RESULTS 1999 VIDALIA ONION AND VEGETABLE RESEARCH 
FARM
Fruit Fruit Flesh Fruit Sol. Flesh Fruit
Variety Source Yield length width thickness wt solids color 
type
lbs/a in in in lbs %
AC-82-37RNL Auburn U. 10,113 6.7 5.8 1.7 5.0 6.2 
Orange Western
Super 45 Wilhite Seed 3,350 6.1 5.4 1.5 2.7 7.3 Orange 
Western
AC-75-1A Auburn U. 2,962 5.4 5.2 1.5 2.2 7.1 Orange 
Western
AC-89-55MI Auburn U. 2,428 5.3 5.0 1.4 2.2 6.2 Orange 
Western
SXM7204 Sunseed 11,013 6.8 6.1 1.8 3.9 7.9 Orange 
Eastern
SXM7119 Sunseed 7,805 7.0 6.1 1.7 4.5 6.5 Orange 
Eastern
Vienna Asgrow 5,430 7.8 6.8 1.9 5.3 6.7 Orange Eastern
CV 7 4 1 4
R
2  
0.8 1 0.4 6
lsd 3,747 NS
10 ALABAMA 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
11
'Hy-Mark' is Still
among Top Western-type
Melons
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Rasima Bakhtiyarova, Jim Bannon, Bobby Boozer,
Jason Burkett, Tony Dawkins, and Jim Pitts
Small melons (cantaloupe and honey dew) variety
trials were conducted at the E.V. Smith Research Center
(EVSRC) in Shorter, Chilton Area Horticulture Station
(CAHS) in Clanton, and the Sand Mountain Research
and Extension Center (SMREC) in Crossville (Tables 1
and 2).
At EVSRC, calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) and muriate
of potash (0-0-60) were applied preplant at rates of 387
and167 pounds per acre, respectively, on March 24. Mel-
ons were direct seeded on April 29. Alternate injections
of calcium nitrate (9-0-0-11) and 20-20-20 were made
twice weekly from May 11 through June 22. Insect con-
trol consisted of applications of Endosulfan (2.5 pints
per acre) on May 24; Thiodan (2.5 pints per acre) on
May 29; and Asana (9.6 ounces per acre) on June 5 and
June 19. Fungicides applied were Manex (1.6 quarts per
acre) on May 14 and 24; Benlate 50 WP (one pound per
acre) on May 24; Terranil 6L (two pints per acre) on May
29, June 5, June 10, and June 19.
At CAHS, fertilization consisted of a preplant ap-
plication (per acre) of 54 pounds of N and K20 and
weekly injection ranging between 7 and 14 pounds of N
and K20 between May 3 and July 12. A total of 160
pounds of N and K2O were injected during the growing
season. Insect control was provided by applications of
Thiodan (at a rate of one pint per acre) on May 21 and
28; and Lannate LV (at a rate of two pints per acre) on
June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, July 2, July 23, and
August 3. Fungicides used were Kocide (at a rate of 2.7
pounds per acre) and Maneb 80 (at a rate of 1.5 pounds
per acre) on May 24, May 31, June 7, June 14, June 21,
June 28, July 2, July 23, andAugust 3; and, Ridomil/Bravo
81W (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on August 8.
At SMREC, preplant fertilization consisted of an
application of 5-20-20 (500 pounds per acre) on April
26. Small melons were direct seeded on May 3 and were
fertilized with 13-0-44 at 50 pounds per acre and 30
pounds per acre on May 20 and June 3, respectively.
Plants were also fertilized with 50 pounds per acre of
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 CANTALOUPE
VARIETY TRIALS'
Location EVSRC CAHS SMREC
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.
calcium nitrate on June 16 and with 20-20-20 at 30
pounds per acre on July 6. Preplant herbicides were
Alanap (seven quarts per acre) and Trillin (1.5 pints per
acre) on April 26. Fungicides used were Mankocide (two
pounds per acre) on May 27, June 7, and June 17;
Ridomil (two pounds per acre) on June 22 and July7;
and Benlate (0.3 pound per acre) on June 30 and July 16.
Insects were controlled with Diazinon (two pints per acre)
on May 14; Asana (five ounces per acre) on May 27,
June 30, and July 7; and Sevin XLR (one quart per acre)
on June 7, June 17, and June 22.
Melons were harvested and graded on July 7, July
9, July 12, July 14, and July 19 at EVSRC; July 7, July 9,
July 12, July 14, and July 19 at CAHS. At SMREC mel-
ons were once-over harvested on July 21 (Table 3). On
eight representative melons of each variety at each loca-
tion, soluble-solid content was determined with a hand-
held refractometer. Soluble-solid content is a practical
measurement of sweetness.
Harvesting small melons at an over-ripe stage may
reduce shelf life and increase the risk of splitting during
transportation. 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 considered vine-ripe 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; they will continue to ripen and
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
11
12 ALABAMA AGRCLUA XERMN TTO
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED SMALL
MELONS
Variety 'I'pe' Seed source Rind Flesh Days to Disease Years
aspect
2  
color
3  
harvest claims
4  
eval.
AC-75-1A OP Auburn U. W 0 - - 98,99
AC-82-37-RNL OP Auburn U. W 0 - - 98,99
AC-89-55-Ml OP Auburn U. W 0 - - 99
Apollo Fl Novartis E 0 75 FW(0,l,2),PM(l,2) 99
Arava Fl Johnny's Spe Gr 77 PM 99
Athena Fl Novartis E 0 80 FW,PM 94-99
Cristobal Fl Asgrow W 0 - FW(2),PM(l),Su 98,99
Dallas Fl Wilihite E 0 80 PM 99
Earli-Dew Fl Petoseed HD Gr 80 FW 95-99
Hy-Mark Fl Petoseed W 0 83 PMSu 94-99
Megabrew Fl Sakata HD Gr - - 99
Mission Fl Asgrow W 0 80 PM,Su 94-99
Otero Fl Hollar W 0 - - 97-99
Passport* Fl Stokes Spe Gr 75 ANT,GSB 96-99
Starfire Fl Harris Moran E 0 67 FW(O,2), PM 99
Super 45 Fl Willhite, E 0 80 PM 99
Tesoro Dulce Fl Asgrow HD Wh - - 98,99
Vienna Fl Asgrow E 0 66 98, 99
* = Honey Dew x Galia cross; - = not found; from seed catalogues;" = none
' Type: Fl = Hybrid; OP = Open pollinated.
2 Rn Aspect: W = Western; E = Eastern; HD = Honey Dew; Spe = Speciality.
3Flesh Color: 0 = Orange; Gr = Green; Y = Yellow;Wh=Whit.e
Dies Claims: FW = Fusarium Wilt; PM = Powdery Mildew; ANT = Anthracnose; DM = Downy Mildew; Su = Sulfur; GSB
= Gummy Stem Blight.
become sweeter during storage. Hence, sugar content at
harvest is not a good indicator of sweetness at maturity.
French Charentais melons may be harvested when the
distal end becomes soft to the touch, while the melon
still shows a green appearance.
In the eastern-types, 'Vienna' and 'Athena' had com-
parable yields and size except at SMREC where yields
of 'Vienna' were significantly higher than that of
'Athena'. In the western-type, 'Otero', Hy-Mark', and
'Mission' out performed 'Cristobal' at EVSRC. Several
experimental lines were evaluated at CAHS and SMREC.
At both locations, 'Hy-Mark' was among the top variet-
ies, while yields of 'AC-82-37-RNL' were significantly
lower. At CAHS, yields of western-type melons were low
due to small fruit size. Among the honey dews, 'Honey
Brew' was consistently a higher yielder because of its
higher individual fruit weight.
12 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 1
TABLE 3. YIELD OF SELECTED SMALL MELON VARIETIES
Marketable Marketable Individual Soluble Cull wt.
Variety Type yield fruits fruit wt. solids fruits
lbs/a #a lb lbs/a
E.V. Smith Research Center
Vienna Eastern 31,562 5,075 6.2 9.2 969
Athena Eastern 26,728 4,640 5.6 10.3 447
Megabrew Honey Dew 28,620 3,988 6.9 5.3 0
Tesoro Dulce Honey Dew 23,893 4,060 5.6 13.3 993
Dallas Honey Dew 9,644 2,103 4.7 11.0 0
Passport Specialty 25,839 6,525 3.9 10.7 566
Otero Western 38,424 10,150 3.9 10.2 1,411
Hy-Mark Western 33,072 9,280 3.6 10.8 1,219
Mission Western 25,292 7,033 3.8 12.1 174
Cristobal Western 19,418 4,640 4.2 23.2 0
R2 0.23 0.47 0.70
CV 51 51.9 18
lsd 14,550 3,137 1.7
Chilton Area Horticulture Station
Vienna Eastern 27,449 5,945 4.4 8.8 1,737
Athena Eastern 24,972 5,583 4.6 8.9 
1,712
Super 45 Eastern 7,592 4,785 1.7 7.3 
2,600
Earli-Dew Honey Dew 13,640 3,625 3.9 8.0 
732
Tesoro Dulce Honey Dew 10,789 2,683 3.7 7.1 
378
Megabrew Honey Dew 6,527 2,320 3.1 5.6 
883
Passport Specialty 19,778 3,480 9.0 8.4 993
Arava Specialty 16,095 5,293 3.1 8.1 
1,573
AC-75-1A Western 7,896 5,583 1.3 5.8 
3,425
AC-89-55-M1 Western 5,452 3,335 1.7 6.0 5,786
Hy-Mark Western 5,205 2,828 1.7 5.9 
4,755
AC-82-37-RNL Western 4,081 2,828 1.5 5.6 
4,041
R
2  
0.66 0.38
CV 51 46
lsd 1,467 1,080
Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center
Vienna Eastern 45,554 8,029 5.8 10.6
Star Fire Eastern 42,212 7,270 5.8 
9.1
Athena Eastern 34,991 6,510 5.4 
8.2
Dallas Eastern 31,465 9,331 3.5 
8.6
Megabrew Honey dew 35,376 6,456 5.4 
10.8
Tesoro Dulce Honey dew 18,532 3,960 4.8 
8.8
Earli-Dew Honey dew 16,259 4,069 4.0 
9.5
Arava Specialty 32,024 7,595 4.3 
9.8
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 13
14 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
Green Bean
Experimentals Released as
S'Capricorn' and 'Mercury'
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, and Tony Dawkins
A green bean variety trial was conducted at the Sand
Mountain Research and Extension Center (SMREC) in
Crossville (Tables 1 and 2).
Beans were direct seeded on bare ground into 20-
foot-long plots at a within row spacing of one foot on
April 16. Soils were fertilized according to the recom-
mendations of the Auburn University Soil Testing Labo-
ratory. Names of the chemicals are mentioned only for
describing the production practices used. This represents
neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of these
products. Current recommendations for pest and weed
control in vegetable production in Alabama may be found
in IPM Commercial Vegetable: Insect, Disease, Nema-
tode and Weed Control Recommendations (Publication
99IPM-2 from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Sys-
tem).
Fertilization consisted of applications of 5-20-20
(300 pounds per acre) and ammonium nitrate (150
pounds per acre) on May 27. Dual herbicide (two pints
per acre) was applied preplant on May 3. Insecticides
used were Diazinon (two pints per acre) on May 14;
Asana (five ounces per acre) on May 27 and June 30;
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 GREEN BEAN
VARIETY TRIAL
1
Location SMREC
Weather 5
Fertility 5
Irrigation 5
Pests 5
Overall 5
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
and Sevin XLR (one quart per acre) on June 7, June 17,
and June 22. Disease control was provided by applica-
tions of Mankocide (1.5 pounds per acre) on June 7 and
June 17; Ridomil (two pounds per acre) on June 22; and
Benlate (0.3 pounds per acre) on June 30.
Green beans were hand harvested on July 7, July
14, July 21, and August 8. Marketable yield, weight, and
length of 50 pods were determined (Table 3).
The standards 'Bronco' and 'Hialeah' were among
the top yielding varieties, along with the two new re-
leases 'Capricorn' and 'Mercury'.
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, EARLINESS, AND DISEASE CLAIMS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES
Variety Type Seed Days to Growth Pod Pod Disease Years
source harvest habit color shape claims' evaluated
Benchmark OP Sandoz Rogers 55 Bush Green Round CBMV, NY15MV 97-99
Bronco OP Asgrow 53 Bush Green Round CBMV 97-99
Carlo OP Asgrow 55 Bush Green Round CBMV 97-99
Hialeah OP Ferry-Morse 53 Bush Green Oval NY15MV 97,99
Mirada OP Rogers 54 Bush Green Round - 98,99
Capricorn(MB-8007) OP Novartis 59 Bush Green Round CBMV,NY15MV 98,99
Stallion OP Asgrow 53 Bush Green Round CBMV, HB 98,99
Storm OP Asgrow 51 Bush Green Round CBMV 98,99
Mercury (SB 4136) OP Novartis 55 Bush Green Round NY15 98,99
SB4222 :OP Novartis 54 Bush Green Round 99
' Disease Claims: CBMV=Common Bean Mosaic Virus; Halo Blight=HB; NY15MV=Mosaic Virus race NY15.- = not found.
14 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
TABLE 3. YIELD AND POD CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED GREEN BEAN VARIETIES GROWN AT THE
SAND MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER
Variety Plant Marketable Cull Pod Pod
stand yield weight weight-length
%lbs/a lbs/a ibs/OC pods in/pod
Capricorn (MB 8007) 86 3,341 1,005 2.00 3.1
Mirada 88 3,275 854 1.83 2.9
Storm 83 3,152 794 2.26 3.6
Bronco 88 3,112 783 1.57 2.5
Hialeahi 89 2,998 753 1.81 2.9
Mercury (SB 4136) 83 2,906 949 1.96 3.1
Stallion
Benchmark
Carlo
SB 4222
cv
lsd
83
78
88
85
0.15
30
13
2,415
2,330
2,207
1,914
0.30
31
763
699
806
534
695
0.26
10
355
1.86
2.03
1.47
1.92
0.60
6.0
0.31
2.9
3.2
2.3
3.0
0.17
10
0.1
15
---V---~ CI"-
16 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
Green Blossom End
of 'Zephyr' Makes
Squash Trials Colorful
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Rasima 
Bakhtiyarova,
Randy Akridge, Jim Bannon, and Jason 
Burkett
Yellow and zucchini squash variety trials were con-
ducted at the Brewton Experimental Field (BEF) in
Brewton and E.V. Smith Research Center (EVSRC) in
Shorter (Tables 1 and 2). At both locations, squash were
direct seeded at a one-inch depth in single row plots, five
feet wide and 20 feet long. In-row spacing was 18 inches,
which provided a stand of approximately 6,000 plants
per acre. Both trials were drip irrigated and the beds were
covered with plastic mulch.
At BEF, preplant fertilization consisted of 60 pounds
of nitrogen per acre. Crookneck squash were direct
seeded on silver, reflective plastic on May 20. Insect 
con-
trol was provided by Sevin at a rate of two quarts 
per
acre on June 17. To control weeds, atrazine was applied
at the rate of two quarts per acre on May 9, 
1998.
Broadstrik fungicide was applied at a rate of 1.5 quarts
per acre on May 9. Alleys between the beds were sprayed
with Roundup three weeks after emergence. No 
other
chemical was used.
At EVSRC, zucchini squash were direct seeded 
on
April 28. Calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) and muriate 
potash
(0-0-60) were applied preplant at rates of 387 
andl67
pounds per acre, respectively, on March 24. Alternate
injections of calcium nitrate and 20-20-20 were 
made
twice weekly from May 11 through June 22. 
Insect con-
trol consisted of applications of Endosulfan (2.5 pints
per acre) on May 24; Thiodan (2.5 pints per 
acre) on
May 29; and Asana (9.6 ounces per acre) on June 
5 and
June 19. Fungicides applied were Manex (1.6 quarts 
per
acre) on May 14 and May 24; Benlate 50 WP (one 
pound
per acre) on May24; Terranil 6L (two pints per 
acre) on
May 29, June 5, June10, and June 19.
At EVSRC, zucchini squash were harvested 12 times
between June 2 and June 25. At BEF planting was de-
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 SUMMER SQUASH
VARIETY TRIALS
1
Location BEF EVSRC
Weather 5 4
Fertility 5 5
Irrigation 5 5
Pests 5 4
Overall 5 4
'See introduction for a description of rating 
scales.
layed due to drought-like weather conditions. 
Conse-
quently, there were only four harvests made between 
July
1 and July 12.
In order to be graded as US#1, summer squash must
be harvested frequently while they are fairly 
young and
tender. 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 3
and 4) was evaluated by combining the 
yields of the first
four harvests. Total production (Tables 5 
and 6) was also
determined.
All crookneck varieties were evaluated 
at BEF.
Trends for total and early yields were 
similar. Top per-
forming varieties were 'Zephyr' and 'Pic-N-Pic', 
which
are not commonly grown in commercial 
production. The
standards 'Dixie' and 'Gentry' did 
not stand out. Under
low virus pressure in this trial, the 
transgenic varieties
'Prelude II', 'Liberator III', and 'Destiny 
III' did not show
their potential.
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION16
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 1
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT TYPE, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED SQUASH VARIETIES
Variety Type' Seed Days to Disease Years
source harvest claims
2  
evaluated
Yellow Crookneck
Crescent Fl Rogers 45-94,98,99
Destiny II"' Fl Asgrow - CMVWMVZYMV 97-99
Dixie Fl Asgrow 41 - 94-96,98,99
Gentry Fl Sandoz Rogers - 95-99
Liberator III** Fl Asgrow 42 CMVZYMV 97,98,99
Midas Fl Willhite 53 PM 99
Pic-N-Pic Fl Seedway 50 - 99
Prelude II** Fl Asgrow 40 PMWMVZYMV 97-99
Sunbrite Fl Rogers 43-95,98,99
Sunglo Fl Rogers 40 PM 98,99
Sun Ray OP Petoseed 50 DM, PM 99
Zephyr* Fl Johnny's 54-99
Yellow Straightneck
Fortune* Fl Rogers 39-99
Lemon Drop Fl Asgrow 41-94-96,98,99
XPT1816 Fl Asgrow -- 99
Zucchini Squash
ACX 34 Fl Abbott & Cobb 45- 99
Declaration II** F1 Asgrow - -99
Dividend F1 Rogers 46 CMV, WMV, ZYMV 98,99
Embassy F1 Petoseed 49- 99
Enterprise Fl Rogers-- 97,99
Gold Rush (Yellow) Fl Stokes 52- 96-99
Independence II** Fl Asgrow 41 WMV, ZYMV 99,99
RSQ-494 Fl Rogers-- 98,99
RSQ-496 Fl Rogers-- 98,99
Senator Fl Asgrow 41- 94-98,99
Spineless Beauty Fl Sandoz Rogers 43- 94-99
* Precocious Variety; **Transgenic Variety.
" = not available; - = none; from seed catalogues.
'Type: FL = Hybrid; OP = Open pollinated.
2Dies Claims: PM = Powdery Mildew; DM = Downy Mildew; ZYMV = Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; WMV = Watermelon
Mosaic Virus.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 17
TABLE 3. EARLY PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES
GROWN AT BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD
Early Early Early
Variety Type Stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#1 no.
% lbs/a lbs/a #/a
Zephyr CN 100 6,028 6,028 13,721
Pic-N-Pic CN 100 5,140 5,140 15,464
Prelude CN 100 4,748 4,748 10,237
Gentry CN 100 4,721 4,721 15,682
ACX 45 CN 100 4,688 4,688 11,326
Prelude II CN 100 4,291 4,291 14,048
Crescent CN 100 4,280 4,280 15,137
Dixie CN 100 4,231 4,231 12,197
Sunbrite CN 100 4,225 4,225 12,415
Sun Ray CN 100 3,877 3,877 11,652
Midas CN 100 3,741 3,741 10,999
Sunglo CN 100 3,708 3,708 11,761
Liberator III CN 100 2,929 2,929 7,187
ACX 45A CN 100 2,793 2,793 4,1380
Destiny III CN 100 2,793 2,793 7,2960
ACX 34 Z 100 5,135 5,135 14,810
R
2  
0.20 0.20
CV 46 46
lsd 636 636
TABLE 4. EARLY PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES
GROWN AT E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER
Early Early Early
Variety Type Stand marketable wt. US#1 wt. US#1 no.
% lbs/a lbs/a #/a
XPT 1816 YSN 100 1,460 745 9,474
Lemondrop YSN 100 1,430 1,100 8,930
Fortune YSN 100 1,288 588 7,841
Embassy Z 100 2,948 2,075 7,187
Independence II Z 100 2,937 1,743 7,623
Declaration II Z 100 2,793 1,748 8,494
Spinless Beauty Z 100 1,917 1,024 5,881
Senator Z 100 1,907 1,239 5,663
RSQ 499 Z 100 1,830 1,072 7,841
RSQ 498 Z 100 1,586 980 6,098
RSQ 496 Z 100 1,437 412 4,792
Enterprise Z 100 1,141 730 6,861
RSQ 495 Z 100 880 222 3,485
Dividend Z 100 844 358 2,723
RSQ 497 Z 100 749 525 2,831
Gold Rush Z 100 198 68 653
RSQ 494 Z 100 157 157 871
R' 0.74 0.68
CV 37 50
lsd 228 222
18 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 5. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES
GROWN AT THE BREWTON EXPERIMENT FIELD
Total market- Total Total Total Total Total
Variety Type Stand able wt US#1 wt. US#2 wt. Cull US#1 no. US#2 no, US# 1
% lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a #/a
Zephyr CN 100 6,594 6,594 0 4,372 16,335 
0 0.40
Pic-N-Pic CN 100 6,229 6,229 0 3,507 21,018 0 0.31
Prelude CN 100 5,783 5,783 0 2,668 13,939 0 0.49
Gentry CN 100 5,734 5,734 0 2,292 20,364 0 0.28
ACX 45 CN 100 5,712 5,712 0 3,468 14,919 0 0.41
Dixie CN 100 5,505 5,505 0 3,104 16,662 0 0.39
Crescent CN 100 5,293 5,293 0 2,597 19,166 0 0.36
Prelude II CN 100 5,184 5,184 0 1,574 19,384 0 0.28
Sunbrite CN 100 5,004 5,004 0 2,728 16,226 0 0.31
Sun Ray CN 100 4,922 4,922 0 2,178 16,880 0 0.29
Sunglo CN 100 4,797 4,797 0 2,369 16,335 0 0.28
Midas CN 100 4,312 4,312 0 2,483 14,484 0 0.29
Liberator III CN 100 3,942 3,942 0 915 10,781 0 0.41
Destiny III CN 100 3,937 3,937 0 1,168 10,128 0 0.47
ACX 45A CN 100 3,218 3,218 0 0 5,009 0 0.65
ACX 34 Z 100 5,744 5,744 0 3,343 17,533 0 0.38
R
2  
38 38
CV 38 38
lsd 642 642
TABLE 6. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES
GROWN AT E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER
Total market- Total Total Total
Variety Type Stand able wt US#1 wt. Cull US#1 no. US# 1
% lbs/a lbs/a lbs/a #/a #/a
XPT 1816 YSN 100 3,882 3,882 1,764 21,236 0.18
Fortune YSN 100 3,713 3,713 1,797 20,147 0.19
Lemondrop YSN 100 2,034 2,034 2,819 11,761 0.17
RSQ 499 Z 100 7,122 7,122 3,968 20,909 0.34
RSQ 498 Z 100 6,290 6,290 862 20,038 0.31
Declaration II Z 100 6,037 6,037 2,021 16,226 0.37
Independence II Z 100 5,413 5,413 1,787 14,266 0.38
Embassy Z 100 5,163 5,163 3,360 11,652 0.44
Spineless Beauty Z 100 4,971 4,971 10,501 12,741 0.39
RSQ 496 Z 100 4,898 4,898 1,760 13,504 0.37
Senator Z 100 4,711 4,711 1,416 11,979 0.38
RSQ 497 Z 100 3,970 3,970 216 10,672 0.37
Dividend Z 100 3,874 3,874 194 10,454 0.37
RSQ 495 Z 100 3,642 3,642 257 10,890 0.33
RSQ 494 Z 100 3,642 3,642 48 11,326 0.32
Enterprise Z 100 2,642 2,642 2,508 14,048 0.19
Gold Rush Z 100 683 683 3,098 2,069 0.33
R' 0.74 0.74
CV 63 61
lsd 499 499
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
19
20 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERiMENT STATION
Sugary Enhanced White
Sweet Corn Entries
Yield as Well as 'Silver
Queen' But Earlier
Kent Cushman, Thomas Horgan, and David Nagel
This study was located at the
North Mississippi Research and Ex-
tension Center in Verona, Mississippi,
on a Quitman silt loam soil. Ten en-
tries of white sweet corn were planted
into a randomized complete block
design with four replications (Table
1).
Preplant fertilizer was broadcast
at the rate of 40 pounds of N, 80
pounds of P
2
0
5
, and 120 pounds of
K20 per acre. Plots were planted May
10, 1999 with a four-row Monosem
vacuum seeder at the rate of 21,000
to 22,000 seeds per acre. Poor germi-
nation and dry soil moisture condi-
tions at planting reduced plant stand
significantly for some entries (Table
2). Plots were 23 feet long by eight
rows wide. Only the center six rows
were harvested for data. Row spacing was 30 inches. Her-
bicides were applied immediately after planting: CyPro
4L (at a rate of 1.2 quarts per acre), Dual 8E (at a rate of
1.5 pints per acre), Gramoxone Extra (at a rate of 1.5
pints per acre), and SurfAc (at a rate of one pint per acre).
When plants were one foot tall, Evik DG was ap-
plied as a directed spray at 2.5 pounds per acre. SurfAc,
at 1.5%, was also included in the tank mixture. Plots were
sidedressed with liquid 32-0-0 at the rate of 90 pounds
of N per acre on June 10; the solution was banded about
five inches to the side of each row and about one to two
inches deep. Throughout ear development, pesticide ap-
plications were made with a tractor-mounted air-blast
sprayer. Sevin WPS, Asana XL, or Thiodan EC were
sprayed as needed for insect control.
Furrow irrigation was applied once at the beginning
of tasseling but several weeks of very wet weather oc-
curred afterward.
TABLE 1. WHITE SWEET CORN ENTRIES
Seed Days to Days to
Entry 2source
2  
Genetics
3  
harvest harvest
Frosty Seedway se 70 58
94H263 Seedway se 70 60
Sensation Seneca, Seedway se 70 65
Silver Princess Rogers, Chesmore se 75 60
Silver Choice Seedway se 75 65
Brilliance Harris se 79 65
Fantasia Asgrow se 82 65
Rising Star Seedway se 82 65
Silver King Rogers, Chesmore se 82 65
Silver Queen Chesmore su 89 72
SEntries listed in order of days to harvest 
as listed in seed catalogs or promotional
literature.
2 Seeds for this trial were purchased from, or donated by, these companies.
3 Homogyzous or hetereozygous sugary enhanced (se/se or se/su); or homozygous
sugary (sulsu).
Dry weather prevailed throughout the harvest pe-
riod. Harvest began with 'Frosty' on July 7 and ended
with 'Silver Queen' on July 21. Corn ears from each plot
were separated into categories of marketable or cull and
then trimmed, counted, and weighed.
There were no significant differences in yield be-
tween 'Silver Queen' and the remaining nine sugary en-
hanced cultivars (Table 2). However, days to harvest were
seven to 14 days earlier for the sugary enhanced culti-
vars compared to 'Silver Queen' (Table 1).
'Frosty' was the earliest cultivar, though its average
ear weight was significantly less than any other entry
(Table 2). In a 1998 trial at this location, 'Fantasia' per-
formed as well as 'Brilliance'. However in this trial, 'Bril-
liance' yielded significantly more than 'Fantasia'. Plant
stand for '94H263' was significantly lower than for any
other entry.
20
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
TABLE 2. WHITE SWEET CORN YIELD AND PLANT 
STAND
Entry' Yield Yield 
Marketable
2  
Avg. ear wt. Plant stand
doz/a lbs/a % oz plants/a
Silver King 1,470 
8,160 88 7.4 
16,100
Brilliance 1,440 
8,190 91 7.6 
18,000
Silver Princess 1,280 7,040 
89 7.3 16,200
Frosty 1,260 
5,160 81 5.4 
16,300
Rising Star 1,210 
7,280 96 8.0 
19,000
Silver Choice 1,210 7,180 87 
7.9 15,000
Silver Queen 1,210 6,700 
88 7.4 18,700
Sensation 1,110 6,350 
84 7.6 15,200
94H263 1,030 5,210 
96 6.7 9,200
Fantasia 970 5,400 
94 7.4 12,200
R
2  
0.49 0.68 0.83 0.83
CV 
20 20 5 10
lsd 2,000 
7 0.6 2,250
'Entries listed in order of yield (dozen ears per acre).
2 Relative number of marketable ears as the percentage of total 
number harvested (marketable plus culls).
21
22 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
Sugary Enhanced
Yellow Sweet Corn
Entries Perform Better
than 'Merit'
Kent Cushman, Thomas Horgan, and David Nagel
This study was located at the
North Mississippi Research and
Extension Center in Verona, Mis-
sissippi, on a Quitman silt loam
soil. Ten entries of yellow sweet
corn (Table 1) were planted into a
randomized complete block design
with four replications.
Preplant fertilizer was broad-
cast at the rate of 40 pounds of N,
80 pounds of P
2
0
5
, and 120
pounds of K20 per acre. Plots were
planted May 10, 1999 with a four-
row Monosem vacuum seeder at the
rate of 21,000 to 22,000 seeds per
acre. Poor germination and dry soil
moisture conditions at planting re-
duced plant stand significantly for
some entries (Table 2). Plots were
TABLE 1. YELLOW SWEET CORN ENTRIES
Seed Days to Days to
Entry' source
2  
Genetics
3  
harvest harvest
(from catalog) (our trial)
HMX-5346E Harris se 65 57
Champ Asgrow se 70 59
SX7006 Seneca se 70 59
SX7202 Seneca se 72 64
Kandy King Rogers se 73 59
XPH-3123 Asgrow se 78 64
Kandy Plus Rogers se 79 65
GH-4881 Rogers se 79 66
Merit Asgrow su 80 65
Miracle Chesmore se 84 64
'Entries listed in order of days to harvest as listed in seed catalogs or promotional literature.
2 Seeds for this trial were purchased from, or donated by, these companies.
3 Homogyzous or hetereozygous sugary enhanced (se/se or se/su) or homozygous sugary
(su/su).
23 feet long by eight rows wide. Only the center six rows
were harvested for data. Row spacing was 30 inches. Her-
bicides were applied immediately after planting: CyPro
4L (1.2 quarts per acre), Dual 8E (1.5 pints per acre),
Gramoxone Extra (1.5 pints per acre), and SurfAc (one
pint per acre). When plants were one foot tall, Evik DG
was applied as a directed spray at 2.5 pounds per acre.
SurfAc, at 1.5%, was also included in the tank mixture.
Plots were sidedressed with liquid 32-0-0 at the rate of
90 pounds of N per acre on June 10; the solution was
banded about five inches to the side of each row and about
one to two inches deep.
Throughout ear development, pesticide applications
were made with a tractor-mounted air-blast sprayer. Sevin
WPS, Asana XL, or Thiodan EC were sprayed as needed
for insect control. Furrow irrigation was applied once at
the beginning of tasseling but several weeks of very wet
weather occurred afterward. Dry weather prevailed
throughout the harvest period. Harvest began with 'HMX-
5346E' on July 7 and ended with 'GH-4881' on July 17.
Corn ears from each plot were separated into categories
of marketable or cull and then trimmed, counted, and
weighed.
Four entries yielded significantly more dozen ears
per acre than 'Merit' (Table 2). The average ear weight
of one of these entries, 'Kandy Plus', was significantly
greater than any other entry. The two earliest entries,
'HMX-5346E' and 'Champ', yielded significantly less
than any of the other entries (Table 2). 'Champ' also pro-
duced the poorest plant stand.
22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
TABLE 2. YELLOW SWEET CORN YIELD AND PLANT STAND
Entry' Yield Yield Marketable
2  
Avg. ear wt. Plant stand
doz/a lbs/a % oz plants/a
SX7202 1,600 9,410 88 
7.8 15,600
Kandy Plus 1,550 11,030 92 
9.5 19,000
Miracle 1,550 8,910 89 
7.7 17,200
Kandy King 1,500 8,890 90 
7.9 18,800
GH-4881 1,410 8,830 84 8.3 
18,200
SX7006 1,320 8,110 88 8.2 16,800
Merit 1,300 7,910 89 8.2 17,300
XPH-3123 1,150 6,500 96 7.5 15,800
HMX-5346E 950 4,650 74 6.6 
15,800
Champ 760 4,260 89 15 11,400
R
2  
0.84 0.83 0.66 0.79 0.84
CV 11 14 6 6 7
lsd 205 1,620 7 0.7 1,620
'Entries listed in order of yield (dozen ears per acre).
2 Relative number of marketable ears as the percentage of total number harvested (marketable plus culls).
23
24 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
ySeveral Sweet Corn
Varieties Show Good
Yield and Quality
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Robert Boozer, Jim Pitts, and Randall Rawls
Sugar enhanced sweet corn varieties (su/se) were
evaluated at the Chilton Area Horticulture Station
(CAHS) in Clanton and sugar-enhanced (sh
2
) varieties
were evaluated at the Upper Coastal Plain Research Sta-
tion (UCPRS) in Winfield (Tables 1 and 2). White and
yellow sh
2 
varieties were separated by 300 feet because
cross pollination alters grain characteristics. Sweetness
of sh
2 
varieties will also be altered if cross pollination
occurs with other corn types. At both locations, two-row
plots 20 feet long and five feet wide were established.
Within-row spacing was eight to 10 inches, creating a
stand of approximately 26,000 plants per acre.
At CAHS corn was direct seeded on May 6. Fertili-
zation consisted of a preplant application (per acre) of
75 pounds of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P
2
0
5
), and po-
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 SWEET CORN
VARIETY TRIALS
1
Location CAHS UCPRS
Weather 5 5
Fertility 5 5
Irrigation 5 5
Pests 5 5
Overall 4 4
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
tassium (K20) and a sidedress application of 60 pounds
of N on June 10 for the sh
2 
test, and May 31 and June 10
for the su/se test. One preemergence herbicide, Aatrex,
was used at a rate of one quart per acre. No fungicides or
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, TYPE, COLOR, AND EARLINESS OF SELECTED YELLOW AND WHITE SWEET
CORN VARIETIES
Variety Seed source Color 'IType Days to Disease Years
harvest tolerance/resistance' evaluated
Attribute (GSS-0966)* Novartis Y sh
2  
78 CR, NCLB, SBW 99
Impulse Novartis Y sh
2  
73 - 99
Pegasus SeedWay W sh
2  
90 NCLB,SCLB 96,97,99
Prime Plus Novartis Y sh
2  
78 CR, NCLB, SBW 97-99
Prime Time Novartis Y sh, 79 NCLB, SBW 97-99
Punchline Asgrow Y sh
2  
74 ANT,NCLS,SBW,SCLB 94-99
Silver King Novartis W se 82 CR,NCLB,SBW 97-99
Silver Princess Novartis W se 74 CR, NCLB, SBW 98,99
Silver Queen SeedWay W su 92 NCLB,SBW,SCLB 94-99
SS 8101 A&C W sh
2  
81 NCLB, SBW 96,97,99
Sugarburst Seneca W sh
2  
75 - 99
Treasure Seed Way W sh
2  
83 NCLB, SBW 95,96,99
Vail Novartis W sh
2  
78 NCLB, SBW 97,99
XPH-3113 Asgrow W se 69 SBW 98,99
*Transgenic hybrid
- = no information available.
'Disease Tolerance Resistance: 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.
24 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
25
insecticides were used. The test was irrigated through-
out the growing season.
At UCPRS, corn was direct seed on May 18. On
June 7, yellow and white varieties were fertilized with
1500 pounds per acre of ammonium nitrate. No pesti-
cides were used.
At CAHS, su/se varieties were harvested on July 14
and July 20. The white and yellow sh
2 
varieties were har-
vested on July 27 at UCPRS. After harvest, ears were
graded following the Sweet Corn Grader's Guide (Cir-
cular ANR-680 of the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System). Yield (Tables 3 and 4) and ear characteristics
(Tables 5 and 6) were determined.
TABLE 3. YIELD DATA OF SELECTED WHITE
SWEET CORN VARIETIES GROWN AT THE
CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE STATION
Variety Type Yield Ear no. Ear set ht.
lbs/a #/a in
Silver King se 1,913 27,860 31
Silver Queen su 1,370 31,400 23
Silver Princess se 811 26,862 14
XP-3113 se 575 29,675 11
R2 0.27 0.45 0.24
CV 83 7.5 84
lsd 420 1,300 3.2
TABLE 4. YIELD CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES GROWN AT THE UPPER
COASTAL PLAIN RESEARCH STATION
Variety Type Stand Yield Ear no. Ear set ht.
% lbs/a #/a in
Treasure W sh
2  
75 9,129 28,223 19
Vail W sh
2  
56 8,930 25,682 16
Pegasus W sh
2  
68 8,839 24,866 17
SS8101 W sh
2  
69 7,732 23,323 17
Sugar Burst W sh
2  
64 7,659 22,960 18
Punchline Y sh, 79 9,492 28,133 15
Attribute GSS-0966 Y sh
2  
56 5,028 15,881 10
Prime Plus Y sh
2  
31 3,185 9,347 8
Impulse Y sh
2  
39 5,381 14,157 5
Prime Time Y sh
2  
14 1,751 5,536 4
R
2  
0.48 0.51 0.53
CV 46 43 42
lsd 2,300 3,380 5.4
TABLE 5. QUALITY RATINGS OF SELECTED WHITE SWEET CORN VARIETIES GROWN AT THE
CHILTON AREA HORTICULTURE STATION
Variety Type Quality Tip cover Ear fill Eye appeal Ear length Ear diameter
rating' rating
2  
rating rating in in
Silver King se 8.65 2.65 2.00 4.00 9.6 2.4
Silver Princess se 9.50 4.00 2.25 3.25 8.6 2.9
Silver Queen su - 0.00 2.25 3.50 6.3 0.3
XP-3113 se 9.00 2.90 2.00 2.00 5.0 2.1
R
2  
0.32 0.60 0.42 0.37 0.35 0.74
CV 40 49 39 48 45 30
lsd 0.73 1.03 4.50 4.13 0.36 5.4
' 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.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
25
TABLE 6. EAR CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED SWEET CORN VARIETIES GROWN AT THE UPPER
COASTAL PLAIN RESEARCH STATION
Variety Type Quality Tip cover Ear fill 
Eye appeal
rating' rating
2  
rating rating
Sugar Burst W sh
2  
7.50 2.50 2.50 2.50
Pegasus W sh
2  
7.00 2.25 2.25 2.50
Treasure W sh
2  
6.75 2.00 2.25 2.50
SS8101 W sh
2  
6.00 2.00 2.00 2.00
Vail W sh, 5.75 2.00 2.00 
1.75
Punchline Y sh, 7.50 2.50 2.50 
2.50
Attribute Y sh
2  
5.25 1.50 2.00 1.75
Prime Plus Y sh
2  
4.25 1.50 1.25 1.50
Impulse Y sh
2  
3.75 1.25 1.25 1.25
Prime Time Y sh
2  
2.25 0.75 0.75 0.75
R
2  
0.13 0.12 0.10 0.20
CV 29 29 30 36
lsd 2.0 0.90 0.90 1.20
' 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.
26 ALABAMA 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRIG 199 CMMERIALVEGEABL VARETYTRIAS-2
Last Year's Top
Performing Okra
Varieties
Return This Year
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Arnold Caylor, 
and John Owen
Okra variety trials were conducted at the Piedmont
Research Station (PRS) in Camp Hill and 
the North Ala-
bama Horticultural Station (NAHS) in Cullman 
(Tables
1 and 2). The evaluation was conducted on 
bare ground
with drip irrigation at PRS. At NAHS, silver 
plastic and
drip irrigation were used.
Okra was direct seeded on May 27 at PRS on bare
ground and on May 28 at NAHS on silver 
plastic. At
both locations, within-row spacing was 18 inches, 
which
created an approximate stand of 5,800 plants per acre.
At PRS, preplant fertiliztion consisted of 500 pounds
per acre of 0-20-0 and 160 pounds per acre of 34-0-0
applied on May 24. A sidedress of NH4NO
3 
was applied
at a rate of 60 pounds per acre on July 14, August 2, Au-
gust 4, and September 9. Weeds were controlled by till-
ing and herbicide application. Herbicides used were
Fusilade at a rate of four ounces per acre on June 
9 and
September 7.
At NAHS, preplant fertilization consisted of an ap-
plication of 80 pounds of nitrogen applied on April 
19.
Okra plants were injected with 10 pounds of nitrogen
per acre once per week from June 4 through August 6.
Insects were controlled by applications of Mattach 
(at a
rate of two quarts per acre) on July 15, July 22, July 26,
and July 28. Fungicides used were Bravo (at a rate of
three pints per acre) on July 15 and July 28; and
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 OKRA VARIETY
TRIALS
1
Location PRS NAHS
Weather 5 5
Fertility 4 5
Irrigation 5 5
Pests 5 5
Overall 4 5
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
Penncozeb (at a rate of two pounds per acre) on July 22.
Plots were harvested three times per week from Au-
gust 2 through September 24 at PRS and twice per week
from July 12 through August 5 at NAHS. At PRS, pods
were graded as fancy (pods up to 3.5 inches), choice (pods
betweeen 3.5 and 4.5 inches), and jumbo (pods longer than
4.5 inches but still tender) (Tables 3 and 4). At NAHS, pods
were harvested during the fancy stage (Table 5).
At PRS 'Cajun Delight', 'Annie Oakley II', and
'Mita' were the top yielding varieties. At NAHS 'Annie
Oakley', 'Spike', and 'Rani' were the top varieties. In
both tests, the standard 'Clemson Spineless' was out per-
formed by several varieties. The white-pod variety 'White
Velvet' did not perform well in this trial.
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 F1 Petoseed 
48 Green - 97-99
Cajun Delight Fl Park Seed 
52 Green - 97-99
Clemson Spineless OP Asgrow,Petoseed, Kelly 55 Green 
- 97-99
Emerald OP Advance Seed 
55 Green - 98,99
Spike Fl Wilhite 48 Green 
YVMV 98,99
White Velvet OP Montgomery Seed - White 
- 98,99
Rani F1 Willhite 46 
Green YVMV 99
Mita Fl Willhite 49 Green 
YVMV 99
Perkins Long Pod OP Local Store -
Green - 99
1 Disease Claims: YVMV=Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus. - = Not 
found;from seed catalogues.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE 
VARIETY TRIALS
27
TABLE 3. EARLY PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION 
OF SELECTED OKRA VARIETIES GROWN AT THE PIEDMONT 
R
Early market- Early Early 
Early Early Early Early 
Early Early
Variety able wt. fancy 
wt. fancy no. choice wt. choice no. 
jumbo wt jumbo no. me
lbs/a lbs/a Ia bs/a 
#/a lbs/a
Cajun Delight 261 
103 10,223 82 
2,393 76 1,414
Annie Oakley II 186 
87 10,331 45 
1,523 54 1,088
Mita 185 82 
7,613 49 1,523 54 
1,196
Clemson Spineless 158 
82 6,743 60 
1,196 16 218
Emerald Green 136 49 
4,350 44 1,523 
44 761
Perkins Long Pod 136 
65 6,199 54 
1,631 16 326
Spike 120 54 5,111 
336 533 38 704
R20.48 0.42
CV 31 32
lsd 18 8.0
TABLE 4. TOTAL PRODUCTION AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION 
OF SELECTED OKRA VARIETIES GROWN AT THE PIEDMONT 
REERHITTO
Vaiety
Total market- Total Total Total Total 
Total Total Total Total Total Individua
Stand able wt. fancy wt. fancy no. choice 
wt. choice no. jumbo wt. jumbo no. medium wt. medium 
no. cull fruit wt
%lbs/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a 
lbs/a #/a lbs/a #/a lbs/a 
lb/a
AnnieOaleyllI 100 5,357 3,263 132,458 
790 22,511 1,305 21,315 805 
11,163 1381 04
Mita 97 4,658 1,768 
82,650 2,110 14,464 779 18,053 
937 9,381 889 00
Cajun Delight 84 4,599 2,199 
129,848 905 25,774 1,495 26,426 
892 10,500 1256 04
Perkins Long Pod 56 3,358 1,900 
79,170 555 16,530 904 15,878 
750 5,601 556 00
Clemson Spineless 50 3,311 1,820 
101,246 729 16,095 761 10,223 
1,131 5,921 843 00
Emerald Green 56 3,264 1,930 
75,473 518 16,313 816 15,769 
930 5,568 673 00
Spike 66 1,910 1,018 
67,643 462 11,093 430 9,026 
527 4,921 673 00
R20.22 04 
0.20
CV 61 
63 
6
lsd 780 
421 
00
00
G03
~0
umm
0
C
2-1
C
m
x
m
m
z
0
z
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
TABLE 5. EARLY AND TOTAL YIELD OF SELECTED OKRA VARIETIES GROWN AT THE NORTH ALABAMA
HORTICULTURE STATION
Early Early Early Total Total 
Total
Variety marketable wt. pod no. fruit wt. marketable wt. pod no. 
fruit wt.
lbs/a #/a lb/pod lbs/a #/a lb/pod
Annie Oakley II 597 19,914 0.031 1,448 
64,097 0.024
Spike 523 23,647 0.023 1,297 61,452 
0.021
Rani 345 13,691 0.025 901 44,961 
0.020
Mita 380 15,557 0.024 843 49,940 0.016
Emerald 191 9,179 0.027 580 29,715 0.020
Clemson Spineless 128 3,889 0.033 549 21,003 
0.027
White Velvet 14 467 0.030 348 10,579 0.033
R
2  
0.70 0.57
CV 48 44
lsd 21 53
29
30 ALABAMA 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Vidala Onion Variety
Trials Held in Georgia
George Boyhan, Reid Torrance, Bill Randle, 
Pam Lewis, and Mindy Linton
Vidalia onion variety trials were held at 
two loca-
tions in Georgia (Tables 1 and 2). One trial 
was held at
the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Garden in Savannah, Geor-
gia. The second trial was held at 
the Vidalia Onion and
Vegetable Research Farm just outside of Reidsville, 
Geor-
gia. This second location is a new acquisition 
for the
University of Georgia. This location is in 
the heart of the
onion-growing region and will be the primary location
for future vegetable research in this part of the 
state.
Savannah Trial
The trial at the Bamboo Farm in Savannah had 20
onion entries. Each entry was started from seed 
in a high-
density plantbed with a between-row spacing of 
one foot.
The plantbed was seeded on September 23, 1998. A Plant-
It Jr. walk behind planter with plate number 
1002-5 (rad-
ish-medium) was used to seed these beds. The fertility
program on the plantbeds consisted of 5-10-15 
with 5%
sulfur applied at a rate of 1,400 pounds per acre incorpo-
rated preplant. Immediately after seeding, 
10-34-0 was
applied at a rate of 23 gallons per acre. On 
October 20,
Ca(NO3)
2 
was applied at a rate of 450 pounds per acre to
the plantbeds. Calcium nitrate was also applied at a 
rate
of 225 pounds per acre on November 10.
Onion plants were harvested from the plantbeds and
transplanted to their final spacing on December 
17 and
December 18. The experiment was arranged 
in a ran-
domized complete block design with three replications.
Each plot consisted of four rows of onions with 
an in-
row spacing of four inches arid a between-row 
spacing
of 14 inches. Each plot was 20 feet long. There 
was a
wheel row between each plot so that the center-to-center
spacing between plots was six feet. The fertility 
program
consisted of 5-10-15 with 5% sulfur applied at a rate 
of
1,000 pounds per 
acre preplant. In 
addition, Ca(NO
3
)
2
was applied at a rate of 200 pounds per acre 
on January
27, February 8, February 26, March 2, and 
March 22,
1999. Weeds were controlled by an application 
of Goal
herbicide on March 2 at a rate of eight ounces 
per acre as
well as hand weeding when necessary.
Onions were harvested beginning on April 
15 as they
matured. Plots were considered mature when 50% 
of the
tops had gone down. Additional harvests were 
conducted
on April 26 and May 17. Harvested onions had 
their tops
and roots clipped and weights were taken immediately.
Yields are reported as 60-pound field bags to reflect the fact
the onions were not cured or graded before weighing.
A five-gallon bucket of onions was selected at ran-
dom from each plot and graded as to size for those on-
ions harvested on May 17. The grading sizes consisted
of small (less than two inches), medium (greater than
two inches and less than three inches), jumbo (greater
than three inches and less than four inches), and colos-
sus (greater than four inches).
Pungency numbers are a measure of pyruvate, which
is produced in conjunction with pungency-producing
compounds from macerated onions. The higher the value
the more pungent the onions. Values below 5 generally
indicate a mild onion.
Reidsville Trial
The trial at the Vidalia farm consisted of 15 entries
originally; however, four of these entries were left out
due to poor stand. The plants were grown from seed by a
local grower and transplanted to final spacing on No-
vember 18, 1998 at the Vidalia Farm. Each plot was 40
feet long and consisted of four rows of onions with an
in-row spacing of four inches and a between-row spac-
ing of 18 inches. Harvest data were based on a ten-foot
section from each of these plots. The experimental de-
sign was a randomized complete block design with three
replications.
The fertility program consisted of 200 pounds per
acre of 18-46-0 applied on December 15. In addition,
370 pounds per acre of 6-12-18 and 280 pounds per acre
of 6-18-18 were applied to the plots on January 11, 1999
30
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
31
and January 27, respectively. Finally, 170 pounds per acre
and 180 pounds per acre of Ca(NO
3
)
2 
were applied on
February 12 and March 1, respectively. Weed control con-
sisted of 1.5 pints, of Goal and Prowl herbicides applied
two weeks after transplanting.
Onions were harvested at the Vidalia Farm on April
19, April 22, and April 29 as the onions matured. Onions
were considered mature when 50% of the tops were down.
A ten-bulb sample from each plot was weighted and
measured for bulb width.
At the Bamboo Farm yields ranged from 825 to 321
field bags per acre (Table 1). The lowest yielding variet-
ies were also the earliest. This is a reflection of the late
planting date, December 17 and December 18, 1998,
rather than variety performance. Early varieties reach
maturity (tops go down) regardless of the size of the bulbs.
For best performance with early varieties, they should
be planted to their final spacing by mid-November. Vari-
eties 'Sunex 1519' and 'SRO 1519' are the same variety,
they were inadvertently entered twice in the trial.
Pungencies ranged from a high of 6.2 for 'Sweet
Advantage' to a low of 3.8 for RCS 1938. Overall, the
pungency values were higher than in past years due to
the relatively dry winter.
Of the 14 varieties that were graded by size at the
Bamboo Farm, six had combined percentages of jumbo
and colossus sizes below 80%. Typically, growers ex-
pect to see 80% or more of their onions in these classes.
The aLteVtblFanm wedrno siifrai tdif-
faIce betwe yeits fr evarieseaate. Thee
w ee,hwevesdlf rbbw eihtand sie (atbb
2).
TABLE 1. VIDALIA ONION VARIETY TRIALS, BAMBOO FARM, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Yield Harvest Soluble Pun- Percent harvest
3
Variety Company per acre' date
2  
solids gency Small Medium Jumbo Colossus
Sweet Success(1514) Sunseeds 639 5/17 6.7 5.7 3 16 70 11
Granes 33 Asgrow Seed 566 5/17 6.5 4.5 7 32 58 4
XP 6712 Asgrow Seed 688 5/17 6.1 4.5 2 14 77 7
Sunex 1519 Sunseeds 695 5/17 6.5 4.7 2 16 73 8
Pegasus Asgrow Seed 816 5/17 6.6 5.5 1 8 69 21
Savannah Sweet Petoseed 693 5/17 5.8 5.1 6 25 5 4
PS 7092 Petoseed 646 5/17 6.5 4.5 4 21 60 15
1032 D. Palmer Seed 501 4/15 7.1 5.3
Sweet Advantage(1058) D. Palmer Seed 506 4/15 7.6 6.2 7 33 58 33
DPSX 1035 D. Palmer Seed 591 5/17 7.1 4.2 4 20 66 10
Southern Honey D. Palmer Seed 644 5/17 6.3 4.4 3 12 72 13
Equanex Petoseed 703 5/17 6.5 5.6 1 14 64 21
SRO 1519 Sunseeds 820 5/17 6.3 5.2
SSC 6389 Shamrock 321 5/17 7.1 5.1
RCS 1919 Rio Colorado 340 4/15 7.4 4.6
RCS 1938 Rio Colorado 746 5/17 6.2 3.8 1 18 73 8
XP 6846 Asgrow Seed 825 5/17 6.3 5.8 1 22 69 8
XP 6995 Asgrow Seed 736 5/17 7.9 5.0 2 16 69 13
WI-3115 Wannamaker 374 4/15 7.3 5.3
WI-609 Wannamaker 406 4/15 6.3 4.5
R
2  
0.79 0.88 0.36
CV 55 9 20
lsd 140 0.4 1.7
' Yields are reported as 60-pound field bags to reflect the fact that onions were not cured or graded before weighing.
2 All harvest dates are in 1999.
3 The early varieites were not graded by size.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
31
TABLE 2. VIDALIA ONION AND VEGETABLE RESEARCH FARM VARIETY TRIAL 1998-1999,
REIDSVILLE, GEORGIA
Entry Company Harvest Yield' Weight/bulb 
Size/bulb
date bags/a oz in
RCS 1027 Rio Colorado 4/22/99 796 12 3.7
2012 Global Seed 4/29/99 788 12 3.7
XP 6712 Asgrow Seed 4/29/99 787 12 
3.7
RCS 1919 Rio Colorado 4/19/99 786 11 3.5
Mr. Max Rio Colorado 4/29/99 696 11 3.6
Sweet Vidalia Rio Colorado 4/22/99 695 11 3.6
RCS 1063 Rio Colorado 4/19/99 672 12 3.5
Sweet Melody Rio Colorado 4/29/99 671 12 3.7
1032 D. Palmer Seed 4/22/99 646 11 3.5
Sweet Success (1514) Sunseed 4/22/99 643 12 3.8
Sweet Advantage (1058) D. Palmer Seed 4/19/99 630 9 3.3
R
2  
0.51 0.63 0.66
CV 15 13 5
lsd NS 1.9 0.2
'Yields are reported as 60-pound field bags to reflect the fact that onions were not cured or graded before weighing.
32 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY 
TRIALS 
33
LI 1
C;. Evaluation 
of
Garlic 
Varieties
George Boyhan, Reid Torrance, Pam Lewis, and Mindy Linton
Garlic varieties were evaluated in a replicated trial
at the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Garden in Savannah,
Georgia. The experiment was a randomized complete
block design with seven varieties and four replications.
Each plot consisted of two rows of garlic cloves planted
with an in-row spacing of three inches and a between
row spacing of 12 inches. Each plot was five feet long.
Cloves were planted at the Bamboo Farm on December
8, 1999 and at the on-farm location on November 12,
1999.
There were ten garlic varieties evaluated in single
observational plots at the Bamboo Farm. In addition,
seven varieties were planted on a local farm in Tattnall
County. These on-farm observational plots consisted of
four rows planted with an in-row spacing of four inches
and a between-row spacing of 18 inches. These plots were
75 feet long. A ten-foot section of each plot were har-
vested and weighed.
The fertility program at the Bamboo Farm consisted
of 1000 pounds per acre of 5-10-15 fertilizer with 5%
sulfur applied preplant. In addition, Ca(NO3)
2 
was ap-
plied at a rate of 200 pounds per acre on January 27,
February 8, March 2, and March 22. Ca(NO
3
)
2 
was also
applied at a rate of 200 pounds per acre on June 4 to the
late varieties 'California Late' and '5150'. Weeds were
controlled by hand weeding. The fertility program at the
on-farm location followed recommendations for onions
on Coastal Plain soils.
Garlic was harvested at the Bamboo Farm when
bulbs attained sufficient size, approximately 2.5 inches
across. On-farm (Tattnall County) garlic was harvested
on June 2 and at the Bamboo Farm on June 3 and July
10. The harvest date for the on-farm garlic coincided with
the grower's elephant garlic harvest.
The yield per acre at the Bamboo Farm ranged from
14,302 pounds per acre for 'California Early' to 4,124
pounds per acre for 'California Late' (see table). The early
varieties, 'Chinese' and 'Ex 106' were harvested on June
3, but were probably ready one month prior to this, based
on the condition of the bulbs and tops. The late season
material also could have remained in the field longer
except for the higher temperatures at this time of year.
Of the seven varieties planted on-farm only three
are listed: '4050', '2550', and 'California Early'. Two of
the early varieties 'Chinese' and 'Ex 106' had rotted in
the ground presumably because we attempted to harvest
them too late. We were unable to get back to this grower
to harvest the later material, 'California Late' and '5150'.
We also list in the observational table 'Elephant Garlic',
which this grower produces, for comparison purposes.
The USDA material is from the germplasm collection in
Pullman, Washington.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
33
GARLIC VARIETY TRIAL, BAMBOO FARM AND COASTAL GARDENS, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, AND ON-FARM,
TATTNALL COUNTY, GEORGIA
Cultivar Source Location Yield Number of Wt. of 10 bulbs Maturity
lbs/a bulbs/a oz
California Early Rogers Foods Inc. Bamboo Farm 14,302 78,408 25.6 Midseason
Chinese Rogers Foods Inc. Bamboo Farm 6,171 36,300 25.2 Early
2550 Basic Veg.Products Bamboo Farm 9,511 65,340 21.5 Midseason
Ex 106 Basic Veg.Products Bamboo Farm 9,656 65,340 20.7 Early
4050 Basic Veg.Products Bamboo Farm 10,019 50,820 29 Midseason
California Late Rogers Food Inc. Bamboo Farm 4,124 65,340 Late
5150 Basic Veg. Products Bamboo Farm 6,935 73,326 Late
R
2  
0.61 0.66
CV 49 32
lsd 5,189 26,178
Observational
4050 Basic Veg. Products On-farm 12,923 - 26.9 Midseason
2550 Basic Veg. Products On-farm 10,091 - 24.8 Midseason
California Early Rogers Foods Inc. On-farm 5,445 - 16.3 Midseason
Elephant Garlic Dasher Farms On-farm 14,883 - Midseason
PI 515971 USDA Bamboo Farm 8,422 92,928 41.5 Midseason
P1540350 USDA Bamboo Farm 6,970 66,792 Late
P1540354 USDA Bamboo Farm 3,485 75,504 Midseason
P1540368 USDA Bamboo Farm 11,616 87,120 
Midseason
P1540380 USDA Bamboo Farm 8,422 78,408 Midseason
PI 543048 USDA Bamboo Farm 3,311 52,272 Midseason
W612840 USDA Bamboo Farm 11,616 55,176 Early
W6 12844 USDA Bamboo Farm 8,131 52,272 
Midseason
W6 8409 USDA Bamboo Farm 6,098 66,792 Late
W6 8404 USDA Bamboo Farm 3,775 49,368
34 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
35
Tropical Pumpkin
Hybrid Evaluation
Donald N. Maynard
Short-vine tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)
experimental hybrids were evaluated in the spring 1999
season at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Cen-
ter, Bradenton, Florida.
The EauGallie fine sand was prepared in late Febru-
ary by incorporation of 0-0.8 pound of N-P
2
0
5
s-K
2
0 per
100 linear bed feet (lbf). Beds were formed and fumi-
gated with methylbromide:chloropicrin, 67:33 at 2.3
pounds perlOO lbf. Banded fertilizer was applied in shal-
low grooves on the bed shoulders at 2.34-0-3.25 pounds
of N-P
2
0
5
-K
2
0 per 100 lbf after the beds were pressed
and before the black polyethylene mulch was applied.
The total fertilizer applied was equivalent to 203-70-283
pounds of N-P
2
0
5
-K
2
0 per acre. The final beds were 32
inches wide and eight inches high, and were spaced on
five foot centers with six beds between seepage irriga-
tion/drainage ditches which were on 41-foot centers.
Fourteen hybrids were direct seeded on March 24 in
holes four feet apart that were punched in the black poly-
ethylene mulch. The four-foot long plots contained six
plants each. Weed control in row middles was by culti-
vation and application of paraquat. Pesticides were ap-
plied as needed for control of silverleaf whitefly (endosul-
fan, abamectin, and ultrafine oil), downy mildew
(chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin), and worms (Bacillus
thuringiensis and methomyl). The pumpkins were har-
vested on June 24 and the resulting data shown in Tables
1, 2, 3, and 4.
TABLE 1. YIELD, AVERAGE FRUIT WEIGHT, LOCATION OF FRUIT, VINE LENGTH, FLESH THICKNESS,
SOLUBLE SOLIDS, POLAR: EQUATORIAL RATIO, AND FRUIT PER PLANT OF TROPICAL PUMPKIN HYBRIDS,
SPRING 1999
Avg -Location of fruit- Longest Flesh Soluble P:E Fruit per
Entry Yield fruit wt. crown vine vine thickness solids ratio plant
cwt/a' lbs % % ft in %
G38-2-28 x La Primera 893 a
2  
8.4 a 36 b 64 a 26.6 ab 2.2 a 5.4 a 0.70 be 5.3 a
G38-2-53 x Soler 793 ab 6.9 a-d 57 b 39 ab 7.4 c 1.6 b 5.3 a 0.69 be 5.5 a
G38-2-45 x La Primera 698 a-c 7.2 a-c 49 b 51 a 12.8 bc 1.8 ab 5.2 a 0.72 bc 4.5 ab
G38-2-22 x Seminole 697 a-c 7.7 ab 23 b 77 a 20.6 a-c 1.9 ab 4.9 a 0.83 b 5.0 ab
G38-2-45 x Soler 635 a-c 7.2 a-c 57 b 43 a 16.3 bc 1.4 b 4.3 a 0.68 bc 4.5 ab
G38-2-47 x Seminole 595 b-d 4.7 d 53 b 47 a 7.2 c 1.9 ab 5.8 a 0.77 bc 6.0 a
TP241 x TP411-1 579 b-d 5.7 b-d 56 b 44 a 9.8 bc 1.6 b 5.3 a 0.98 a 5.0 ab
C42-1-9 x La Segunda 574 b-d 4.6 d 50 b 50 a 10.8 bc 1.6 ab 4.6 a 0.72 be 5.9 a
G38-2-28 x La Segunda 573 b-d 8.2 a 31 b 69 a 11.4 bc 2.0 ab 4.9 a 0.69 bc 3.4 b
G38-2-33 x La Segunda 534 b-d 5.6 b-d 59 b 41 a 15.8 bc 1.7 ab 5.6 a 0.62 c 4.4 ab
G38-2-33 x Soler 531 b-d 7.2 a-c 49 b 51 a 35.6 a 1.8 ab 4.8 a 0.61 c 3.4 b
G38-2-15 x La Segunda 530 b-d 5.3 cd 39 b 61 a 10.0 bc 1.9 ab 4.8 a 0.79 b 5.1 ab
TP241 x TP413 511 cd 5.3 cd 41 b 59 a 9.5 c 1.6 b 5.2 a 0.97 a 5.0 ab
C42-1-9 x La Primera 348 d 4.7 d 95 a 5 b 7.1 c 1.5 b 4.9 a 0.81 b 4.6 ab
'Acre= 8712 linear bed feet.
2 Mean separation in columns by Duncan's 
multiple range test, 5% level.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
35
TABLE 2. FLOWER HABITS OF TROPICAL PUMPKIN HYBRIDS, SPRING 1999
- First open flower Nodes from 
crown
Entry' Staminate Pistillate 
Staminate Pistillate
DAP' No.
TP241 x TP411-1 51 a 47 b 3.5 a 9.5 ab
TP241 x TP413 52 a 49a 2.5a 10.5a
C42-1-9 x La Primera 46 be 35 c 3.0 a 6.0 be
C42-1-9 x La Segunda 45 cd 34 c 3.0 a 
5.0 c
G38-2-15 x La Segunda 47 b 36 c 2.5 a 7.5 a-c
G38-2-22 x Seminole 46 be 35 c 2.5 a 7.0 a-c
G38-2-28 x La Primera 46 be 36 c 2.5 a 6.0 bc
G38-2-28 x La Segunda 46 be 36 c 2.0 a 6.0 bc
G38-2-33 x La Segunda 47 be 36 c 2.0 a 7.5 a-c
G38-2-33 x Soler 43 d 35 c 3.0 a 6.0 bc
G38-2-45 x La Primera 46 bc 36 c 2.5 a 6.0 be
G38-2-45 x Soler 45 cd 34 c 2.5 a 6.5 bc
G38-2-47 x Seminole 45 cd 35 c 2.5 a 7.0 a-c
G38-2-53 x Soler 45 cd 35c 3.5a 7.0a-c
1 Days after planting
TABLE 3. FRUIT SHAPE DISTRIBUTION OF TROPICAL PUMPKIN HYBRIDS, SPRING 1999
Fruit shape (%)
Entry Variable Round Flat Pear Oval
TP241 x TP411-1 0 59 3 0 38
TP241 x TP413 0 76 6 1 17
C42-1-9 x La Primera 0 51 37 10 2
C42-1-9 x La Segunda 3 16 57 14 10
G38-2-15 x La Segunda 9 43 29 13 6
G38-2-22 x Seminole 2 36 50 0 12
G38-2-28 x La Primera 0 17 81 2 0
G38-2-28 x La Segunda 0 0 85 15 0
G38-2-33 x La Segunda 2 32 64 2 0
G38-2-33 x Soler 0 5 95 0 0
G38-2-45 x La Primera 0 15 81 2 2
G38-2-45 x Soler 0 12 88 0 0
G38-2-47 x Seminole 2 54 36 0 8
G38-2-53 x Soler 2 17 78 3 0
TABLE 4. FRUIT WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION OF TROPICAL PUMPKIN HYBRIDS, SPRING 1999
Weight (lbs)
Variety >4.0 4.1 6.1-8.0 8.1-12.0 12.1-16.0 <16.0
TP241 x TP411-1 20 48 27 3 0 2
TP241 x TP413 20 52 26 2 0 0
C42-1-9 x La Primera 44 34 17 5 0 0
C42-1-9 x La Segunda 56 19 11 14 0 0
C38-2015 x La Segunda 60 13 13 0 13 1
G38-2-22 x Seminole 4 24 18 30 14 0
G38-2-28 x La Primera 12 17 17 34 17 3
G38-2-28 x La Segunda 13 23 25 23 15 1
G38-2-33 x La Segunda 23 28 15 25 9 0
G38-2-33 x Soler 27 29 10 17 12 5
G38-2-45 x La Primera 17 22 17 43 1 0
G38-2-45 x Soler 18 33 27 16 4 2
G38-2-47 x Seminole 53 26 11 8 2 0
G38-2-53 x Soler 28 25 16 23 3 5
36 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY 
TRIALS 
37
Watermelon Variety Trial
in Eastern Georgia
George Boyhan and Darbie Granberry
Seed for the trial were sown on April 15, 1999 in
artificial media under greenhouse conditions. The site
for the trial was prepared with the application of one ton
of lime per acre. In addition, 400 pounds per acre of 15-
0-15 fertilizer was applied preplant and incorporated on
May 10. Seedlings were transplanted on May 12. The
in-row spacing was five feet and the between-row spac-
ing was six feet. Each plot consisted of 10 plants and the
experimental arrangement was a randomized complete
block design. Curbit herbicide was applied at a rate of
0.75 pound active ingredient per acre in a minimum of
30 gallons of water. In addition, hand weeding was used
as needed. An additional application of NH4NO
3 
was
applied on July 1 at a rate of 200 pounds per acre.
Fruit were harvested on July 14 and July 15 and the
total weight and count of fruit were recorded. In addi-
tion, two representative fruit from each plot were selected
and additional measurements recorded. This included the
fruit length, width, rind depth, and soluble solids (per-
cent sugar). Finally, the flesh color and fruit type were
also noted.
The range for yield was a high of 33,875 pounds per
acre for 'Revolution' to a low of 6,912 pounds per acre
for 'Big Stripe' (see table, next page). Sugar content
ranged from 9.8% for 'Boston' to 7.1% for 'Huck Finn'.
With an lsd of 1.6 only 'Freedom' and 'Huck Finn' were
significantly less sweet than 'Boston'.
Most of the entries in the trial were Allsweet melon
types. Four of the entries were triploid (seedless) types.
Only one was a yellow fleshed variety.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
37
. Awn,199
38 ALABAMA AGIUTRLEPRMN TTO
WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL RESULTS 1999,
VIDALIA ONION AND VEGETABLE RESEARCH FARM, REIDSVILLE, GEORGIA
Fruit Fruit Rind Fruit Soluble Flesh Fruit
Entry Source Yield/acre length width thickness weight solids color -type
1
lbs in in in lbs %
430
510
800
900
910
5032
5044
Athens
AU-Producer
Big Stripe
Boston
Constitution
Delta
Ecuadorian
Festival
Freedom
AU-Golden
Producer
HMX 7928
Huck Finn
Millionaire
Pinata
Revolution
Sentinel
Starbrite
Stargazer
Stars & Stripes
Sweet Scarlet
WX8
R2
lsd
Abbott & Cobb 20,546
Abbott & Cobb 21,108
Abbott & Cobb 19,566
Abbott & Cobb 13,946
Abbott & Cobb 10,077
Abbott & Cobb 26,866
Abbott & Cobb 19,156
Sunseeds 22,778
Auburn University 8,005
Wilhite Seed 6,912
Sunseeds 17,834
Sunseeds 22,187
Petoseed 18,765
Gene Hunter 15,329
Wilhite Seed 13,228
Sunseeds 22,368
Auburn University 15,696
Harris Moran 12,389
Harris Moran 10,952
Harris Moran 18,037
Wilhite Seed 27,152
Sunseeds 33,875
Petoseed 19,232
Asgrow 29,719
Asgrow 18,480
Asgrow 19,943
Auburn University 19,050
Wilhite Seed 20,778
0.38
62
NS
'Fruit Type: A = Allsweet, CST = Crimson Sweet Triploid, J = Jubilee, GI = Gray Icebox, BJ = Black Jubilee, BI = Black
Icebox, CS= Crimson Sweet.
13.6
10.0
12.6
13.0
14.6
9.0
10.9
12.7
9.8
12.8
9.1
11.4
11.7
9.5
12.9
10.6
9.6
9.4
11.6
9.9
13.7
13.6
12.8
13.4
14.9
13.8
9.3
14.6
7.9
14.7
8.5
8.5
7.7
8.7
8.6
8.3
8.9
8.2
8.5
8.4
8.2
6.9
8.1
8.3
8.9
7.8
7.8
8.1
8.3
8.0
8.3
8.5
7.9
7.7
8.7
8.1
0.8 12
0.6 11
0.7 13
0.8 11
0.8 13
0.7 12
0.8 11
0.7 13
0.7 13
0.8 16
0.6 9
0.8 12
0.7 13
0.7 10
1.1 11
1.0 12
0.8 13
0.9 8
0.8 12
1.0 12
0.8 16
1.1 13
0.8 16
0.8 16
0.8 14
0.8 13
0.7 11
0.7 13
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Yellow
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
8.3
8.8
9.1
9.0
9.0
8.3
9.2
9.2
8.5
8.5
9.8
9.5
9.1
8.8
8.2
8.1
8.7
9.6
7.1
8.7
8.8
8.5
8.5
8.6
8.5
8.6
8.5
8.9
0.33
14
1.6
A
CST
A
A
A
CST
CST
A
CS
J
A
A
A
GI
A
BJ
CS
BI
J
CST
A
A
A
J
A
J
CS
J
38 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
39
Seedless Watermelon
Variety Trial in
Southeast Virginia
Bob Bevacqua
This paper reports on an effort to identify varieties
of seedless or triploid watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) for
commercial production in the tidewater region of South-
east Virginia. The criteria used to evaluate the varieties
were (1) earliness for a market window of July 15 to
August 7, (2) ease of propagation and seedling vigor, (3)
number of marketable melons per vine, (4) weight of
melon, (5) sweetness, and (6) red flesh color. The variet-
ies selected for evaluation had demonstrated consider-
able potential for commercial production in earlier trials
in Florida (Maynard 1997) and North Carolina
(Schultheis 1997).
A secondary goal was to compare propagation, cul-
tural practices, and yield between seedless and standard
or seeded watermelon
Seeds of five seedless varieties were started on May
1, 1999, following the propagation procedures outlined
by Maynard (1996). Seedlings were transplanted to the
field on May 20. The replicated plots were 30 feet long
and had four plants each and were repeated three times
in a randomized complete block. Plant spacing was four
feet by six feet, which results in a plant population of
1,815 plants per acre. The standard varieties, 'Royal
Flush' and 'Carnival', were planted on all sides of the
plots to provide pollen. All other cultural practices fol-
lowed the guidelines outlined in Bevacqua (1999). Yield
data was recorded on July 27 or 88 days after seeding in
a once-over-harvest.
All the varieties included in this study were found to
be suitable for commercial production in Southeast Vir-
ginia. 'Crimson Trio', however, demonstrated the most
promise (see table). It was judged an early variety be-
cause it produced a fruit with a sweetness of over 10%
Brix and a red flesh color in 88 days. It propagated eas-
ily, no mortality was observed following transplanting,
and it ranked high in number of melons per vine and
weight of melons. It is an established variety that is widely
grown in other areas of the United States. 'Tri-X Carou-
sel' displayed the same desirable qualities as 'Crimson
Trio', with one important exception. Following trans-
planting, it suffered 25% mortality in the field.
Seedless watermelon is far more difficult to propa-
gate than standard melons due to very specific require-
ments for soil temperature and moisture. The former must
be started in the greenhouse, whereas the latter can be
direct seeded. The former can also be lacking in early
vigor and this leads to high mortality following field
planting. This was true for 'Tri-X Carousel', 'RWM
8073', and 'Tri-X Shadow' (see table).
In seedless plantings, standard plants are required
as pollenizers at a ratio of one standard for every two
seedless plants. This is most easily accomplished by plant-
ing one row of standards for every two rows of seedless.
The same spacing can be used for both types. This makes
field management more complex. Standard plants need
to be direct seeded in the field on the same day the seed-
less are started in the greenhouse. Harvest operations
become more complex also as each type requires sepa-
rate operations. It is important to use a pollenizer that is
marketable because one-third of all melons produced in
the field will be of this type. The fruit of the pollinizer
should be easily distinguished from the seedless melons
to avoid confusion during harvesting. In this variety trial,
for example, the standard fruit were oblong and weighed
an average of 20 pounds while the seedless melons were
round with a mean weight of 14 pounds.
Seedless watermelon was found to produce yields
similar to those of standard watermelon. Viewing aver-
age production on a per plant basis, the former produced
2.1 melons per vine with a weight of 14 pounds each
whereas the latter produced 1.4 melons per vine with a
weight of 20 pounds each. Thus, melon production for a
seedless vine was 31.5 pounds and for a standard vine it
was 28.4 pounds.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
39
S.. ...... ...
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
RESULTS OF SEEDLESS WATERMELON VARIETY TRIAL IN 19991
Transplant Marketable Fruit weight 
Sweetness Flesh color
Variety mortality melons/vine lbs Brix%
Millionaire Oa 2.3a 14.4a 9.4a pink-b
Crimson Trio Oa 2.2a 13.9ab 10.1a red a
Tri-X Carousel 25a 2.la 14.6a 10.2a red a
RWM 8073 17a 2.6a 12.7bc 7.8a pink b
Tri-X Shadow 25a 1.3a 12.4c 
9.6a pink/red ab
1 Mean separation within columns by Duncan's multiple range test at 5% level.
References
Bevacqua, B. 1999. Watermelon production in SE Virginia. Va. Coop. Ext.
Maynard, D.N. 1996. Growing seedless watermelon. Univ. Florida Coop. Ext..
Maynard, D.N. 1997. Triploid watermelon cultigen evaluation, spring 1997. Univ. 
Florida rpt BRA-1997-15.
Schultheis, J.R. 1997. Seedless watermelon varieties. North Carolina Coop. Ext. Serv.
40
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
41
Little Difference
Found among 
Allsweet
Watermelon
Eric Simonne, Edgar Vinson, Joe Little, Ron McDaniel, and Malcomb Pegues
This year's watermelon trials were conducted at the
Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center (GCREC) in
Fairhope and the Lower Coastal Plain Research Station
(LCPRS) in Camden (Tables 1 and 2). Watermelon tests
were also conducted at the Upper Coastal Plain Research
Station (UCPRS) in Winfield and the North Alabama Hor-
ticultural Station (NAHS) in Cullman. However, these
tests were lost due to excessive weeds and poor seed
germination, respectively.
Watermelons at GCREC were direct seeded on bare
ground in 60-foot long, five-foot wide plots with a hill
spacing of approximately eight feet on April 5. At
LCPRS, watermelons were directed seeded on bare
ground in 40-foot long, five-foot wide plots with a hill
spacing of five feet on May 20.
At GCREC, 30 pounds of N in the form of Ca(NO
3
)
2
was preplant incorporated following soil test recommen-
dations. Plants were trickle irrigated as needed through-
out the growing season. Preemergence herbicide used
was Poast (at a rate of two pints per acre) on June 18.
Alleys were also hand-weeded as needed. An injection
of 30 pounds of N per acre as Ca(NO
3
)
2 
was made at
fruit set on June 9.
At LCPRS, one ton per acre of lime and 13-13-13
fertilizer at the rate of 300 pounds per acre were applied
preplant. Ammonium nitrate (NH
4
NO
3
) was side dressed
at a rate of 40 pounds of nitrogen (N) per acre. Plants
were drip-irrigated on bare ground on May 21 and every
four to five days throughout the growing season. To con-
trol weeds, watermelons were treated with Poast herbi-
cide on June 14 at the rate of 1.5 pints per acre, hoed on
June 19 to 21, and rototilled on June 21.
Watermelons were harvested on July 7 at GCREC
and August 6 at LCPRS.
TABLE 1. RATINGS OF 1999 WATERMELON
VARIETY TRIALS
1
Location GCREC LCPRS
Weather 5 5
Fertility 5 5
Irrigation 5 5
Pests 5 5
Overall 5 5
'See introduction for a description of rating scales.
Important characteristics for watermelons are mar-
ketable yield, sweetness, and rind thickness. Fruits were
graded as described in the Watermelon Grader's Guide
(Circular ANR-681 from the Alabama Cooperative Ex-
tension System) and marketable yield was determined.
Two representative melons were selected from each plot
for the measure of soluble solids levels, which is often
used to evaluate sweetness (Table 3). Watermelons with
soluble solid levels of less than 100 Brix do not taste sweet.
Rind thickness is used as an indicator of shipping ability
and resistance to bruising and to splitting during han-
dling. Rind thickness ranged from 0.5 to 0.75 inch.
Yields were high at both locations. Few differences
were found among the Allsweet varieties. At GCREC
'Ferrari' and 'AU-AS-BC' were the lowest yielders while
at the lowest yielder at LCPRS was 'AU-AS-BC'. Top
yielding varieties were 'Big Stripe' at GCREC. 'Royal
Sweet', 'Carnival', and the yellow-fleshed 'Summer
Gold' were the top yielding varieties at LCPRS. 'Stars'N
Stripes' and the standard 'Starbrite' were the highest
yielding Jubilee varieties.
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
41
.;. :1999
TABLE 2. SEED SOURCE, FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELATIVE EARLINESS OF SELECTED WATER-
MELON VARIETIES
Variety Type' Seed source Fruit Flesh Days to Disease Years
shape color harvest claims
2  
- eval.
Arriba! JU, Fl Hollar Oblong Red 82 ANT,FW 97-99
AU-AS-BC AS, OP Auburn Univ. Oblong Red - - 94, 96,97,99
Big Stripe AS, Fl Willhite Oblong Red 85 FW 99
Carnival AS, F1 Novartis Blocky Red 86 ANT,FW 97-99
Ferrari AS, F1 Shamrock Elongated Red - - 97-99
Festival IB, F1 Johnny's Round Red 75 - 99
Fiesta AS, F1 Novartis Elongated Red 85 - 97-99
Jubilee II JU, OP Asgrow Elongated Red 90 *ANT, *FW 94,97-99
Mardi Gras AS, Fl Novartis Elongated Red 86 ANT,FW 97,98,99
Pinata AS, F1 Willhite Elongated Red 85 - 99
Royal Flush AS, F1 Petoseed Elongated Red 92 - 98,99
Royal Sweet AS, Fl Petoseed Elongated Red 85 ANT,FW 94,96,97-99
RWM-8036 AS, F1 Novartis Blocky Red 88 - 98,99
RWM-8052 AS, Fl Novartis Blcoky Red 88 - 98,99
Sangria AS, Fl Novartis Elongated Red 87 ANT,FW 99
Stars'N Stripes AS, F1 Asgrow Elongated Red 85 *ANT, *FW 97-99
Starbrite JU, Fl Asgrow Oblong Red 85 FW 97-99
Stargazer AS, Fl Asgrow Elongated Red 85 *ANT, *FW 98,99
Summer Gold AS, Fl Willhite Blocky Yellow 85 FW 99
Vista JU, Fl Hollar Oblong Red 85 *ANT, *FW 98,99
*Race 1 only.
- = not available from seed catalogues.
' Type: F1 = Hybrid, OP = Open Pollinated; AS = Allsweet; CS = Crimson Sweet; IB = Icebox; JU = Jubilee.
2 Disease Claims: ANT = Anthracnose; FW = Fusarium Wilt.
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION42
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS4
TABLE 3. 1999 DIPLoID WATERMELON VARIETY 
TRIAL
Marketable Marketable Individual Soluble Hollow
Variety 1 'pe yield 
fruits fruit wt. solids 
heart
lbs/a #a lb ?Brix in
Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center
Big Stripe AS 52,762 
2,590 20 10.9 
3
Mardi Gras AS 43,161 
2,276 19 10.8 
0
RWM-8036 AS 42,920 
2,109 20 11.4 
4
RWM-8052 AS 40,663 
2,072 20 9.9 
2
Fiesta AS 39,553 
2,516 16 10.8 1
Royal Flush AS 35,391 
2,276 16 12.0 
2
Stargazer AS 35,224 
2,072 17 11.9 3
Pinata AS 34,595 
2,017 17 10.9 
4
Sangria AS 33,985 2,054 
17 11.8 1
Summer Gold AS 30,470 
1,721 18 10.9 1
Ferrari AS 28,453 
1,758 17 11.1 
0
AU-AS-BC AS 12,488 
870 14 9.7 2
R2 0.65 2.6 
0.29 0.26
CV 22 10.6 11 14
lsd 22,500 2.68 
3.94 2
Lower Coastal Plain Research Station
Royal Sweet AS 56,185 2,757 
20 10.4 4
Summer Gold AS 56,055 2,720 
21 11.6 0
Carnival AS 55,926 2,794 
20 10.4 0
Fiesta AS 47,601 2,905 
16 10.2 0
Stargazer AS 45,436 2,424 
19 11.2 13
AU-AS-BC AS 11,341 740 
16 10.4 0
Stars' N Stripes JU 76,479 3,460 
22 10.5 0
Starbrite JU 58,941 2,683 
22 9.7 3
Jubilee II JU 51,412 2,183 
24 10.3 0
Arriba! JU 50,524 2,553 
20 10.1 0
Vista JU 49,599 2,424 
20 10.4 0
Festival lB 13,709 1,351 
10 9.6 0
R2 0.71
CV 27
lsd 24,900
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE 
VARIETY TRIALS
43
w
44 
ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION
Seed Sources
Abbott and Cobb, Inc.
To order: (800)-345-SEED
In TX: (800) 227-8177
Tech Rep: Pete Suddarth
4517 Tillman Bluff Rd.
Valdosta, GA 31602
Ph: (912) 249-8135
Asgrow Seed Co.
To order: (800) 234-1056
Tech. Rep: Duaine E. Kief
412 Holly Hill Ct.
Tallahassee, FL 32312
Ph: (805) 570-1791
E-mail: duaine.kief@svseed.com
Tech Rep: Rusty Autry
2221 North Park Ave.
Tifton, GA 31796
Ph: (912) 392-0255
Seed Distribution Center
Tech. Rep: Van Lindsey
Ph: (912) 382-1815
Ferry-Morse Seed Co.
To order: (608) 837-6574
Tech Rep: Glenn McKay
P.O. Box 392
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Ph: (608) 837-6574
Harris Seeds
To order: (800) 544-7938
Tech Rep: Mark Willis
P.O. Box 22960
60 Saginow Dr.
Rochester, NY 14692-2960
Ph: (716) 442-0410
Fax: (716) 442-9386
Tech Rep: John Kemery
615 Weston Ridge Dr.
Walland, TN 37886-2010
Ph: (423) 681-3509
Fax: (423) 983-7034
E-mail: jkemery998 @aol.com
Harry Moran Seed Co.
To order: (209) 579-7333
Tech. Rep: Laura Isaac
P. O. Box 4938
Modesto, CA 95352
Ph: (209) 579-7333
Fax: (209) 527-8674
Hollar Seeds
To order: (719) 254-7411
Tech. Rep: John Kolmer
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 Box 2580
Albion, ME 04910-9731
Fax: (800) 437-4290
Kelly Seed Company
To order: (800) 654-0726
Tech. Rep: Jack Stuckey
100 Shilo Rd
P.O. Box 370
Hartford, AL 36344
Fax: (334) 588-6144
Liberty Seed Co.
To order: (800) 541-6022
New Philadelphia, OH 44663-0806
Ph: (330) 364-1611
Fax: (330) 364-6415
Petoseed
To order: (850) 894-8026
Tech. Rep: Cameron Sutherland
6604 Tomy Lee
Tallahassee, FL 32308-1643
Ph:(850) 894-8026
Fax: (850) 894-8036
Rupp Seeds
To order: (800) 700-1199
Tech. Rep: Roger Rupp
17919 County Road B
Wansiom, OH 43567
Ph: (419) 337-1841
Fax: (419) 337-5491
Sakata Seed America, Inc.
To order: (914) 369-0032
Tech. Rep: Atlee Burpee
P.O. Box 1103
Lehigh, FL 33970-1103
Ph: (941) 369-0032
Fax: (941) 369-7528
44 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL 
VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS 
45
Seed Sources, continued
Sandoz RogerslNovartis
To order: (912) 560-1863
Tech. Rep: Curt Pollard
Ph: (912) 560-1863, (912) 244-2922
E-mail: curt.pollar@seeds.novarts.com
Seedway
To order: (800) 952-7333
Tech. Rep: James J. Pullins
1225 Zeager Rd.
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
Ph: (717) 367-1075
Fax: (717) 367-0387
E-mail: info @seedway.com
Seneca Hybrids
P.O. Box 128
Hall, NY 14463
Ph: (716) 526-6398
Fax: (716) 526-5988
Shamrock Seed Co.,.Inc
To order: (408) 351-4443
Tech Rep: Estella Barajas, Jim Davis
3 Harris Place
Salinas, CA 93901
Ph: (800) 351-4443
Fax: (408) 771-1517
Stokes Seeds Inc.
To order: (800) 263-7133
Tech. Rep: Joe Butwin
P.O. Box 548
Buffalo, NY 14240-0548
Fax: (905) 684-8499
Wil hite
To order: (800) 828-1840
Tech Rep: Don Dobbs
P.O. Box 23
Poolville, TX 76487
Fax: (817) 599-5843
SPRING 1999 COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS
45

ALABAMA'~
COOPERATIVE
SYSTEM
ANR-1 166
0
ALABAMA A&M AND AUBURN UNIVERSITIES
AU Vegetable
Varieties Online
Auburn University
Department of Horticulture
Variet Trials Home Page
reI ,
he choice 
of a good
variety affects the en-
tire production of
vegetables, fruits,
and omnamentals,
from seeding in the field to retail
sale. To help growers and horti-
culture professionals select the
best-performing varieties, the
Department of Horticulture at
Auburn University conducts an-
nual variety trials throughout the
state of Alabama. 'Field perfor-
mance results and variety ratings....
are available from several
Extension and experiment sta-
tion publications: AAES
Bulletin 632, "Varieties for the
Alabama Vegetable Industry and
the Southeast"; ANR-1099,
"Pumpkin and Winter Squash
Varieties for Alabama"; ANR-
1141, "Pepper Varieties for
Alabama"; ANR-1143, "Tomato
Varieties for Commercial
Production"; ANR-1 152,
"Watermelon Varieties for
Commercial Production"; and
ANR-1159, "Commercial Varieties
of Small Melons."
Because of the timeliness of
variety information, the AU
"Vegetable Varieties Online Web
page was .established to present
the latest variety information and
to provide a searchable database
on vegetable varieties. AU
Vegetable Varieties Online was
designed for growers, county
Extension agents, seed company
personnel, researchers, and 
oth-
ers interested in vegetable 
vari-
ety performance. While the 
in-
formation provided in the Web
page is designed to be self-
explanatory, this publication 
is
intended to help users find the
page on the Web and to help
present the main features avail-
able on the vegetable section 
of
the page. These include 
(1) re-
trieving research-based 
informa-
tion on best-performing -veg-
etable varieties, (2) finding 
seed
sources and contacts from 
seed
companies, and (3) accessing
links to other relevant 
variety
information.
Visit our Web site at: www.aces.ed u
Accessing the Page on the Internet
AU Vegetable Varieties Online can be found at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/hf/faculty/
esimonne. A link to "AU Variety Trials" on the AU Horticulture Home Page also exists at
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/hf.
Three categories for variety information are available on the opening page-vegetables, flowers, and
fruits (Figure 1). Clicking on a picture leads to each variety welcome page. The AU Vegetable Varieties
Online page is found by clicking on the vegetable picture.
A few links and the disclaimer are also on the opening page.
Description of AU
Vegetable Varieties Online
The welcome page of AU Vegetable Varieties Online is
divided into two sections. On the left is the Table of
Contents in a toolbar outline and on the right side is the ac-
tual opening of the page (Figure 2).
Choices on the opening welcome page of AU Vegetable
Varieties Online are the following:
4
I
I
Explanation of Rating
System and Database: helps
conduct a vegetable variety
search and provides a de-
scription of how the database
works.
List of Vegetable Crops: lists
all the vegetable crops in the
database. Select a vegetable
crop and click on the name...........
or picture. Links to specific
Extension vegetable publica-
tions are also at the bottom
of this page.
Description of Variety
Types of Crops: explains the
information about the differ-
ent variety types of the crops........
by showing pictures or giving
detailed descriptions. This
page can also be accessed
during a search.
Contacting Seed ...
Companies and Web Sites: ..
lists sales and technical repre- ...
sentatives (phone numbers ....
and addresses) and Web
pages of seed companies par-
ticipating in Auburn
University's vegetable variety .
trials.
Vegetable Variety Trial
Team Members: features
pictures of the vegetable vari-
ety trial team members and
their responsibilities.
For additional information
about vegetable variety produc-
tion, follow the link to Horti-
culture Extension Publi-
cations for information on
vegetable varieties, production,
harvest, and disease control.
2 Alabama Cooperative Extension System
r info~n."
Database and Searches
The database gives each vegetable crop tested
by Auburn University a rating and allows a search
for varieties. Each crop has -a separate Web page
found from the "List of Vegetable Crops" page. Five
options are available to search when you click on a
vegetable crop:
" "Rating." This category allows a search for the
varieties rated by Auburn University. A drop
down menu appears showing the different rat-
ings. Varieties are rated on a 0 to 4 star scale
(Table 1). Clicking the "equal to or higher" check
box next to the rating search category can do a
search for more than one rating. The rating
system for the vegetable varieties combines the
yield potential, the claimed disease resistance/tol-
erance, and the horticultural type, as well as other
relevant observations.
AU Vegetable Varieties Online 3
.eo 0
A single rating is available
for each crop throughout the
state. However, different tomato
ratings are available for South
and North Alabama. The first set
of stars indicates variety tests in
North Alabama, and the second
set after the slash indicates vari-
ety tests in South Alabama.
* "Variety Name." This gives a
complete list of all the variety
names of the crop available in
the database. If the specific
name of the variety is known,
a search can display this
choice as a result. Otherwise,
it may be more beneficial to
leave this category as "All."
* "Variety Type." This feature
helps narrow the search by se-
lecting the variety type. Where
applicable a description of va-
riety types is on a separate
page with details and pictures.
This information can be ac-
cessed through a link named
"More Information" next to the
"Variety Type" search option.
To exit this additional informa-
tion, the new browser first
must be closed.
* "Seed Company." Each vari-
ety has at least one specific
seed source. A search can be
conducted if a specific seed
company is desired. The seed
companies can be contacted
on the "Seed Company" page
that contains a reference list
and links to their Web sites.
* "Sort By." This feature en-
ables alphabetization of the re-
sults by the categories. For ex-
ample, if a search posts results
alphabetized by the "Variety
Name," this option would be
selected on the "Sort By" fea-
ture instead of by "Rating,"
which is the default setting.
The "Descending" check box
feature next to the "Sort By"
category displays the highest
ratings first.
* "View the Entire Database."
The option of looking at all of
the varieties in the database
can be chosen by leaving the
search choice as "All" for
every category. The varieties
that do not have a rating have
not been evaluated in the AU
trials, but have been included
for reference.
* "Display of Search Results."
When the search parameters
have been selected, the search
of the database will display in-
formation and results after
pressing the "Search the
Database" button.
The Web page is primarily
intended to be a reference guide
to growers and horticulture pro-
fessionals in Alabama. Variety
performances presented are
based on small-scale research
plots. Test results may vary from
location to location. It is always
recommended to perform an on-
farm trial of several varieties be-
fore making a large planting of a
single variety. For further infor-
mation, contact your county
Extension office or e-mail
kdane@acesag.auburn.edu.
A LA BAMA'
COOPERATIVE
ExtensionSTEM
SYSTEM
ANR-1166
Eric H. Simonne, Extension Horticulturist, Assistant Professor, and 
Karen Y.
Dane, Research Assistant and Webmaster, both in Horticulture, Auburn
University
For more information, call your county Extension office. Look in your tele-
phone directory under your county's name to find the number.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, 
Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914; and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture. The Alabama
Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational 
programs,
materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, age, veteran status, or disability. ECP, 1M, New 
Oct 1999, ANR-1166
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 1999).
When: March 29, 2000
Deadline for fall 1999 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 three 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 Eric Simonne
Department of Horticulture
101 Funchess Hall
Auburn University, AL 36849-5408
Or send e-mail to:
evinson@acesag.auburn.edu, or
esimonne@acesag.auburn.edu
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
1 North Mississippi Research and Extension 
Center,
Verona, MS
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
2 Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, Bradenton, FL
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
3 Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens, Savannah, GA
4 Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Farm, Reidsville, GA
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY
5 Southampton County Office, Virginia Cooperative 
Extension,
Courtland, VA
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AND ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY
6 Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center, Fairhope, AL
7 Brewton Experiment Field, Brewton, AL
8 Wiregrass Research and Extension Center, Headland, AL
9 E.V. Smith Research Center, Shorter, AL
10 Lower Coast Plain Research Station, Camden, AL
11 Chilton Area Horticulture Station, Clanton, AL
12 Piedmont Research Station, Camp Hill, AL
13 Upper Coastal Plain Research Station, Winfield, AL
14 North Alabama Horticulture Station, Cullman, AL
15 Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center, Crossville, AL