Seed Breeing for Fresh-cut

Sakata Picks for the Fresh-cut Market
Olympic Gold: Olympic Gold is a medium-late maturing main season cantaloupe variety characterized by a strong vine and large fruit (9s, 12s). The full-netted, slightly oblong fruit work well for the fresh-cut market because of their excellent firm, crisp flesh and consistently high brix (12-13). Olympic Gold is a standard variety in Central Arizona, has wide adaptability and is performing well in the San Joaquin Valley and Central America.

Incline Cauliflower: Incline has large, dome-shaped heads with solid and dense curds. Known for excellent uniformity and wide adaptability, Incline is well suited for the fresh-cut market.

Patron Broccoli: This high domed broccoli is medium sized, dark blue green and has a nice shape with a small bead size. Patron can be used for bunching, crown cut and processing. This variety makes nice florets for fresh-cut and has an enhanced shelf life for a fresh looking product.

Snow Mass: This medium-sized honeydew (5’s, 6’s, 8’s) offers excellent fruit quality. Snow Mass has a very smooth rind, yielding round to slightly oblong fruit. The cavity is tight with light green, very sweet flesh (13-15 % Brix). This variety is best adapted to hot or long growing seasons for maximum fruit size.

Mariana Tomato: This #1 selling determinate saladette hybrid has a small to medium sized plant and exceptional fruit set. Fruit are predominately extra large (125 gm) and extremely uniform in shape. This hybrid has excellent firmness despite having large internal locules. Its fruit wall is thick and external and internal fruit color is very good. This tomato is jointed and fruit are uniform shouldered. Mariana has an excellent shelf life.

Trinity Carrot: Trinity is an excellent peeler that has shown good results in year-round production. Trinity has excellent yield and good crown attachment. It is 10-12 inches in length and ½ inch to ¾ inches in diameter, perfect for the cut and peel market. Trinity has good color, texture and flavor.

Talladega Watermelon: This blocky-oval hybrid seedless watermelon has dark green stripes with a light green back-ground. Talladega is a great tasting watermelon with a good sturdy rind and intense red interior, excellent for fresh-cut.

For more information, contact Sakata Seed America Inc., (408) 778-7758; www.sakata.com.

Tomato Varieties from Nirit Seeds Ltd.
Nirit Seeds Ltd., Israel, concentrates on five main seed crops: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, melons and watermelons. The following varieties are well adapted to the fresh-cut market:

9993 and 8387: The mini plum variety 9993 and midi plum variety 8387 produce remarkably great tasting fruit—an ideal balance between acids and sugars. Both are great tasting. Their deep, shiny red color also makes them commercially attractive. The 9993 mini plum weighs 10-15 grams and is resistant to Fusarium and Tomato Mosiac Virus while the 8387 midi plum weighs 25-30 grams and is resistant to Verticillium Wilt, nematodes, Fusarium and Tomato Mosiac Virus.

Shani: In the round cherry tomato class, Shani is the most prominent and is suitable for harvesting single fruit. The fruit weight of this indeterminate variety is 20-35 grams, if grown on one stem per plant, or 15-25 grams, when grown without pruning. This variety can be harvested early or late in the season. It is resistant to Verticillium, Fusarium races 1 and 2, Tomato Mosiac Virus and nematodes.

For more information, contact Nirit Seeds Ltd., (phone) 00-972-9-8322435; [email protected]; www.niritseeds. com.




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