Vivacious veggies

Greenhouse growers have to keep one eye on the road ahead and one eye in the rear-view mirror when it comes to selecting the best varieties of vegetables to start each year.

Old standbys can work just fine in some situations, while new varieties are needed to address developing disease issues, including virus, bacteria and fungus problems. There is also the need for varieties that address other issues, such as drought tolerance, appearance, ability to keep and customer preference.

“In the Midwest, there are a great deal of challenges,” says Tim Suitor of Heinz Seed. “If we have a wet season, then there is a great deal of disease pressure, especially from bacterial diseases. This past season was extremely dry in most of the Midwest, so there were problems with a disorder called blossom end rot that is directly associated with drought and very light yields.

“The ability of the tomatoes to keep or hold in the field is extremely important in processing tomatoes,” Suitor adds. “A heavy rain event can cause a grower to delay harvest by days or even weeks. In California, these risks are much less because of the desert conditions and the fact that all acres of tomatoes are irrigated.”

In high demand
The demand for vegetables in the home garden and wholesale markets appears to be strong, especially with consumers’ desire to purchase locally grown produce, says Bruce Buurma of Buurma Farms Inc., Willard, Ohio. As a result, appearance, flavor and even novelty are important considerations in new varieties.

Although Buurma doesn’t grow under glass, he has his finger on the pulse of the industry. His company supplies to more than 40 outlets, including Krogers and Meijers. “We buy from a variety of seed companies,” he says. “We’re constantly looking for something that looks better and tastes better to appeal to the consumer.”

Each year, breeders scramble to deliver what growers — and the market in general — want and need in a new variety of tomato, pepper and other greenhouse-grown vegetables. Fortunately, companies from coast to coast are giving the commercial greenhouse grower lots to choose from this year.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds
One company that greenhouse growers are increasingly noticing is Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine. What started out as a seed company for northern gardeners is now also a supplier for the greenhouse and field grower in the wholesale produce market. Johnny’s extensively trials new offerings to match the needs of the growers, says Paul Gallione, a researcher at the company.

“We try to take the guess work out it,” he says. This year, they’ve come up with some interesting varieties tailored for greenhouse production:

‘Jasper’ Cherry Tomato. This All American Selection for 2013 is a product of Johnny’s own breeding program. It is a deep red tomato weighing between 7 and 10 grams. It resists late blight and is crack resistant, and it is born on small trusses and keeps on the plant well. At only 60 days to maturity, it should have no problem ripening in Midwest gardens and in crop production. ‘Jasper’ has intermediate resistance to early blight, septoria leaf spot, fusarium races 1 & 2, and late blight.

Rebelski ADA DRW 7749 is touted by Johnny’s as being the “best greenhouse tomato for fresh market” due to its texture, flavor and attractive presentation. The bright red, shiny, ribbed fruits average 7 to 8 ounces and are crack resistant and firm enough to withstand some handling. Rebelski is a tried-and-tested variety in the European market that touts 75 days to maturity.

Lunchbox Snack Peppers from Johnny’s come in red, orange and yellow. They require 75 to 83 days to fully ripen and grow on tall, strong plants, according to the company’s catalog descripton. Lunchbox peppers are sweet and can be sauteed and added to a salad or eaten as a healthy snack.

Seeds by Design
Patty Buskirk, general manager for Seeds by Design, also notes an increasing trend towards growing vegetables — more so than even flowers, she says.

“That’s how we got noticed,” says Buskirk, whose California company sells directly to seed companies. She says there is a diverse market for vegetables, and they try to meet that need in their breeding program with new varieties such as Brandymaster, a more disease-resistant variety of the popular heirloom Brandywine.

Other new offerings for 2013 from Seeds by Design include Tomato Early Choice F1. This early-maturing (70 days) hybrid is round and weighs up to 4 ounces. According to the description from the company, it has an “incredible” sugar/acid flavor balance. This indeterminate tomato has performed well in coastal and dry valley areas. Compare it to Early Girl F1.

White Zinfandel F1 pepper. This new offering also requires just 70 days to maturity. It’s a large bell pepper measuring 4 X 4 inches and is TMV- and BST- resistant. Buskirk says it is an excellent variety for containers because the plant only grows to about 16 inches tall.

Tomato Gardens Choice F1 offers improved disease resistance over the popular Brandywine heirloom. It produces a large crop of large, pink Beefsteak-like tomatoes weighing up to 12 ounces. It was chosen from a taste test by Master Gardeners in the Golden State and features 100 days to maturity.

Sakata Seed America
Headquartered in Morgan Hill, California, Sakata Seed America is celebrating its centennial year by breeding some interesting new introductions for the commercial grower.

Bellini (FTM 2402) F1 is a bright orange tomato that should turn heads when it ripens. The fruit is born on an indeterminate vine and weighs 40 to 50 grams. It has good texture and good crack resistance. Bellini will appeal to home gardeners as well as specialized retail and the farmer’s market crowd, according to Sakata.

Pink Cupcake (CXS1058) F1 is a “very high-yielding” determinate salad variety of tomato. The fruit size up quickly, and it has good disease resistance. The pink internal and external coloring will appeal to consumers. It is a suitable variety for growing in high tunnels and open fields.

Sakata is offering Rally (STM9106) F1 as a centennial collection. This determinate salad variety is “very firm” and is said to have excellent color for the mature green and vine ripe markets. Rallys benefit from light to no pruning. A combination of TYLCV intermediate resistance and fusarium crown and root rot resistance should give them favored status for growers who are plagued with these problems.

Sakata is doing a lot to expand the Hungarian pepper market with several new offerings, including Orange You Sweet (SPP9098) F1, Right On Red (SPP9097) F1 and Yes To Yellow! (SPP9099) F1.

Stokes Seeds
Stokes Seeds out of Buffalo has been supplying seed to the commercial market since 1881. The company is heating up the market this year with some hot peppers, including the Rey Pakal Habanero Pepper. The fruit measures 2.5 x 1.5 inches, is rated at 200,000 Scoville heat units, and features 84 days to maturity.

Another hotty from Stokes is the Cayenetta Hot Pepper. This 2012 AAS winner is a good chili pepper and can be grown in hanging baskets with 85 to 90 days to maturity.

There are certainly a lot more new as well as tried-and-true vegetables for the commercial greenhouse grower. What’s important is to match the vegetable variety with your needs for disease resistance and the desires of your customers.

“Plan, plan, plan,” Gallione says. “Know what you have the ability to grow as well as the ability/opportunity to sell. Nothing’s worse than having a great crop with no place to sell.”

Sources for Seed

HeinzSeed: www.heinzseed.com

Johnny’s Selected Seeds: www.johnnyseeds.com

Sakata Seed America: www.sakata.com

Stokes Seeds: www.StokeSeeds.com

Seeds by Design: www.seedsbydesign.com

Neil Moran is a horticulturist and writer for Produce Grower magazine. You can visit his website at www.neilmoran.com.

Photos courtesy:
Top photo (c) PONSULAK, DREAMSTIME.COM ; Vegetables (c) JIM JURICA, ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; Jasper Cherry Tomatoes courtesy JOHNNY’S SELECTED SEEDS; White Zinfandel F1 Pepper courtesy SEEDS BY DESIGN; Cayenetta Hot Pepper, Rey Pakal Habanero Pepper courtesy STOKES SEEDS.