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Bright-orange cucumbers loaded for the first time with beta carotene
could
be the end-product of cucumber breeding research. An ARS scientist
developed new cukes that can be bred into commercial varieties. Fruit
from two breeding stocks of cucumbers contain one to 25 parts per million
of carotene. Cantaloupe have 15 to 20 ppm, and carrots have 75 to 150
ppm. If preserved, these cucumbers taste like any other pickle, but
retain beta carotene that the body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is
necessary for normal vision, bone growth and tooth development. Unlike
carrots, cucumbers grow well in hot, humid climates of developing
countries where many children suffer vitamin A deficiencies.
Vegetable Crops Research Laboratory, Madison, WI
Philipp W. Simon, (608) 262-1248
Chandler, a new high-yielding ARS blueberry for pick-your-own farms and
home gardens, should be available at retail nurseries by 1997. This
large-fruited, highbush variety ripens slowly, later in the season than
Bluecrop, a standard since 1952. These qualities allow harvest over
several weeks in July and August. That's an advantage for farms that rely
on hand-picking rather than machines. Chandler shrubs grow about five
feet high. Limited numbers of plants are expected to be available to
researchers and breeders by spring 1995.
Horticultural
Crops Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR
Chad Finn, (503) 750-8759
The first navy dry beans with genetic resistance to two key diseases are
now available to commercial breeders. ARS and cooperating university
scientists in Michigan and North Dakota developed and released two new,
high-yielding navy bean lines, BelMiDak Rust-and-Mosaic Resistant-10
(RMR-10) and BelMiDak RMR-11. Both resist all 65 races of the bean rust
fungus, Uromyces appendiculatus. They also resist all known
strains of bean common mosaic virus, including a new strain found in
Idaho. The new strain triggers suicide cell death in infected plant
tissue. The fungus and virus cause leaf diseases that reduce yields up to
30 percent and can wipe out an entire crop under extreme conditions. A
Guatemalan bean cultivar introduced in the late 1940s supplied the new
lines' genetic sources of rust resistance. The new plants are early
maturing, upright, short vines that produce white, oval seed.
Molecular Plant
Pathology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
J. Rennie Stavely, (301) 504-6600
Vegetable
and Forage Crops Production Research, Prosser, WA
Matt J. Silbernagel, (509) 786-3454
Sweet, plump "Helena" apricots from ARS could be available in supermarkets
nationwide within a few years. Fruit from this new, deep-orange
colored variety is ideal for eating fresh because it's firm and smooth,
not mealy. "Helena" ripens in early June, after Katy and about a week
before Patterson--two of the best-selling California varieties. Over the
past seven years, ARS researchers scrutinized an estimated 7,500 "Helena"
apricots from experimental plantings at about 24 commercial orchards in
California, the nation's leading apricot producer. The new variety can be
planted in other states that produce commercial apricots. As a bonus, its
trees self-pollinate. That means growers and backyard gardeners won't
have to plant another kind of apricot nearby to furnish pollen for
"Helena."
Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, Fresno, CA
Craig A. Ledbetter, (209) 453-3064
Last updated: November 15,1996
Return to: Quarterly Report
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