IFAS

, .

INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

VEGETARIAN

A Vegetable Crops Extension Publication

Vegetable Crops Department 1255 IScPP Gainesville, FL 32611 Telephone 392-2134

Vegetarian 88-05

May 5, 1988

Contents

I. NOTES OF INTEREST

A. Vegetable Crops Calendar.

II. COMMERICAL VEGETABLES

A. Flavor in Cherry Tomatoes.

B. Asparagus Variety Trial.

C. USDA Proposes Watermelon Research and Promotion
Program.
III. VEGETABLE GARDENING

A. Computerized Data Bases and Programs.

Note: Anyone
newsletter.
authors.

The purpose
the purpose
necessarily

is free to use the information in this

Whenever possible, please give credit to the

of trade names in this publication is solely for
of providing information and does not
constitute a recommendation of the product.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research,
educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin.
'Inrrnoco" ATlI~lr cVTrfhlcilrhi >110L MIl A/f-*It^ t.if n- Ae rill i fit" P-l"a1 tlca CTAC TC nc ci noDin ICAC I IUI\ IERITV nF

FLORIDA
COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SERVICE

- I -

I. NOTES OF INTEREST

A. Vegetable Crops Calendar.

June 20-24, 1988. 4-H Horticulture
Institute, Camp Cloverleaf. (Contact
Jim Stephens).

July 26-27, 1988. 4-H State
Congress, Vegetable (Horticulture)
Contest and Career Exploration,
Gainesville. (Contact Jim Stephens).

September 27, 1988. Florida Tomato
Institute. Ritz Carlton Hotel,
Naples, Fl. (Contact W. M. Stall).

October 27, 1988. Florida Pepper
Institute: Southwest Florida
Research & Education Center,
Immokalee. (Contact D. N. Maynard).

II. CEMERCIAL VEGEnABES

A. Flavor in Cherry Tomatoes.

Fruit quality in cherry
tomatoes is a composite of external
qualities including uniformity,
color, and shape and of internal
qualities such as seed size and
numbers, skin toughness, texture,
and flavor. Texture is related to
wall thickness and firmness.
Flavor, the impact of a substance on
the sense of taste, is related to
the balance of sugars, free acids,
and numerous volatile organic
compounds.
Results of some interesting
experiments conducted by Graeme
Hobson and Peter Adams at
Littlehampton Institute of Horticul-
tural Research in England were
reported in a recent issue of the
London-based horticultural publica-
tion, Grower (Vol. 109, No. 2).
Fruit quality is controlled by
a number of interacting factors,
however, the genetic background of
the variety determines basic fruit
characteristics. Other contributing
conditions such as environment and

fertility may modify the basic
fruit characteristics controlled by
heredity. Accordingly, when dif-
ferent varieties are grown under
the same conditions, genetic
control of quality will be
apparent. On the other hand, when
the same variety is grown under
varying nutritional or cultural
conditions, the modifying effects
of these factors will be expressed.
Some of the findings in the
English study were:

-Cherry tomato varieties differ in
flavor.
-There is frequently an inverse
relationship between good flavor
and high yield.
-Fruit from near the stem have a
higher dry matter content, and
better flavor than fruit at the
end of the cluster.
-Fruit allowed to ripen to a more
advanced stage of maturity on the
plant, had better flavor than
those harvested earlier.
-Holding cherry tomatoes at 50 F is
necessary to retain quality of
fruit harvested at advanced stages
of ripening.
-Film overwraps also assist in
quality retention. Research is
being conducted to determine the
film characteristics that are most
suitable.
-Greenhouse grown plants in NFT or
rockwool with high salinity had a
higher sugar and acid concentra-
tion than those grown at low
salinity. When fruit acidity is
not increased sufficiently to
compensate for higher sugar,
additions of potassium will
further increase acidity to attain
a favorable sugar:acid balance.
How does all of this relate to
production of quality cherry toma-
toes in Florida? Growers can
capitalize on these research
results by selecting the varieties
producing the most flavorful fruit
consistent with acceptable yield
and disease resistance, providing

-2-

adequate potassium nutrition, not
harvesting fruit from the very ends
of fruit clusters, harvesting fruit
at a more advanced stage of matur-
ity, and by cooling and holding
fruit at 50"F after harvest.

(Maynard: Veg. 88-05)

B. Asparagus Variety Trial.

An asparagus variety trial was
initiated in January of 1986 to
evaluate potential of asparagus in
North Florida for local sale.
Eleven varieties were seeded into
#200 Todd planter flats on January
9, 1986. They were set in the field
on May 5, 1986. Plants were spaced
12 inches in-row and 72 inches
between rows. Plots were 25 feet
long and replicated 4 times. No
harvesting was done in 1987. A
light harvesting was started in
1988. Normally the crop would have
been harvested for 3-5 weeks, but
almost 2 weeks of growth was lost
due to late, hard frosts and
emerging spears were destroyed.
Five harvests were made and weights

Asparagus Variety Trial

were recorded for marketable
spears. All spears were trimmed to
9 inches before weighing.
Yields ranged from a low of
212 lbs./A for 'Mary Washington' to
a high of 1324 lbs./A for 'UC 157
F,' a hybrid for the University of
CA breeding program. 'Jersey
Giant', an all male hybrid from
Rutgers University breeding pro-
gram, also had high yields. Both
'UC 157 F,' and 'Jersey Giant' had
very attractive and large spears.
Most of the varieties had accept-
able spear size except the 'Mary
Washington', but yields were much
lower than the 2 highest.
Asparagus is a perennial crop and
in most production areas commer-
cial harvesting is profitable for
10-15 years. Yields can normally
be expected to increase for several
years and harvesting period can be
extended to 6 to 8 weeks for the
fourth and following years.
These are preliminary trial
results and should be used with
care in recommending production or
selection of varieties since long
term production of the various
varieties is not known.

- NFREC, Quincy 1987

Perrent Plants
Yield* Survived
Variety Source (lb./A) After 2 Years

UC 157 F, Univ. of CA 1324 99
Jersey Giant Rutgers Univ. 1180 100
UC 157 F2 Univ. of CA 730 98
Brocks Imperial #84 AROC 624 91
Rutgers Syn. 3 Rutgers Univ. 612 99
Greenwich Rutgers Univ. 609 96
Rutgers Syn. 1 Rutgers Univ. 603 94
51 x 22-8 Rutgers Univ. 490 98
UC 72 ARCO 444 100
61 x 22-8 Rutgers Univ. 391 99
Mary Washington AROO 212 80

*Harvested March 25 April 2, 1988.
(Olson: Veg.

88-05)

-3-

C. USDA Prcpes Watermelcn
Research and Prnomticn Program.

A Recommended Decision (RD) on
a proposed National Watermelon
Research and Promotion Plan has
been issued by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. This Recommended
Decision is based on the record of
continuous public heaving held
during February 1987, in Ias Vegas,
Nevada, and Atlanta, Georgia, to
consider the industry-proposed plan.
Copies of the Recommended
Decision (RD) for the Watermelon
Research and Promotion Plan is being
sent to 47 counties in Florida to be
sent to watermelon growers and
handlers in each of these counties.
Written exceptions and comments
to this Recommended Decision will
be considered by USDA, and a Secre-
tary's Decision will be issued. If
that decision is favorable toward
the proposed plan, a referendum will
be held late this year.
The plan is authorized by the
Watermelon Research and Promotion
Act (Section 1641-1662 of the Food
Security Act of 1985) which requires
that a referendum of watermelon
growers and handlers be "conducted
at county extension offices" in the
48 contiguous State's if the plan is
approved by the Secretary of Agri-
culture.
Originally advanced by the
National Watermelon Association in
accordance with the 1985 Watermelon
Research and Promotion Act, the
program would provide research,
advertising, and sales promotion to
improve the position of watermelons
in the marketplace. It would
operate at no cost to the federal
government, financed by a 2 cents
per hundredweight assessment on
watermelons paid by handlers and by
farmers who grow five or more acres
of watermelons.
Anyone who both grows and
handles watermelons would pay
assessments for each function.
Otherwise, no handler or producer

would have to pay more than one
assessment on any watermelon.
Producers and handlers assessed
under the program could request and
receive refunds.
A 29-menmber board appointed by
the Secretary of Agriculture would
administer the program. Twenty-
eight members would come from nomi-
nations by watermelon producers and
handlers; one member to be appointed
from outside the industry would
represent the public. As in similar
research and promotion programs in
agriculture, the board would develop
plans with approval by the secretary
and would oversee an administrative
staff managing the program's daily
work.
Comments on the recommended
proposal should be sent in quadru-
plicate to the Hearing Clerk, Rm.
1079-S, USDA, 14th and Independence,
Washington, D.C. 20250, by May 23.
Upon reviewing them, the secretary
will decide on whether to hold a
referendum among all eligible water-
melon producers and handlers to
measure support for the plan. The
plan would become effective only if
approved by at least two-thirds of
the producers and handlers voting,
or by a majority of producers and
handlers accounting for at least
two-thirds of the volume of water-
melons grown by all voters.
Copies of the proposal and
additional information may be
obtained from W. M. Stall, State
Coordinator or Tom Tichenor, Market-
ing Order Administration Branch,
Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS,
USDA, Rm. 2523-S, P. O. Box 96456,
Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone
(202) 475-3930.

(Stall: Veg. 88-05)

-4-

III. VGEAELE GAINING

A. Computerized data bases
and programs.

During the 80's, several
computerized programs and/or data
bases on gardening have been
released by commercial companies or
universities. Following is a list
of some of the programs that have

been publicized as available (most
for sale). The prices quoted proba-
bly have changed and some of these
may no longer be available. Also,
I'm sure I have overlooked a few.
Disclaimer: I have not
reviewed these programs, so I am not
endorsing any of them. They are
mentioned here merely to acquaint
the reader with the existence of
such gardening aids.

Program

Gardenplan

Gardener's Asst.

DB or P

DB or P

DB or P

Plantin' Pal

Compugarden

Ortho Personalized
Plant Selector

Computerized Gardening

Weathermaster

DB or P

DB

DB

DB or P

Computers

IBM Compatibles

Commodore, Apple
IBM

IBM, Apple,
Commodore

IBM-PC

Apple, IBM
Commodore

MacIntosh, Apple II
IBM

IBM PC
Kaypro 2 (CP/M)
Tandy compatibles

Company

N. Dakota St. Univ.

Shannon Software

Price

unknown

$29.95-
45.00

Home & Hobby $29.95
Software

Compugarden, Inc. $69.95

Ortho Computerized $49.95
Gardening

Ortho Info. Services $49.95

Hinds International

unknown

Tektran

Appleworks

landscaper

Gardener Manager

Plant DB Library

Filevision

CAPS

DB

DB

Both

DB

DB & P

DB

P

DB & P

USDA Ag. Service

High Alt. Gardens

IBM-PC (2 drives)
Apple

IBM-PC & Compatibles

IBM PC & Compatibles

Apple Macintosh

Apple II or III
(w/64K RAM)

Fuller & Coleman
Associates

Rodale Press

Taxonomic Computer
Research

Apple

Ortho Into. Services

unknown

unknown

$49.95

$50.00

$30.00

unknown

$395.00

-5-

DB or P

DaVinci Graphics

landscape Design

Architectural Design
Interior Design
Landscape Design

Tree Search
Perennial Search
Conifer Search

Agweather
Bedding Plant Info.
Consult
Display Board
Fruit Info.
Growers Guide
Home Horticulture
Horticulture Math
Info. Program
Mail
Nursery-Landscape
landscape Selector
Plant Problem Control
Upload/Download

IBM PC & Oamp.
MacIntosh (soon)

Apple MacIntosh

Apple II

IBM PC
PC/XT

IBM-PC/MS-DOS

Company

Hayden Softwares

Avant-Garde Software

Avant-Garde Software

Taxonomic
Computer Research

Spartan Ornamental

National Agriculture
Library

Price

$49.95

$69.95

$99.95

unknown

$150.00
per yr.
$250.00
per yr.

Agricola

unknown

-6-

ADDRESSES

Garden Plan

Gardener's Asst.

North Dakota State University
Fargo, North Dakota 58105

Shannon Software, Ltd.
2912 Pine Spring Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 573-9274

Home & Hobby Software
4936 Morgan Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55409

Plantin' Pal

ompugarden

Ortho Personalized Plant
Selector

DaVinci Landscapes

Landscape Design

Tree Search
Perennial Search
Conifer Search

Agweather
Bedding Plant Info.
Consult
Display Board
Fruit Info.
Growers Guide
Home Horticulture
Horticulture Math
Info. Program
Mail
Nursery-Landscape
Landscape Selector
Plant Problem Control
Upload/Download

Compugarden, Inc.
725 Richmond Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
(301) 587-7995

20910

Ortho Conputerized Gardening
Ortho Info. Services
575 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

Hayden Software Company
600 Suffolk Street
Lowell, Massachusetts 01854

Avant-Garde Software
37B Commercial Blvd.
Novato, CA 94947
(415) 883-8083

Taxonomic Comp. Research
P.O. Box 5747
Raleigh, NC 27650-5747

Spartan Ornamental Network
Dept. of Horticulture
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1112
Attn: Sandy Allen
(517) 355-9741

-7

Prepared by Extension Vegetable
Crops Specialists

Dr. D. J.
Chairman

Cantliffe

Dr. G. J. Hochnmth
Assistant Professor

Dr. S. M. Olson
Associate Professor

Dr. D. N. Maynard
Professor

Dr. D. D. Gull
Associate Professor

Dr. W. M. Stall
Professor

,0 x9/5W'

Mr. J. M. Stephens
Professor