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Vegetable Variety Trials are Highlighted at a Sand Mountain Field Day
CROSSVILLE, Ala. - Which vegetable variety is best for your garden? Auburn University researchers test varieties in trial gardens to help home gardeners decide.
Eric Simonne, assistant professor of horticulture at Auburn University's College of Agriculture, updated local gardeners on his vegetable variety trial experiments at a recent Horticulture Field Day at the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station System's Sand Mountain Substation.
At the Sand Mountain Substation, Simonne is conducting trials on varieties of broccoli, green beans and cantaloupe.
"It's very important to do variety trials because varieties do respond differently to different environments," Simonne said. According to Simonne, "Packman" is the best performing variety of broccoli for that area, and "Athena," which produces large melons, is the best variety of cantaloupe.
The varieties are assessed not only by their yield, but also by their pest resistance and tolerance of adverse environmental conditions.
"Yield is not everything in determining which variety is best," Simonne said.
Joe Kemble, assistant professor of horticulture, who also conducts Irish potato variety trials at the Sand Mountain Substation, told field day visitors about the benefits of drip irrigation for home gardeners. Kemble said that there are affordable home irrigation kits available that can be reused for two or three seasons.
These drip irrigation systems use about one-fourth of the water an overhead irrigation system would use and can be installed with timers for even more convenience. Fertilizer can also be applied through the drip tape, Kemble said.
Also at the Field Day, Pat Cobb, professor of entomology, discussed the best ways to control fire ants in gardens and lawns; Geoff Zehnder, associate professor of entomology, described his work on Integrated Pest Management with tomatoes; Simonne is studying the possible benefits of garlic to control pest problems in vegetables; and Tony Glover, Dekalb County agent, introduced the Master Gardener Program for Dekalb County, which will begin on August 28.
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News from:
Office of Ag Communications & Marketing
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Anna M. Lee
