August 28,  2001

Harris Moran Seed Company recently showcased its best commercial and experimental vegetable
varieties recently at trials in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Staged at the Michigan State University Research Station, the two-day event featured 145 varieties, including 45 experimental, close-to-commercial varieties, most of which offer strong disease packages.

Some 75-plus customers from the U.S. and Canada attended the trials to inspect the latest in fresh market bean, fresh market corn, processing and slicing cucumbers, cabbage, pumpkin, melon, pepper, squash, tomato, and watermelon.

Attracting attention was Shade, a dark-colored, high-yielding fresh market bean with excellent shipping quality and resistance to BCMV, CMV, and Curly Top Virus. This 4-sieve top performer has become a favorite of the industry.

HMX 9101, an experimental bean, turned heads as well with its shape, yield, color, and quality. This round podded bush bean features resistance to BCMV.

In bell peppers, three relative newcomers - Conquest, Karma and Peninsula -- caught visitors' eyes. Peninsula delivers outstanding fruit yield and quality combined with resistance to TMV and BLS, Races 1, 2, 3, 5. Karma is a high-yielding blocky bell with early production of jumbo fruit and tolerance to STIP and resistance to TMV. And Conquest is a top-yielding green-to-red with resistance to TMV, Phytophthora, PMMV, and PEMV, plus tolerance to CMV.

New corn varieties were on display as well, including promising experimentals like HMX 8344
and HMX 8343. An SH2 bi-color, main-season, HMX 8344 has it all including moderate resistance to rust, MDMV, Stewart's Wilt and moderate susceptibility to SMUT and NLB. Along with a
strong disease package, its bright kernel color contrasts with its good husk cover. It has good
fill, good shipping, and is very sweet -- good eating quality.

HMX 8343, also an SH2, bi-color, main, features good rowing and kernel color with an attractive
husk. It's an easy hand pick and an excellent shipper. It has multiple resistance to Rust, NLB, MDMV, and Stewart's Wilt.

Commercial corn varieties also fared well in the trials. Bandit is an 80-day corn that features a beautiful, refined ear. Morning Star is an 83-day hybrid with a multi-disease resistance. Dealers also eyeballed Ice Queen, a 77-day white supersweet with multiple disease resistance.

In nearby squash rows, visitors inspected HMX 0709, a yellow, green-stemmed straightneck, with tolerance to the main four viruses that affect squash production areas. And HMX 0710, a medium dark green zucchini with resistance to powdery mildew, produces a high quality cylindrical fruit with a very refined blossom end.

The next generation of yellow straightneck squash was on display as well in the form of Cougar, the world's first yellow straightneck with resistance/tolerance to ZYMV, PSRV, WMV-1.

Trial visitors also saw cucumbers, both new and current varieties. Greensleeves, a slicing cucumber and industry leader, features resistance to scab and tolerance to powdery mildew, downy mildew, CMV, and angular leaf spot. An experimental variety, HMX 8416, has topped most of the university trials in which it has competed. It's resistant to SCAB, powdery mildew, downy mildew, CMV, Angular Leaf Spot, and Anthracnose.

Rounding out the trial was Millennium, a triploid watermelon with tolerance to Anthracnose and moderate tolerance to Fusarium. Bob Hamilton, a Harris Moran representative who helped stage the trials, said the success of the Benton Harbor trials demonstrates Harris Moran's commitment to the Midwest, Eastern US, and Canada. "Our breeders developed these varieties with characteristics and disease packages tailored specifically for these growing areas. And we will continue to refine and perfect these crops for those markets."

Harris Moran Seed Company is part of the largest independently owned seed company in the world. It is owned by Groupe Limagrain, a French cooperative owned, run, and operated by French farmers.

Harris Moran breeds innovative vegetable varieties designed to boost yield, reduce chemical inputs,
and increase, freshness, flavor and fruit quality from plow to plate. The Modesto, CA-based company breeds vegetables for markets in more than 65 countries.

Company news release
N3755