home news forum careers events suppliers solutions markets expos directories catalogs resources advertise contacts
 
News Page

The news
and
beyond the news
Index of news sources
All Africa Asia/Pacific Europe Latin America Middle East North America
  Topics
  Species
Archives
News archive 1997-2008
 

Seminis lineup of new watermelon varieties delivers classic flavor


St. Louis, Missouri, USA
October 18, 2013

Thanks to an unmatched investment in watermelon breeding and trialing, Seminis® is launching three new seedless watermelon varieties that deliver classic watermelon flavor often associated with seeded watermelon varieties.

“In our consumer research we learned that consumers want that classic watermelon flavor,” said Seminis Watermelon breeder Jerome Bernier. “With our three new watermelon varieties, we are confident our farmer customers can help consumers rediscover that classic watermelon flavor in a seedless variety.”



The new lineup includes watermelon triploids SV0241WA, SV0258WA and WM8317. SV0241WA is a high-quality 45/60 count watermelon triploid with an average of 3-4 fruits set per plant with outstanding fruit uniformity, fruit shape, and a high quality interior with crisp flesh. With a consistent average Brix sugar content level of 11 degrees or higher, SV0241WA has shown to have exceptional eating quality across all testing locations in the U.S. In addition, it has high resistance* to Anthracnose and intermediate resistance* to Fusarium wilt race 1.

“Because SV0241WA is a little smaller than a traditional watermelon, we think this type of watermelon is going to become more and more popular as people are looking for something more convenient that takes up less space in the refrigerator,” explained Bernier, who primarily breeds for seedless watermelon varieties for the United States and Mexico.

For the West and Northeast U.S. geographies, SV0258WA is a larger type melon in the 36 count range with a crunchy texture, great color, and great taste.

For the Southeast U.S., WM8317 is a fantastic seedless watermelon triploid that produces excellent fruit with a dark green skin, consistent round shape, sweet taste (with an average Brix sugar content level of 11 degrees), deep red color, density and texture. In addition, it has intermediate resistance* to both Anthracnose and Fusarium wilt race 1. The plant has a vigorous vine habit providing good leaf protection.

“It is exciting to know that after almost a decade of breeding and testing, we have a lot to offer our watermelon growers,” added Bernier. “But it doesn’t stop here – our customers can expect a pipeline of future products that continue to deliver both yield potential and quality.”

About Monsanto Vegetable Seeds Division
Monsanto Company’s Vegetable Seeds Division is focused on innovation to improve the quality and productivity of vegetables grown from our seeds. The company develops products intended to offer new, healthy choices for consumers. Monsanto invests in research and development and uses the latest technology not only to deliver the best products to the consumer, but also to provide yield potential and value to the customer, the grower, and to their customers, the chain partners. Monsanto's Vegetable Seeds Division is represented through Seminis® and De Ruiter® seed brands. For more information about Seminis®, please visit the About Seminis section of the website.

*High Resistance. The ability of a plant variety to highly restrict the activities of a specific pathogen or insect pest and/or
to restrict the symptoms and signs of a disease, when compared to susceptible varieties. Varieties with high resistance may exhibit some symptoms when specified pathogen or pest pressure is severe. New and/or atypical strains of the specific pathogen or pest may overcome the resistance.

*Intermediate Resistance. The ability of a plant variety to restrict the growth and development of the specified pest or pathogen, but may exhibit a greater range of symptoms compared to varieties with high resistance. Intermediate Resistant plant varieties will still show less severe symptoms or damage than susceptible plant varieties when grown under similar environmental conditions and/or pest or pathogen pressure.

Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible.

Monsanto and Vine Design® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC. Seminis® is a registered trademark of Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc. De Ruiter® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Invest N.V. ©2013 Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc.




 



More news from:
    . Bayer Vegetable Seeds
    . Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc


Published: October 19, 2013

The news item on this page is copyright by the organization where it originated
Fair use notice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Copyright @ 1992-2024 SeedQuest - All rights reserved