I was recently invited to attend a field day hosted by Seminis seed company at its field station in Felda, FL. This was part of the company’s Innovation Experience field days, which are hosted in different locations across the country.
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Autry
This is Seminis' newest bell pepper release. It produces large, blocky fruit with good yield potential. It contains the company’s X10R technology, which provides resistance to bacterial leaf spot (races 0-10).
Photo by Frank Giles
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Fury
This hot, yellow wax pepper is an early maturing hybrid that produces large, high-quality fruit. The plant’s strong canopy protects fruit from sunburn. It carries high resistance to bacterial leaf spot.
Photo by Frank Giles
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Spitfire
This Anaheim pepper has been launched in the Southeast. It has a vigorous plant with the potential to produce an abundance of large, high-quality fruit. Its disease package includes intermediate resistance to Phytophthora blight.
Photo by Frank Giles
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SVPB 7768
This experimental bell pepper is scheduled for launch in fall 2019. Adam told me this will be the first Seminis hybrid bred for the Southeast with intermediate resistance to Phytophthora blight. It also has X10R technology.
Photo by Frank Giles
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SVCS 0087 and 00927
These two experimental cucumber varieties scheduled for commercial release in summer 2019 will provide the highest level of resistance to downy mildew available in any Seminis slicing cucumber, along with other disease resistance. These varieties produce vigorous plants that will crop over a longer period of time and yield a higher percentage of super-select fruit.
Photo by Frank Giles
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Southern Ripe
This variety has quickly grown in popularity with Seminis customers. Adam Marschel of Seminis said fruit quality is where it shines. It also has high resistance to a number of important diseases like Fusarium crown rot and root rot. It has intermediate resistance to root knot nematode.
Photo by Frank Giles
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SVTD 2310
This experimental variety soon will be getting named for commercial release. The company hopes to launch it next fall. It has good yield potential and disease package for Central and South Florida, including intermediate resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus. It will work for mature-green and vine-ripe production.
Photo by Frank Giles
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SVTD 4676
This experimental variety will be well adapted to several growing regions across the Southeast for mature-green and vine-ripe production. Marschel said it will be the only variety on the market with the following disease package: high resistance to Fusarium wilt (races 1-3), Fusarium crown rot, and tomato spotted wilt virus. It also has intermediate resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus and nematodes.
Photo by Frank Giles
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SVWA 4741
This experimental variety working its way to commercial release will be a good dual-purpose melon for the fresh-cut and traditional markets. The 45/36-count variety has high average Brix with red flesh and great texture. It will hold up well in fresh-cut clamshells.
Photo by Frank Giles
Adam Marschel, a Seminis Market Manager for the Eastern U.S. and Canada, gave me a personalized tour of plots to see the newest varieties available (or soon to be) to growers. One observation I’ve made in recent years is that seed companies are cycling in new vegetable varieties more frequently these day — similar to how row crops have a steady stream of new materials year after year.
Scroll through the photo gallery above for a rundown of some the varieties Adam showed me.
01510 New Vegetable Varieties Fitting for Southeast Growers
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Frank Giles is a former Editor of Florida Grower and Cotton Grower magazines, both Meister Media Worldwide publications. See all author stories here.
January 11, 2019 
