Breeding New Vegetable Varieties 



By Albert F. Yeager and Elwyn M. Meader* 



THIS bulletin presents the breeding work with vegetables which has been 

 accomplished since publication in 1950 of New Hampshire Agricultural 

 Experiment Station Bulletin 3oO, "Breeding Improved Horticultural Plants 

 — 1. Vegetables." Although it requires years of painstaking effort to ori- 

 ginate and test a superior new vegetable variety, much faster progress can 

 be made with vegetable crops than with fruits, such as the apple, for ex- 

 ample, which may require ten years to fruit from seed. 



Many persons have contributed during the past years to the success of 

 this vegetable breeding program which, like any worthwhile scientific en- 

 deavor, depends upon the cooperation of capable individuals both within 

 the Agricultural Experiment Station and elsewhere. Where such individuals 

 have made major contributions, they have been mentioned directly in the 

 text or by a conspicuous footnote to call attention to the work that they 

 have done. As a matter of convenience in caring for the details of main- 

 taining seed stocks and records, the senior author has taken the lead in 

 tomato improvement, breeding for processing squashes, greenpod snap- 

 beans, and beet and carrot work. The junior author has cared particularly 

 for the work with honeydew-type melons, golden-rind watermelons, small 

 individual squashes, peppers, eggplant, purple-pod peas, blue beans, pole 

 beans, and horticultural beans. A close cooperation and a full exchange of 

 ideas has made possible the vegetable breeding work. It seems best to credit 

 worthwhile results to team work without which the breeding work would 

 have been much curtailed. Not all who contributed to the vegetable breed- 

 ing project can be mentioned. Anyone who has furnished seed for breeding 

 or has made yield and quality comparisons can be truthfully said to have 

 had a part in originating these new varieties. 



*A common question is: How are the new varieties made available to 

 the public? Briefly, the several steps are as follows: First, when a new true- 

 breeding vegetable selection seems to have merit beyond the tried-and-proven 

 older sorts, seeds of the new variety, usually under an assigned number 

 for trial purposes, are sent to certain qualified individuals within this and 

 nearby states who can ascertain the desirability of the new kind as com- 

 pared with the standard varieties they are growing. Trial seeds are sent 

 also to other Agricultural Experiment Stations not only in this country but 

 to those anywhere in the world upon a request from a qualified official. 

 Commercial seed companies also ask for and receive seeds for their trial 

 grounds. After a period of testing, any variety deemed worthy of intro- 

 duction is officially named with the approval of the Director of the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. Seed of the newly-named variety is increased 

 and handled by commercial seedsmen from whom it can be purchased by 

 the general public. 



* Dr. Yeager is Horticulturist in the Agrirultural Experiment Station. Mr. Meader 

 ii Associate Horticulturist in the Station. 



