NCSU Cucumber Breeding Report - 1999
Todd C. Wehner
Professor
Tammy L. Ellington
Agric. Res. Tech. III
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7609
Pickling Cucumbers
Brinestock Evaluation - 1999
Spring (Stage 3) Pickle Trial
Todd C. Wehner and Tammy L. Ellingtonz
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University
Introduction
Cucumbers from the third and fifth harvests of the stage 3 spring pickling
cucumber trial were each placed in one brine tank at Mt. Olive Pickle Co. The
tanks were purged with nitrogen to remove excess carbon dioxide from the brine.
Methods
The cultigens (cultivars and breeding lines) were evaluated for fruit quality
(shape, external color, texture, seedcell size, and lot uniformity), firmness,
bloaters, and other defects in October. Quality was evaluated by judges from
industry: Phil Denlinger, Sonny Coghill, Lawrence Crocker, Bob Quinn, and
Tim Smith (Mt. Olive), Eddie Quill, Harry Newsome, and Jeanine Suggs (Dean Foods),
Curtiss Cates and John Cates (Addis Cates Co.), Chris Joyner (Bone Farms), and
Richard Wojciak (Sunseeds).
Fruit quality was evaluated using a rating system (that approximated letter
grades) from 1 to 9, where 9 = A+, 8 = A, 7 = A-, 6 = B+, 5 = B, 4 = B-, 3 = C,
2 = D, 1 = F. Bloaters and defects were measured as percentage of fruits with
damage in a sample of 20 grade 3B fruits. Firmness was measured by punching 10
grade 2B fruits with a Magness-Taylor tester (having a 5/16" diameter tip). All
cultigens were randomized, replicated and coded to prevent bias and provide a
measure of error variance.
Results
The cultigens are presented in order by decreasing fruit quality in Table 1, and
are ranked for resistance to bloaters and defects in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
Fruit texture and firmness rankings are in Table 4. The average quality ratings
assigned by each judge in the test are presented in Table 5, showing how lenient
each judge was relative to the others. Due to insufficient replication, the
bloater data showed few significant differences among cultigens.
Summary
- The cultigens with best fruit quality in brinestock were UW 99 R, Vlasstar,
Johnston, Clinton, Patton, UW 99 78, WI6856Ax6760B, UW 99 T, and Calypso.
- The most bloater resistant (free of balloon and lens bloating) cultigens
were UW 99 69, UW 99 T, UW 99 78, Cross Country, Vlaspik, Johnston, Gy 14,
UW 99 R, WI6884Ax6812A.
- As usual, brinestock firmness (from the punch test) was only partially
correlated with texture (subjective rating from the judges), so the two
traits are measurements of different aspects of cucumber fruit firmness.
- Judges ranged from Denlinger, who was the most liberal in quality ratings to
Suggs, who was the most conservative. Analysis of variance indicated
significant differences among judges for the way they rated fruit quality.
However, interaction of judge with cultigen was non-significant (all judges
gave good cultigens high ratings, and bad cultigens low ratings).
________________________
z Thanks to Mt. Olive Pickle Co., Mt. Olive, N.C. for assistance in brining the
cucumbers, and for providing the facilities for evaluating the cultigens tested.
Thanks also to the personnel at the Horticultural Crops Research Station,
Clinton, N.C. for help in running the field trials.
Table 1. Brinestock evaluation - quality ratings (cultigens are ranked by
average quality).z
_________________________________________________________________________________
Cultivar Seed Average Extrnal Text- Seed Uniform-
Rank or line source quality Shape color ure cell ity
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 UW 99 R Univ. Wis. 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.1 6.0 6.4
2 Vlasstar(10489) Seminis 6.2 6.3 6.6 5.9 5.7 6.8
3 Johnston NCStateUniv 6.2 6.6 6.1 5.6 6.2 6.6
4 Clinton NCStateUniv 6.2 5.8 6.3 5.6 6.4 6.8
5 Patton (3528) Sunseeds 6.1 6.4 6.6 5.9 5.4 6.3
6 UW 99 78 Univ. Wis. 6.1 6.0 6.5 6.2 5.6 6.3
7 WI6856Ax6760B Wis-USDA 6.1 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.2 6.3
8 UW 99 T Univ. Wis. 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.0 5.3 6.3
9 Calypso NCStateUniv 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.4 5.0 6.5
10 XP-1904 Seminis 5.9 6.3 6.5 5.4 5.3 5.9
11 Lafayette Sunseeds 5.9 5.6 6.3 5.5 5.8 6.1
12 UW 99 69 Univ. Wis. 5.8 5.8 6.7 5.8 4.6 6.2
13 XP-1901 Seminis 5.8 6.1 6.3 5.1 5.7 5.9
14 WI6884Ax6849A Wis-USDA 5.8 5.8 5.5 6.1 5.8 5.7
15 HMX-8460 HarrisMoran 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.2
16 Napoleon(3502) Sunseeds 5.7 6.1 6.3 5.0 5.3 6.1
17 XP-1914 Seminis 5.7 5.5 6.8 5.3 4.9 6.0
18 WI6884Ax6812A Wis-USDA 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.1 6.0
19 HMX-8461 HarrisMoran 5.7 5.6 5.1 5.8 5.7 6.2
20 WI6842Ax6760B Wis-USDA 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.4 5.3 6.0
21 Vlaspik Seminis 5.6 5.0 6.4 5.3 5.7 5.5
22 UW 99 V Univ. Wis. 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.2 4.8 6.2
23 Jackson(3540) Sunseeds 5.6 5.5 6.3 5.1 5.3 5.7
24 Royal HarrisMoran 5.6 5.3 6.6 5.6 4.8 5.5
25 CrossCountry4318 HarrisMoran 5.5 4.9 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.9
26 EX-1913 Seminis 5.5 5.8 5.8 5.0 5.2 5.6
27 Regal HarrisMoran 5.5 4.9 5.8 5.7 5.1 5.8
28 Raleigh NCStateUniv 5.5 5.4 6.2 5.0 4.7 6.0
29 XVC-5834 Seminis 5.5 4.8 6.5 5.1 4.5 6.4
30 Manteo NCStateUniv 5.4 5.0 7.2 5.4 4.1 5.5
31 EX-1911 Seminis 5.4 5.5 6.2 4.8 5.0 5.4
32 Discover(1550) Seminis 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.2 4.9 6.0
33 SRQP-1882 Sunseeds 5.4 5.4 6.3 4.8 4.8 5.6
34 Gy 14 ClemsonUniv 5.1 4.7 4.3 5.4 5.1 5.9
35 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 4.8 4.3 4.8 4.8 5.0 5.1
_________________________________________________________________________________
LSD (5%) 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.7
Mean 5.7 5.6 6.0 5.4 5.3 6.0
CV (%) 13 23 16 25 25 19
_________________________________________________________________________________
z Quality rated 1 to 9 (9=A+, 8=A, 7=A-, 6=B+, 5=B, 4=B-, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F).
Correlation (Shape with Uniformity) = 0.71**
Correlation (Texture with Seedcell) = 0.66**
Table 2. Brinestock evaluation - percentage of fruit damaged by bloaters
(cultigens are ranked by balloon bloater resistance).
_________________________________________________________________________________
Cultivar Seed Total Honey-
Rank or line source bloaters Balloon Lens comb
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 UW 99 69 Univ. Wis. 2 0 0 2
2 UW 99 T Univ. Wis. 3 0 0 3
3 UW 99 78 Univ. Wis. 5 3 0 2
4 CrossCountry4318 HarrisMoran 6 4 0 2
5 Vlaspik Seminis 7 4 0 3
6 Johnston NCStateUniv 7 5 2 0
7 Gy 14 ClemsonUniv 8 3 2 4
8 UW 99 R Univ. Wis. 8 5 0 3
9 WI6884Ax6812A Wis-USDA 8 5 0 3
10 Raleigh NCStateUniv 9 4 2 3
11 Vlasstar(10489) Seminis 9 4 2 3
12 UW 99 V Univ. Wis. 9 6 0 3
13 HMX-8461 HarrisMoran 10 3 5 2
14 Patton (3528) Sunseeds 10 4 3 3
15 XVC-5834 Seminis 10 4 2 4
16 Regal HarrisMoran 11 4 3 4
17 SRQP-1882 Sunseeds 11 6 3 2
18 Royal HarrisMoran 11 8 0 3
19 Manteo NCStateUniv 12 3 6 3
20 Calypso NCStateUniv 13 3 0 10
21 WI6884Ax6849A Wis-USDA 14 5 1 8
22 Lafayette Sunseeds 14 8 5 2
23 WI6856Ax6760B Wis-USDA 14 10 2 2
24 Clinton NCStateUniv 15 13 0 3
25 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 17 13 0 4
26 HMX-8460 HarrisMoran 18 10 5 3
27 Discover(1550) Seminis 20 14 4 2
28 Napoleon(3502) Sunseeds 23 15 4 4
29 Jackson(3540) Sunseeds 23 16 5 2
30 XP-1914 Seminis 27 21 3 3
31 EX-1911 Seminis 35 28 3 5
32 XP-1904 Seminis 38 30 8 0
33 WI6842Ax6760B Wis-USDA 38 35 3 0
34 EX-1913 Seminis 41 37 0 4
35 XP-1901 Seminis 68 38 20 10
_________________________________________________________________________________
LSD (5%) 37 29 10 6
Mean 16 11 3 3
CV (%) 112 135 203 101
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 3. Brinestock evaluation - percentage of fruit damaged by defects
(cultigens are ranked by resistance to defects).
_________________________________________________________________________________
Blossom-
Cultivar Seed Total Placental end Soft
Rank or line source defects hollows defects centers
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 Gy 14 ClemsonUniv 0 0 0 0
2 HMX-8460 HarrisMoran 1 0 0 1
3 SRQP-1882 Sunseeds 2 0 0 2
4 Vlasstar(10489) Seminis 2 0 1 1
5 HMX-8461 HarrisMoran 2 1 0 1
6 WI6884Ax6849A Wis-USDA 2 0 0 2
7 WI6856Ax6760B Wis-USDA 2 1 0 1
8 Napoleon(3502) Sunseeds 3 0 0 3
9 CrossCountry4318 HarrisMoran 3 3 0 0
10 UW 99 V Univ. Wis. 3 0 2 2
11 Raleigh NCStateUniv 4 0 0 4
12 UW 99 69 Univ. Wis. 4 0 0 4
13 EX-1911 Seminis 5 0 2 3
14 WI6842Ax6760B Wis-USDA 5 0 2 3
15 EX-1913 Seminis 5 2 2 1
16 UW 99 78 Univ. Wis. 5 4 2 0
17 Johnston NCStateUniv 5 5 0 0
18 WI6884Ax6812A Wis-USDA 5 1 0 4
19 Patton (3528) Sunseeds 6 0 3 3
20 Regal HarrisMoran 6 0 0 6
21 Calypso NCStateUniv 6 2 0 4
22 Clinton NCStateUniv 6 4 2 0
23 Discover(1550) Seminis 6 0 0 6
24 UW 99 R Univ. Wis. 6 0 5 2
25 XVC-5834 Seminis 6 0 2 4
26 XP-1914 Seminis 7 0 6 1
27 Vlaspik Seminis 7 2 4 2
28 Lafayette Sunseeds 7 1 3 3
29 Jackson(3540) Sunseeds 7 0 2 6
30 UW 99 T Univ. Wis. 8 2 1 5
31 Manteo NCStateUniv 8 2 2 5
32 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 9 4 4 1
33 XP-1904 Seminis 13 3 3 8
34 Royal HarrisMoran 15 4 3 8
35 XP-1901 Seminis 20 0 0 20
_________________________________________________________________________________
LSD (5%) 13 4 4 11
Mean 6 1 1 3
CV (%) 118 197 152 173
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 4. Brinestock evaluation - firmness and texture of fruit, and resistance
to bloaters and defects (cultigens are ranked by firmness).z
_________________________________________________________________________________
Firm- Total
Cultivar Seed ness Text- bloaters Total Bal-
Rank or line source (lb.) ure & defects bloaters loon Defects
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 Clinton NCStateUniv 17.4 5.6 21 15 13 6
2 HMX-8461 HarrisMoran 17.3 5.8 12 10 3 2
3 WI6884Ax6849A Wis-USDA 16.6 6.1 16 14 5 2
4 UW 99 R Univ. Wis. 16.3 6.1 14 8 5 6
5 Johnston NCStateUniv 16.2 5.6 12 7 5 5
6 Calypso NCStateUniv 16.1 6.4 18 13 3 6
7 HMX-8460 HarrisMoran 16.0 5.5 18 18 10 1
8 UW 99 T Univ. Wis. 15.9 6.0 11 3 0 8
9 Patton (3528) Sunseeds 15.7 5.9 15 10 4 6
10 Regal HarrisMoran 15.7 5.7 17 11 4 6
11 Vlasstar(10489) Seminis 15.5 5.9 11 9 4 2
12 WI6842Ax6760B Wis-USDA 15.5 5.4 42 38 35 5
13 WI6856Ax6760B Wis-USDA 15.5 5.9 16 14 10 2
14 Vlaspik Seminis 15.5 5.3 14 7 4 7
15 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 15.4 4.8 26 17 13 9
16 XP-1914 Seminis 15.3 5.3 33 27 21 7
17 EX-1913 Seminis 15.3 5.0 45 41 37 5
18 Raleigh NCStateUniv 15.3 5.0 12 9 4 4
19 XP-1901 Seminis 15.2 5.1 88 68 38 20
20 UW 99 78 Univ. Wis. 15.0 6.2 10 5 3 5
21 Discover(1550) Seminis 15.0 5.2 26 20 14 6
22 Gy 14 ClemsonUniv 15.0 5.4 8 8 3 0
23 UW 99 V Univ. Wis. 14.9 5.2 12 9 6 3
24 CrossCountry4318 HarrisMoran 14.7 5.6 9 6 4 3
25 EX-1911 Seminis 14.7 4.8 40 35 28 5
26 Lafayette Sunseeds 14.5 5.5 21 14 8 7
27 Royal HarrisMoran 14.4 5.6 26 11 8 15
28 XVC-5834 Seminis 14.1 5.1 16 10 4 6
29 Manteo NCStateUniv 13.9 5.4 20 12 3 8
30 WI6884Ax6812A Wis-USDA 13.7 5.8 13 8 5 5
31 UW 99 69 Univ. Wis. 13.5 5.8 6 2 0 4
32 SRQP-1882 Sunseeds 13.5 4.8 12 11 6 2
33 XP-1904 Seminis 12.9 5.4 50 38 30 13
34 Jackson(3540) Sunseeds 12.5 5.1 30 23 16 7
35 Napoleon(3502) Sunseeds 12.0 5.0 26 23 15 3
_________________________________________________________________________________
LSD (5%) 1.7 0.8 46 37 29 13
Mean 15.0 5.4 22 16 11 6
CV (%) 5.6 25.4 104 112 135 118
_________________________________________________________________________________
z Firmness determined by punch-testing (Magness-Taylor) 10 grade 2B fruits.
Correlation of Texture with: Firmness = 0.24*, Balloon = -0.65**
Correlation of Texture with: Lens = -0.56**, Honeycomb = -0.31**
Table 5. Brinestock evaluation - quality ratings assigned by the judges
(judges are ranked by leniency).z
_________________________________________________________________________________
Average External Seed Uniform-
Rank Judge quality Shape color Texture cell ity
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 Denlinger 7.0 7.0 6.7 7.1 6.9 7.2
2 Crocker 6.8 6.4 7.5 5.7 7.0 7.2
3 Quill 6.6 6.6 7.5 5.5 6.4 6.8
4 Joyner 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.1 6.3 6.2
5 Quinn 6.3 6.0 6.2 6.6 5.5 7.2
6 Coghill 5.9 5.9 6.2 5.6 5.6 5.9
7 Smith 5.8 5.4 5.9 6.1 5.1 6.5
8 CCates 5.3 5.8 5.5 5.0 4.7 5.6
9 JCates 5.0 4.8 5.1 4.8 5.1 5.3
10 Wojciak 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.5 5.0
11 Newsome 4.4 4.3 5.1 4.4 2.9 5.1
12 Suggs 4.4 4.0 5.6 4.2 3.8 4.1
_________________________________________________________________________________
z Quality rated 1 to 9 (9=A+, 8=A, 7=A-, 6=B+, 5=B, 4=B-, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F).