NCSU Cucumber Breeding Report - 2010
Todd C. Wehner
Professor
Tammy L. Ellington
Research Specialist
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7609
Pickling Cucumbers
Brinestock Evaluation
Spring (Stage 3) Pickle Trial
Todd C. Wehner and Tammy L. Ellington z
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University
Introduction
Cucumbers from harvests 1, 3 and 5 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, Henry Woods, and Bob Quinn (Mt. Olive), Darrell Hawley
and Ricky Jackson (Bay Valley), John Cates (Addis Cates Co.), Steve Apol
(Toisnot), Laura Kornegay (Nash Produce), and Ken McCammom (Bejo).
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. Because of low bloater incidence, the
bloater data showed few significant differences among cultigens.
Summary
- The cultigens with best fruit quality in brinestock were NC-Duplin, Vlasstar,
NC-Danbury, Exp08-7878, Vlaspik, EGP-410, Exp08-7612, McPick, Johnston, Starex,
Feisty(9464), and Cross Country.
- Most cultigens were bloater resistant; several were susceptible: NC-Moriah,
Exp08-7612, and NC-Denton.
- The firmest cultigens were Sumter, Europick, EGP-410, Exp08-7814, NC-Danbury,
Exp08-7878, Treasure, LB 17, Exp08-7612, Vlasstar, and NC-Lexington.
- 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 assigned the highest quality ratings, to
Jackson who assigned the lowest. Analysis of variance indicated significant
differences among judges for the way they rated fruit quality. However,
interaction of judge with cultigen was non-significant (the judges agreed
on which were good cultigens, and which were bad cultigens).
____________________________
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 Vlasstar Seminis 5.9 5.6 6.1 6.1 5.7 5.7
2 Exp08-7814 Bejo Seeds 5.8 5.2 6.3 5.8 6.1 5.7
3 PCX-112 Baker Seeds 5.7 5.8 6.2 5.1 5.2 6.3
4 NC-Duplin NCStateUniv. 5.6 5.6 5.9 5.1 5.1 6.3
5 NC-Danbury NCStateUniv. 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.6
6 Exp08-7633 Bejo Seeds 5.5 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.6
7 CrossCountry Harris Moran 5.5 5.4 5.9 5.6 5.3 5.6
8 Exp09-2873 Bejo Seeds 5.5 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.4
9 Johnston NCStateUniv. 5.5 4.9 6.1 5.7 5.3 5.7
10 Exp09-2420 Bejo Seeds 5.5 5.1 6.1 5.4 5.6 5.5
11 Exp09-2431 Bejo Seeds 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.7
12 NC-Davie ZeraimGedera 5.4 5.4 5.8 5.1 5.1 5.7
13 Vlaspik Seminis 5.3 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.0 5.6
14 Sumter ClemsonUniv. 5.3 5.1 4.3 5.9 5.9 5.5
15 NC-Denton NCStateUniv. 5.3 5.4 5.7 4.9 4.7 5.6
16 Feisty(9464) Harris Moran 5.2 4.9 5.5 5.1 5.0 5.3
17 NC-Longhurst NCStateUniv. 5.2 5.0 5.8 4.5 4.6 6.0
18 Raleigh NCStateUniv. 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.0 4.7 5.2
19 Calypso NCStateUniv. 5.1 5.1 4.9 5.3 4.9 5.4
20 PCX-105 Baker Seeds 5.1 5.0 5.2 4.8 5.0 5.4
21 NC-Leland NCStateUniv. 4.9 4.7 5.6 4.3 4.6 5.7
22 PCX-155 Baker Seeds 4.9 4.4 5.2 4.6 4.7 5.7
23 NC-Dawson NCStateUniv. 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.4 5.4
24 H-19 Seminis 4.7 5.3 5.5 3.4 3.6 5.6
25 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.3 5.0
26 NC-Lexington NCStateUniv. 4.5 4.5 4.0 4.4 4.2 5.2
27 HSX-9050 HortAg Seeds 4.0 3.6 5.6 3.1 3.3 4.7
28 HSX-6022 HortAg Seeds 3.9 3.1 4.6 3.1 3.3 5.4
_________________________________________________________________________________
CV (%) 14.8 20.6 19.7 20.5 20.8 18.4
Mean 5.2 5.1 5.9 5.0 4.9 5.6
LSD (5%) 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5
_________________________________________________________________________________
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) = 0.62**
Correlation (Texture with Seedcell) = 0.93**
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 NC-Danbury NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
2 NC-Leland NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
3 NC-Lexington NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
4 HSX-6022 HortAg Seeds 0 0 0 0
5 NC-Duplin NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
6 PCX-155 Baker Seeds 0 0 0 0
7 Calypso NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
8 Sumter ClemsonUniv. 0 0 0 0
9 Vlasstar Seminis 1 1 0 0
10 NC-Longhurst NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 0
11 PCX-105 Baker Seeds 1 1 0 0
12 Exp09-2873 Bejo Seeds 1 1 0 0
13 NC-Davie ZeraimGedera 1 1 0 0
14 Johnston NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 0
15 Raleigh NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 0
16 H-19 Seminis 1 1 0 0
17 Vlaspik Seminis 1 1 0 0
18 HSX-9050 HortAg Seeds 2 2 0 0
19 Exp09-2431 Bejo Seeds 2 2 0 0
20 CrossCountry Harris Moran 3 3 0 0
21 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 3 3 0 0
22 Feisty(9464) Harris Moran 3 3 0 0
23 PCX-112 Baker Seeds 4 4 0 0
24 Exp08-7633 Bejo Seeds 6 6 0 0
25 Exp09-2420 Bejo Seeds 6 6 0 0
26 NC-Dawson NCStateUniv. 7 7 0 0
27 Exp08-7814 Bejo Seeds 8 8 0 0
28 NC-Denton NCStateUniv. 10 10 0 0
_________________________________________________________________________________
CV (%) 169.8 169.8 0 0
Mean 2.2 2.2 0 0
LSD (5%) 6.0 6.0 0 0
_________________________________________________________________________________
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 NC-Danbury NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
2 Vlasstar Seminis 0 0 0 0
3 Raleigh NCStateUniv. 0 0 0 0
4 Exp09-2873 Bejo Seeds 1 1 0 0
5 CrossCountry Harris Moran 1 0 1 0
6 Vlaspik Seminis 1 1 0 0
7 NC-Duplin NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 1
8 Calypso NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 0
9 Johnston NCStateUniv. 1 1 0 0
10 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 1 0 0 1
11 Feisty(9464) Harris Moran 1 1 1 0
12 PCX-112 Baker Seeds 2 1 1 0
13 PCX-155 Baker Seeds 2 1 0 1
14 NC-Davie ZeraimGedera 2 1 0 1
15 Exp09-2431 Bejo Seeds 2 1 1 0
16 Exp08-7633 Bejo Seeds 2 2 1 0
17 NC-Longhurst NCStateUniv. 3 0 0 3
18 NC-Denton NCStateUniv. 3 0 0 3
19 PCX-105 Baker Seeds 3 0 0 3
20 Exp08-7814 Bejo Seeds 3 2 2 0
21 Exp09-2420 Bejo Seeds 4 1 3 0
22 NC-Dawson NCStateUniv. 4 1 0 3
23 NC-Lexington NCStateUniv. 5 0 0 5
24 Sumter ClemsonUniv. 5 5 0 0
25 NC-Leland NCStateUniv. 5 0 0 5
26 HSX-6022 HortAg Seeds 10 0 0 10
27 HSX-9050 HortAg Seeds 12 0 0 12
28 H-19 Seminis 12 0 0 12
_________________________________________________________________________________
CV (%) 111.8 243.6 404.1 126.4
Mean 3.1 0.7 0.3 2.2
LSD (5%) 5.7 2.6 1.9 4.5
_________________________________________________________________________________
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 Exp09-2873 Bejo Seeds 19.7 5.6 2 1 1 1
2 Exp09-2420 Bejo Seeds 19.6 5.4 10 6 6 4
3 Exp08-7814 Bejo Seeds 19.4 5.8 11 8 8 3
4 Sumter ClemsonUniv. 18.9 5.9 5 0 0 5
5 PCX-112 Baker Seeds 18.8 5.1 5 4 4 2
6 NC-Duplin NCStateUniv. 18.6 5.1 1 0 0 1
7 NC-Danbury NCStateUniv. 18.4 5.6 0 0 0 0
8 Vlaspik Seminis 18.3 5.5 2 1 1 1
9 Vlasstar Seminis 18.2 6.1 1 1 1 0
10 Calypso NCStateUniv. 17.9 5.3 1 0 0 1
11 Feisty(9464) Harris Moran 17.8 5.1 4 3 3 1
12 Exp09-2431 Bejo Seeds 17.6 5.3 4 2 2 2
13 NC-Denton NCStateUniv. 17.6 4.9 13 10 10 3
14 Johnston NCStateUniv. 17.3 5.7 2 1 1 1
15 CrossCountry Harris Moran 17.2 5.6 3 3 3 1
16 Wis.SMR 18 Univ. Wis. 17.2 4.5 4 3 3 1
17 NC-Leland NCStateUniv. 17.2 4.3 5 0 0 5
18 Raleigh NCStateUniv. 17.2 5.0 1 1 1 0
19 Exp08-7633 Bejo Seeds 16.8 5.6 8 6 6 2
20 NC-Lexington NCStateUniv. 16.5 4.4 5 0 0 5
21 NC-Longhurst NCStateUniv. 16.4 4.5 3 1 1 3
22 NC-Dawson NCStateUniv. 16.4 4.6 11 7 7 4
23 H-19 Seminis 16.4 3.4 13 1 1 12
24 PCX-155 Baker Seeds 16.3 4.6 2 0 0 2
25 NC-Davie ZeraimGedera 15.8 5.1 3 1 1 2
26 PCX-105 Baker Seeds 15.8 4.8 4 1 1 3
27 HSX-9050 HortAg Seeds 10.4 3.1 13 2 2 12
28 HSX-6022 HortAg Seeds 10.3 3.1 10 0 0 10
_________________________________________________________________________________
CV (%) 7.5 20.5 106.6 169.8 169.8 111.8
Mean 17.1 5.0 5.3 2.2 2.2 3.1
LSD (5%) 2.1 0.5 9.2 6.0 6.0 5.7
_________________________________________________________________________________
z Firmness determined by punch-testing (Magness-Taylor) 10 grade 2B fruits.
Correlation of Texture with: Firmness = 0.64**, Balloon = 0.002ns
Correlation of Texture with: Honeycomb = ., Soft centers = -0.68**
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 Apol 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3
2 Denlinger 6.3 5.9 6.9 5.7 5.9 7.0
3 McCammon 5.7 5.5 6.2 5.5 5.5 5.5
4 JacksonRk 5.6 6.0 6.8 5.0 5.0 5.3
5 Woods 4.9 4.8 4.8 5.1 4.8 4.8
6 Kornegay 4.6 4.8 5.1 4.6 4.1 4.7
7 Quinn 4.6 3.8 4.3 3.9 3.7 7.3
8 Hawley 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.8
9 CatesJ 4.0 3.5 4.3 4.0 4.1 4.2
_________________________________________________________________________________
z Quality rated 1 to 9 (9=A+, 8=A, 7=A-, 6=B+, 5=B, 4=B-, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F).