Vegetable Trials Recap
Josh Kirschenbaum Business & Portfolio Manager Vegetables
During the week of August 10, The HandPicked Vegetables team hosted customers at our Hancock, Wisconsin, USA, trial site. Midwest representatives from several different seed distribution companies were able to view commercial varieties, as well as future introductions.
On top of viewing items in the field, we also had a high-tunnel trial, which showcased our varieties suitable for growing in protected culture. Here’s a few photo gallery highlights below…
We also had vegetable trials in Seneca, New York, USA. Over the course of two days, PanAmerican Seed’s Vegetable Product Manager, Cheni Filios, showed our vegetable and herb varieties to many visitors from seed distribution companies.
Highlights from Seneca included Marzito tomato (awesome set and flavor) and Everleaf Thai Towers (gorgeous habit and late flowering). Seneca also displayed a disease pressure trials in tomatoes that showcased differences between old heirlooms and new hybrids.
Some unique insights to this year’s events: Most visitors at each trial site were relatively local due to social distancing regulations. This was a change from previous years when visitors would attend both trials, regardless of where they were based. We previously also had international visitors but that did not occur this year due to travel restrictions. The events were marked by social distancing, face masks, individual bagged lunch instead of a group buffet, lots of hand sanitizer, and unfortunately limited fruit tasting.
But similar from past years, our trial events are a great way to get feedback on new varieties, which in turn gives us an idea of market potential.
At our home office in Elburn, Illinois, USA, the PanAmerican Seed vegetable trials were in full swing gathering data and harvesting fresh produce all summer long. From field trials to high-tunnels, we’ve been hard at work to bring new varieties to market.
Stay tuned for more new variety information from the PanAmerican Seed HandPicked Vegetables team.