Loy’s breeding lines also are in two new white pumpkin introductions, Snowball and Blanco, as well as an attractive large, yellow pumpkin, Mellow Yellow. This was followed by Owl’s Eye and Sunlight, both yellow pumpkins. Moonshine, a mid-size white pumpkin, was the first introduction from this effort. Fruit of several of these lines have good external appearance and culinary traits, and seed are now available for distribution to interested seed companies.Īlthough Loy’s breeding lines are found in several popular orange pumpkin hybrids offered in seed catalogs throughout the Northeast, Loy’s current breeding thrust in pumpkins has been to develop varieties with novel rind colors. One of the longest ongoing melon breeding projects by Loy, begun in 1968, has been to develop gynoecious (highly female) melon breeding lines for use as seed parents for reducing production costs for hybrid seed. Milan is available through Holmes Seed Company in Ohio. Milan, a hybrid variety developed by Seneca Vegetable Research and utilizing a UNH inbred line, is a very productive cantaloupe variety with early maturity, great flavor, consistently high sugar content, and resistance to fusarium wilt and powdery mildew disease. Vines show good resistance to powdery mildew and fusarium wilt. Offered by Gurney’s Seed and Nursery, Holmes Seed Company, and Stokes Seeds, Honey Sak is a large, 5 to 7 pound Crenshaw melon with a very high sugar content, a deliciously sweet flavor, and light orange flesh. Two new hybrids recommended for New England gardeners and farmers by Loy are Honey Sak and Milan. More than 25 melon hybrids comprised of either one or two inbred lines developed by Loy are currently being marketed, with most hybrids being offered by catalog seed companies in the Northeastern United States. In addition, plants have an upright, open architecture allowing easy to access to a bountiful yield of gorgeous long, slim fruit with very smooth skin. The reduced spines on foliage minimize fruit abrasion during harvest as well as skin irritation to workers harvesting fruit. These varieties are part of the Slick Pik® series carrying the gl-2 glabrous gene developed by Loy. Two new yellow straight neck summer squash varieties with reduced spines are available to home gardeners, Smooth Operator from High Mowing Organic Seeds and Blonde Beauty from Rupp Seeds. Loy is responsible for 29 percent of UNH’s cumulative royalties earned since 1999. Yeager in 1940, this breeding research represents the longest continuous squash and pumpkin breeding program in North America. Along with cucurbit breeding introduced by the late Dr. Loy’s experiment station-funded work, which has largely taken place at the experiment station’s Kingman Research Farm, Woodman Horticultural Research Farm and Macfarlane Research Greenhouses, has resulted in more than 70 new varieties of squash, pumpkins, gourds, and melons sold in seed catalogs throughout the world. Better appearance and improved nutrition and eating quality increase consumer acceptance and demand for locally produced vegetables, thereby providing more income to growers,’ and for regional seed companies marketing locally adapted varieties, helps maintain their profitability,” Loy said. Improved variety performance in terms of yield, quality and ease of culture is paramount. “Development of new varieties is a key underpinning for production of abundant and nutritious vegetables. His most recent work has resulted in the commercial release of several new cucurbit varieties that are well suited to state and regional growing conditions, have improved yields, and exhibit disease and pest resistance. Growers preparing to plant their fruits and vegetables have a number of new summer squash, melon and pumpkins to choose from this year that were developed at the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire by a researcher who represents the longest continuous squash and pumpkin breeding program in North America.īrent Loy, emeritus professor of plant genetics, continues his ground-breaking plant breeding work as an experiment station researcher.
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