US (FL): Cantaloupes and new melonsin college greenhouse
According to Assistant Professor of Biology Liza Conrad, it took until June to get the greenhouse up and running with all the equipment. Over the summer, the greenhouse was blooming with projects due to a new collaboration with a seed company based out of Orlando called Earthwork Seeds.
Dr. Jason Cavatorta of Earthwork Seeds is working closely with the Eckerd greenhouse on a cantaloupe project that White worked on over the summer.
“He’s trying to develop a cantaloupe variety that has more resistance than what’s currently available to farmers,” Conrad said.
According to Conrad, they started to screen for fungal resistance in the growth chambers in the James Center, simply looking for the plants that survived and were resistant. These plants would breed in the greenhouse for a full generation. Conrad stresses the importance of selecting both disease resistant and delicious, attractive fruits that will be successful on the market.
One of White’s duties over the summer was to treat the cantaloupe with a fungal pathogen called Fusarium and observe the number of plants that died. The cantaloupe that survived the Fusarium were resistant and bred to create more resistant hybrid fruits.
Click here to read the full article by Christa Perry at The Online Current