Vegetable Variety Evaluations
Florida ranks second among the states in fresh market vegetable production on the basis of area under cultivation or production (10%) or value (15%) of the crops grown. More than 40 different crops are grown commercially on a large scale and 12 of these have a farm value exceeding 10 million dollars. The total farm value of production is generally just less than 2 billion dollars. Commercial vegetable production occurs in almost every county in the state, but is most concentrated in the peninsula, particularly the southern half. Many more than 40 crops are grown commercially on smaller scale farms throughout the state.
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Variety selection is one of the most important management decisions made by vegetable growers each year. Economic returns on the monetary value of variety evaluations have not been developed, however, failure to select the most suitable variety may result in loss of yield, quality or market acceptability. Each year seed companies and experiment stations release numerous new varieties to compete with those already available. Accordingly, it is imperative that vegetable growers have current, unbiased information on the performance of these new varieties.
More Information
For more information on Variety Evaluations, contact Steve Olson.