11
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MAY 2018
9.0cmpots.
Therewas at least one series from almost all of themain
players in theworldof pansy breeding –Sakata in Japan
andBenary inGermany aswell as the two international
market leaders, PanAmericanSeed andSyngenta. There
werebreeders’ names rather less familiar tomost UK
growers, too. TheCello andXtrada series are from the
Dutch companyHemGenetics, Carneval is fromVolmary,
Carrera andPrimUp are fromRudyRaes inBelgium, and
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companyPrudac.
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therewas a handful of varieties far enough forward to
justify comments. TheSyngenta varietiesDeltaNeon
Violet Improved andDelta TrueBlue impressed for their
colour. SodidPremiumDeepOrange fromSakata, and
the lovelyMystiqueBronzeAge fromPanAmerican.
Volmary’sCarneval SunnySideUpwas puttingup a very
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while the shadesmixtureCarneval Fire iswell named.
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unfortunately inonlymodest demand in retail trade.
Nevertheless, therewere over twenty colours to see in
PanAmericanSeeds’ PanolaXP series. By the 7thMarch
several of thesewerebeginning to showgood colour,
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CoolWave andFreefall were the two series of trailing
pansies in theMeadowCroft trial. It is seven years
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seYies ;Ois `eaY [OeYe^eYe fiM[eeUVM [OeT a[4eadV^
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Panola size.
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al[OV\NO [Oe \s\al Wa` VMM aWWlies [Oa[ sTalleY ÅV^eYs aYe
usually produced in larger numbers. Freefall Marina and
Purple andWhitewereboth lookinggood, while Freefall
GoldenYellowwas lookingbetter still. Recently three
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above average size for the series.
To see trailingpansies put to the acid test, April was the
month to visit BallColegrave’s extensive outdoor pansy
and viola trials. These areprimarily breeding trials, held
annually, and canbe visitedby appointment. This year
theywere seenbywell over a hundred visitors on a single
late February day, when a combinedgrowers’ workshop
and trials viewing event was held.
Therewere over twohundred eachof violas, trailing
pansies andpansies of standardnon-trailinghabit tobe
seen.
Theprimary objectiveswere to test new colours, and
within each existing colour already in the catalogue,
to compare theperformance of newbreeding lines as
potential improvements on the ones currently supplied to
customers. The greatmajority of the experimentalswill be
rejected, but the survivors of the assessment processwill
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the seed supply of their parental lineswill alsogo ahead.
‘Continual improvement’ are necessary buzz-words in
the competitiveworldof beddingplant breeding. Late
Februarywas too early for visitors to assess progress, but
it was apparent from the forty experimental batches of
oneparticular variety – not yet on themarket - that apush
forward inpansies iswell under way.
6ARIETIES •
Experimental violaSorbet QuickWhiteBlotch, seen inWeek no.
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Trade visitors looking atMeadowCroft Festival plants on
theSmiths’ nursery.
