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Title: WHIPPERSNAPPER, A SNAP-TYPE SOUTHERNPEA FOR HOME AND MARKET GARDENERS AND THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Author
item Fery, Richard
item BUCKLEY, BLAIR - LSU
item MARSH, DYREMPLE - LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/5/2006
Publication Date: 5/9/2006
Citation: Fery, R.L., Buckley, B., Marsh, D.B. 2006. Whippersnapper, a snap-type southernpea for home and market gardeners and the food processing industry. HortScience. 40(3):516.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The USDA, Louisiana State University, and Lincoln University have released a new southernpea cultivar named WhipperSnapper. The new cultivar is the product of a plant breeding effort to incorporate genes conditioning superior yield and seed characteristics of Asian vegetable cowpeas into American snap-type southernpeas. The new cultivar was developed for use by home gardeners and market gardeners as a dual-purpose cultivar that can be used to produce both fresh-shell peas and immature, fresh pods or snaps. Typical ready-to-harvest WhipperSnapper snaps are green colored, 6.4 mm in diameter, 7.6 mm in height, and 24 cm long; the pods are slightly curved at the attachment end. Typical mature-green pods suitable for fresh-shell harvest exhibit an attractive yellow color, are 25 cm long, and contain 14 peas. Fresh peas are cream-colored, kidney-shaped, and weigh 24.5 g per 100 peas. Dry pods exhibit a light straw color, and the dry peas have a smooth seed coat. The quality of WhipperSnapper seed is excellent. In replicated field trials, WhipperSnapper produced significantly greater yields of both snaps and peas than the snap-type cultivar Bettersnap. WhipperSnapper has potential for use as a mechanically-harvested source of snaps for use by food processors in mixed packs of peas and snaps. Protection for WhipperSnapper is being sought under the Plant Variety Protection Act.