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Simon: Pubs: 87hort0327
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HORTSCIENCE 22(2):327. 1987.

B2566 Carrot Inbred

P.W. Simon1 and C.E. Peterson2
Department of Horticulture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

M.J. Bassett3, J.O. Strandberg4, and J.M. White5
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611

V.E. Rubatzky6
University of California, Davis, CA 95616

Additional index words. Daucus carota, vegetable breeding, flavor improvement

___________
Received for publication 29 Sept. 1986. Research supported by ARS/USDA College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison; the Univ. of Florida, IFAS, and the Univ. of California, Davis. The cost of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under postal regulations, this paper therefore must be hereby marked advertisement solely to indicate this fact.
1Research Geneticist and Assistant Professor.
2Research Horticulturist and Professor.
3Professor, Vegetable Crops.
4Professor, Plant Pathology.
5Associate Professor, Vegetable Crops.
6Extension Vegetable Specialist.

   Flavor is an important factor in establishing consumer preference of carrots. Although harsh, strong flavor frequently occurs in available cultivars, the dominance of mild flavor in hybrids from harsh and mild parents suggests that carrot flavor can be improved rapidly when mild-flavored inbreds are available (1). Carrot inbred B2566 has been selected as a source of improved flavor and was used as a male parent in experimental hybrids tested in California, Florida, and Wisconsin. B2566 has demonstrated good combining ability for important fresh market characteristics of color, shape, and seed productivity along with desirable mild, sweet flavor and succulent texture. Because of these qualities, B2566 is being released jointly by the USDA, the Univ. of Florida, and the Univ. of California.

Origin
   B2566 was derived from a cross made in 1978 at the Univ. of Wisconsin between two lines: B9304, a medium orange, very mild-flavored, and succulent Chantenay-type; and B3615, a dark orange, very harsh-flavored Imperator type. In the F2 population of ~150 plants, which segregated for flavor and texture, two of 18 roots tested for flavor were mild, succulent, sweet, and of acceptable market type and orange color. These two roots were self-pollinated. Selection in the F3 was for flavor, texture, color, and the cylindrical, blunt shape typical of the Nantes cultivar. A three-plant mass pollination from the better F3 roots produced seed for field row 2566 in Florida and California. Now, at F3M5, B2566 is the result of four cycles of recurrent selection for culinary quality, color, and root shape.

Description
   Mature roots of B2566 are 3 cm in diameter at the crown and 15 to 20 cm long, slightly tapered, moderately blunt, succulent, sweet, and mild in flavor. There is a tendency to produce multiple-tops and red (anthocyanin) crown color in the inbred, but this is largely suppressed in hybrid combinations. In 1984 and 1985, the average total carotene content of roots tested was 100 to 120 ppm, compared with 80 ppm for Imperator 58. B2566 produces ample pollen and has been a good seed-yielding inbred on a wide range of male-sterile parents in seed plots grown in major carrot seed-producing areas. B2566 has demonstrated no evidence for restoration of male-fertility in test crosses with sterile parents. A companion cyto-sterile is being developed.

Availability
   Inquiry regarding seed availability for carrot inbred B2566 should be directed to P.W.S.

Literature Cited

  1. Simon, P,W., C.E. Peterson, and R.C. Lindsay. 1981. The improvement of flavor in a program of carrot genetics and breeding, p. 109-118. In: R. Teranishi and H. Barrera-Benitez (eds.). Quality of selected fruits and vegetables of North America, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.