Simon: Release: BetaIII

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE                  AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE                               with                    THE CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA                 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS        RELEASE OF OPEN-POLLINATED MARKET CARROT BETA III The Agricultural Research Service, USDA, with the California and Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations announces the release of a market carrot variety BETA III for producing roots with good eating quality and high total carotenes.  It is derived from the breeding population 951-1 released February 23, 1983 at recurrent cycle 3 to supply diverse germplasm to breeders for developing inbred lines.  Four additional cycles of recurrent selection for horticultural quality, flavor and carotene levels may provide U.S. needs where open-pollinated varieties are grown and it may have important nutritional value in developing areas with vitamin A deficiency. The history of B951-1 in the February 23, 1983 release announcement details sources and breeding strategy.  The B951-1 material distributed in 1983 was derived from 14 F1 inbred x inbred crosses made in outdoor breeding plots at Madison, Wisconsin in 1976. From  a total of 200 roots, ten were selected for good flavor, with total carotene averaging 140 ppm and ranging from 120-160 ppm.  Further flavor selections were made in each cycle of advance under cage isolations 1982 through 1985. Roots with high carotene selected by laboratory determinations for each of the last 3 cycles, 1983 through 1985, resulted in total carotene ranging from 180-320 ppm, an average of 270 ppm, more than a 90% increase over the 140 ppm in roots from cage 951-1 in 1979. Seed of Beta III will be distributed for production and trials to breeders and seedsmen who address a written request to P.W.Simon, USDA, ARS, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI  53706. ____________________________________     ______________________________ Director, California Agricultural        Date   Experiment Station ____________________________________     ______________________________ Director, Floridaa Agricultural          Date   Experiment Station ____________________________________     ______________________________ Administrator, ARS                       Date

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