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By Philipp Simon, USDA-ARS
A new carrot breeding line is available for developing cello hybrids. Line F7738 has been released by the USDA-ARS jointly with the University of California, the University of Guelph, Washington State University and the Organic Seed Alliance.
F7738 was among the most cavity spot-resistant entries evaluated in a collection of 65 carrot breeding populations and inbreds tested in field trials in 2020 at both the Ontario Crops Research Center-Bradford, Canada, which is naturally infested with Pythium spp., as well as in a field inoculated with Pythium sulcatum and Pythium violae in Mount Vernon, Washington. In 2021-2024, F7738 was re-evaluated at the Ontario and Washington research stations, as well as in a field inoculated with Pythium species in Kern County, California, where it again consistently demonstrated a low incidence of cavity spot.
F7738 is a genetically broad-based “flavor select” carrot population derived from ~50 open-pollinated, orange, U.S. and European cultivars that were intercrossed and selected for mild, sweet flavor, smooth roots, and uniform orange external and internal color. It was included among selections evaluated in the USDA-NIFA-OREI-funded Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture project, where it has been included in participatory trials at multiple U.S. locations and found by collaborating growers to be reliably productive with mild and sweet flavor.
F7738 is a fresh market “cello” type with 19-23 cm long roots 3-3.5 cm in diameter at mid-root in University of California Desert Research and Experiment Center (UC-DREC) trials in Holtville, California. It has an orange exterior and interior, smooth root exterior, cylindrical to slightly conical shape, and mild, sweet flavor, comparable to standard cultivars in trials. Hybrids of F7738 with other USDA inbreds were in the top 12 entries in trials in 2022-2024 based on scores of appearance judged by carrot growers and seed industry personnel at the UC-DREC trials.
Seed of F7738 is available to plant breeders, geneticists, pathologists and other research personnel upon request to philipp.simon@usda.gov.
