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In Northern Europe, some cauliflower growers like their wrap fluted, or upright, because it's easier to trim, while others prefer their wrap twisted - a twisted wrap fares better in foul weather.

In the sweltering tropics, cauliflower can grow as quickly as 60 days. But in Europe, some winter types require up to 300 days to develop a marketable head.

And yes, everybody wants a round, deep, white, smooth, uniform cauliflower. But what's more important in California than anywhere else in the world is yield.

Welcome to the world of cauliflower breeding, where local knowledge of each market creates a global understanding of a bigger picture. 

For example, it allows breeders to tap into a planet-wide pool of germplasm to develop the best cauliflower for each growing area, from Northern Europe to California. 

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

Despite having the world as their laboratory, our breeders take particular interest in the highly specialized California market. 

To answer the challenge of uniformity and yield, they developed Apex, an outstanding yielder, and Artica, the first HM cauliflower outfitted with Cytoplasmic male sterility, which eliminates self-pollination.

And to carve out new markets, we introduced Verdi, the industry's first green hybrid cauliflower.

Apex, a high quality domed cauliflower, emerged first and quickly became one of the leading varieties. Twelve years in the making - about normal for a cauliflower variety -- Apex blends that combination of uniformity, quality, and high yield.

Stan Forrest, product manager for Harris Moran, said Apex is a good fit for the unique California market. That's because as production costs continue to rise, he explained, growers want in and out of the land very fast.

"Yield and seed quality is important, growers need to maximize boxes per acre. And is important because they want to minimize the number of passes at harvest. Get in. Get out. That's the name of the game when growing costs continue to increase. Apex uniquely fits that bill."

To tailor Apex to California, extensive Harris Moran trials were planted up and down the Salinas Valley. It was soon discovered Apex produced a heavy and dense cauliflower, one that maximizes a grower's carton weight. 

Not only that, the trials revealed the jacket and internal wrap provided excellent protection for its clean and white curd.

ARTICA ON BOARD

Apex has been Harris Moran's star but other winners soon appeared on the horizon. Artica, developed for the main and late season, is the newest variety on the Harris Moran roster. Our program is also currently breeding for early, main, and late season cauliflower.

A prolific producer, Artica has strong self wrapping that protects its curds and maintains its heavy weight and density. 

However, most notable is its true white color which holds well and resists internal greening, even after processing.

The processing industry is an important market and Artica is ideal for that purpose with its white, solid, dense, and regular florets.

Artica is the first variety developed by Harris Moran that uses the cytoplasmic male sterility seed production system. Created through traditional breeding efforts, this new technology in cauliflower makes a big difference in seed lots.

Traditionally, hybrid cauliflower seed production relies on a process called self-incompatibility. This process is not 100% effective and inbreds, resulting from the self pollination of the seed producing parent line, are often present in variable quantities in hybrid seed. These inbreds complicate commercial cauliflower production. Unusually weak, they may produce unmarketable heads.Cytoplasmic male sterility-based seed parent lines do not produce pollen, thus totally eliminating the risk of self-pollination.

What does this technological advance mean to growers?

• Better yield. Each plant is genetically able to give its best.
• Increased uniformity 
• Less cuts in the field.
• Decreased harvest costs
• Same quality year after year.

Along with CMS, breeders are focusing on new and exciting traits - eye-catching traits. One such trait is color. Verdi is the newest addition to Harris Moran's diverse cauliflower product line. Developed especially for specialty markets, Verdi has a smooth green curd that adds to consumer appeal. Compared to open pollinated varieties, Verdi provides superior uniformity and yields. It's proven to be a hit too at the grocery store.

OPEN POLLINATED?

For open pollinated varieties, HM offers Snowman. This variety resists greening and consistently produces firm heads with smooth, deep white curds. Snowman's ability to produces a tall, self-blanching frame with an inner jacket for protection is an added plus.

All newly developed Harris Moran varieties, including HMX 0226, feature cytoplasmic male sterility. Look for it very soon. This main season cauliflower is similar to Apex. It's a fresh market variety that features a semi-domed head with very good protection and a very white color.

Also on deck from Harris Moran is HMX 0227, a late winter/early main fresh market variety. It sports deep white curd with excellent wrap and vigor. 

As this century unfolds, cauliflower markets worldwide will continue to change. And our breeding program will continue to meet the change head-on with new and better products, borne from vision, patience, and painstaking technology.

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