ACORN AND SPECIALTY WINTER SQUASH VARIETY EVALUATION. Methods and Materials

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1 ACORN AND SPECIALTY WINTER SQUASH VARIETY EVALUATION John Strang, April Satanek, John Snyder, Darrell Slone, Dave Lowry, Larry Blandford, Spencer Helsabeck and John Holden University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky This trial was conducted at the University of Kentucky Horticultural Research Farm in Lexington to determine the best acorn squash varieties for Kentucky growers. Due to wet conditions and high insect populations early in the season this trial also showcased some of the various cultivars persistence under less than optimal growing conditions. Methods and Materials On May 16, eleven acorn squash and seven assorted squash varieties were double seeded into trays in the greenhouse. Plants were thinned to one plant per cell. On June 12, squash plants were set into raised, black plastic mulched beds with a waterwheel setter. Six plants were set 4' apart within the row, in rows 10' apart with 8' between plots. Each plot was replicated 4 times. The replications received a preplant application of 150 lbs/a of ammonium nitrate, and two of the replications received an additional 150 lbs/a of potash as warranted by soil tests. During the growing season, 12 lbs of actual N/A was applied as ammonium nitrate over three applications, via drip irrigation. Insecticide and miticide applications included Sevin, Pounce, Asana and Kelthane. Quadris was applied for disease control. Curbit was applied and incorporated between the beds just prior to vine coverage for weed control. One replication was treated preplant with Basagran to control a yellow nutsedge infestation. Plots were scouted weekly and plants were harvested on August 17 and September 18. Results Disease was evident 4 weeks after setting the plants. Cucumber beetles were present at planting and squash bugs followed shortly thereafter. A number of the plants died prematurely and the fruit failed to mature. Despite difficult growing conditions, some varieties tolerated the disease and insect pests and yielded well. Acorn Squash Heart of Gold and Carnival were the top producing acorn squash types in the trial (Tables 1&3). These cultivars are decorative as well as edible. The exteriors of these squash are cream colored with dark green, mottled stripes, Carnival also has occasional orange patches. Heart of Gold had an excellent flavor. Table Ace and Tay Belle PM were the two best traditional dark green acorn squash. Plants of Table Ace held up well and Tay Belle PM, despite high cull numbers and some dead plants, still produced a good yield. Cream of the Crop is a beautiful, cream colored squash. Table Gold is a very attractive, dark orange acorn squash.

2 Spaghetti Squash Small Wonder, a small, oval squash, produced very well, the plants held up throughout the season and the fruit consistently looked good (Tables 2&4). Hasta-La-Pasta, a larger, bright orange, oblong fruited plant succumbed to disease before most fruit matured, creating a lot of decayed culls, though it did produce some quality fruit. Kabocha Squash Both cultivars of kabocha squash yielded well and the vines held up for the entire season. Both Sweet Mama and Delica have dry, extraordinarily sweet flesh which is an excellent substitute for sweet potatoes. The kabocha squash in this trial were harvested later than the other types and sustained some melonworm damage, increasing the number of culls for each cultivar. Miscellaneous Squash Delicata is an excellent tasting, small, elongated squash. Sugar Loaf is oblong in shape, is smaller in sie, and tan with green mottled stripes. Both have excellent taste, quality fruit and convenient serving sies, but are not heavy producers. Sweet Dumpling has an excellent quality, sweet flesh, but also has a light yield.

3 Table 1. Acorn squash yield and fruit characteristics, Lexington, KY, Days Avg. Fruit Fruit Flesh Acorn Squash Seed to Yield No. Fruit Length Width Thick. Culls Variety Source Harvest (cwt lbs/a) Fruit/A Wt (lb) (in) (in) (in) (%) Heart of Gold SW b Carnival HR bc Table Ace HR bcdef Tay Belle PM AS bcdef Cream of the Crop SW, HR cdefg Mesa Queen HL, SW cdefg HMX 9736 PM HM efg Table Gold SW efg Table Queen SW efg Tuffy JS fg Table King RU g Means followed by the same letter in Tables 1 & 2 are not significantly different (Waller-Duncan LSD, P=0.05).

4 Table 2. Specialty winter squash yield and fruit characteristics, Lexington, KY, Days Avg. Fruit Fruit Flesh Seed to Yield No. Fruit Length Width Thick. Culls Variety Source Harvest (cwt lbs/a) Fruit/A Wt (lb) (in) (in) (in) (%) Spaghetti Squash Small Wonder SW a Hasta-La-Pasta SW bcd Kabocha Squash Sweet Mama SW bc Delica RU, HR bcde Specialty Squash Delicata HR/JS cdefg Sugar Loaf SW defg Sweet Dumpling HR, SW efg Means followed by the same letter in Tables 1 & 2 are not significantly different (Waller-Duncan LSD, P=0.05).

5 Table 3. Acorn squash fruit and vine characteristics, Lexington, KY,2001. Fruit Acorn Squash Outside Inside Taste Uniformity Vine Variety Color Color y (1-5) x (1-5) w Sie v Comments Heart of Gold cr w/dg stripes l or Lv Attractive fruit, orange ground spot, vines held up well. Carnival variable l or Sv Decoratively attractive exterior, majority are cream colored with dark green mottled stripes and orange patches Table Ace dg y or Sv Attractive exterior, heavy fruit, plants held up well. Tay Belle PM dg m or B Attractive exterior, large fruit, light flesh color, thick, smooth flesh. Cream of the Crop cr cr B Majority of plants went down to disease, many culls from sunburn/rot. Mesa Queen dg m or Sv Sweet, fibrous, dark orange flesh, vines died in one rep. HMX 9736 PM dg m or B Numerous culls due to sunburn/rot, vines didn t hold up. Table Gold dk or d or B Very bright orange exterior, some with yellow stems. Table Queen dg m or Sv Rind not colored well, sweet, fine texture, many vines died. Tuffy dg y or Sv Deeply grooved, slightly long and narrow for an acorn squash, dry, fine grained flesh, nice squash flavor. Table King dg y or B Unattractive, variably colored, sunburnt, small, poor quality fruit. Outside color cr=cream, dg=dark green, or=orange, variable=see comments y Inside color l=light, m=medium, d=dark, or=orange, y=yellow, cr=cream, yl=yellow x Taste 1=bland, unpleasant taste, 5= sweet, pleasant consistency w Fruit uniformity 1=extremely variable, 5=very uniform v Vine sie Lv=large vine, Sv=small vine, B=bush Table 4. Miscellaneous squash fruit and vine characteristics, Lexington, KY, Fruit

6 Variety Color Color y (1-5) x (1-5) w Sie v Comments Spaghetti Squash Small Wonder md or y or Sv Nice looking fruit, vines and fruit held up well. Hasta-La-Pasta dk or m or Sv Very good orange color outside & inside, many fruit did rot. Kabocha Squash Sweet Mama dg w/ lg stripes d or Lv Nice fruit, very large seeds. Delica dg w/ lg stripes d or Lv Attractive, very sweet flavor with a nice texture, vines held up well. Specialty Squash Delicata cr w/dg stripes l or Sv Attractive fruit, vines held up well. Sugar Loaf tn w/ dg stripes l yl Sv Attractive fruit, sweet dry flesh, vines held up very well. Sweet Dumpling cr w/dg stripes d yl Sv Attractive exterior, excellent taste, all plants died in one rep. Outside color dg=dark green, lg=light green, md=medium, cr=cream, dk=dark, or=orange, tn=tan y Inside color l=light, m=medium, d=dark, or=orange, y=yellow, cr=cream x Taste 1=bland, unpleasant taste, 5= sweet, pleasant consistency w Fruit uniformity 1=extremely variable, 5=very uniform v Vine sie Lv=large vine, Sv=small vine, B=bush