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By: University of New Hampshire
Johnny’s Selected Seeds, a commercial breeder and seller of plants and supplies headquartered in Maine, is an international company with a local problem. Like all northern New England growers and gardeners, Johnny’s ability to develop new varieties faces limits and challenges imposed by the cold climate and long winters. To expand its ability to develop new products, Johnny’s is partnering with the University of New Hampshire to co-locate its plant development work in UNH’s Macfarlane Research Greenhouses.
Johnny’s relationship with UNH dates back decades and has resulted in development of award-winning plant varieties such as “Honey Bear” acorn squash, which was originally bred by UNH’s J. Brent Loy, former leader of UNH’s long-running cucurbit research program (the plant family consisting of cucumbers, melons, pumpkins,and squashes), and is now produced and sold exclusively by Johnny's.
Recently, the Johnny’s-UNH partnership is budding into a new crop: zinnias.
“To me, the zinnia project we’ve started in Macfarlane is just a natural extension of that,” says Kevin Cook, Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ vice president of research and development.
The beautiful and popular zinnia blooms cut for bouquets and sold by florists are from plants known as Z. elegans, which are native to Mexico and well-adapted to warm, dry climates. When grown in damper, cooler locations such as New England, they are prone to powdery mildew, cercospora leaf spot, and other diseases that can be devastating to the plants, leading to frustration for home gardeners and economic losses for commercial growers.
Researchers began looking for solutions to Z. elegans disease-susceptibility many years ago, but with different priorities.
“The idea of disease-free zinnias is not new, and breeders began crossing Z. elegans with disease-resistant varieties several decades ago,” says Emily Starck, the plant breeding specialist at Johnny’s Seeds who developed the zinnia project. “But they selected for bedding plant characteristics, with relatively short stems and small flowers. The new variety they produced, Z. marylandica, isn’t suitable for cut flowers. We’re looking to keep the long stems and big flowers of Z. elegans and make them disease resistant as well.”
But developing new plant species with specific characteristics is not a fast or easy process. Plant genetics are complicated, and to produce viable seeds, Starck is working with UNH plant experts Thomas Davis, professor emeritus, and Mamta Kajal, a Ph.D. student.
“Mamta has been working to develop strawberry species with specific characteristics, which takes a lot of genetic manipulation,” says Starck. “Her expertise is extremely valuable for the zinnia project.”
The research is taking place at UNH’s climate-controlled research greenhouse facility, infrastructure that does not exist at Johnny’s research and development farm in Albion, Maine. Access to the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses, with year-round operation and extensive research programming, provides the company with exciting new plant innovation opportunities.
“Zinnias are always among the most important flowers in our product line, if not the most important,” says Cook. “So developing the disease-free Z. elegans lines would be very beneficial for the business.”
With the zinnia project up and running, Johnny’s breeders are already thinking of potential future projects. Cook notes that Starck’s peers were “jealous” of her access to the UNH greenhouses, and that if all goes to plan, more potential projects are already being pitched.
“Right now, it’s great to have Emily have a go at it and move ahead with the flower breeding,” says Cook. “But if that work goes well, we will be very interested in expanding into other plants and other projects.”
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