ASHS 2025 Conference

Cultivar trials are important to ensure that growers have up-to-date information on crop performance, including yield, disease and insect resistance, environmental adaptation, and quality for their region. Crops with lesser planted acreage are often overlooked, as cultivar trials can be expensive, time consuming, and labor intensive. Winter squash is commonly grown in Tennessee and North Carolina, with over 300 and 700 acres grown, respectively; however, there is little cultivar trial information available for many types of winter squash, such as delicata squash. Delicata squash (Cucurbita pepo ssp. texana) is a winter squash originating from North and Central America. This squash can have a vining or bush habit and typically cylindrical fruit that is buff color with green stripes. It is a customer favorite due to its thin, edible skin, for which it’s named, and sweet flavor. The objective of this trial was to compare the yield, fruit characteristics, disease resistance, and storage life of 10 cultivars of delicata squash. The cultivars evaluated were: ‘Bush Delicata,’ ‘Sweet Dumpling,’ ‘Sugar Loaf,’ ‘Honey Boat,’ ‘Candystick Dessert,’ ‘Zeppelin,’ ‘Jester,’ ‘Delicata JS,’ ‘Sweet Lightning,’ and ‘Ugly Dumpling.’ The trials were conducted in Crossville, TN and Waynesville, NC. Squash were direct seeded in 18-foot plots with 3 feet between plants and 6 feet between rows, with four replications per cultivar. Powdery mildew was rated on a 0-5 scale with 0 indicating no powdery mildew and 5 indicating that all plants were symptomatic. Yield calculations were based on 2,418 plants per acre. ‘Delicata JS’ had the highest yield (15,500 lbs. ac-1) and most marketable fruit but also had the highest number of unmarketable fruit. ‘Ugly Dumpling’ also had a high yield but had the highest incidence of powdery mildew. ‘Zeppelin’ had the lowest incidence of powdery mildew. All cultivars tested had a shelf-life of four weeks in cold storage.