WI-OSC Red
Crop: Carrot (Daucus carota)
Use/Type: Standard
Breeder: Irwin Goldman, Claire Luby University of Wisconsin-Madison
OSSI Pledge Date: 5/31/2016
Release Date: 5/31/2016
Bred for Organic Systems: Yes
Commercial Availability: Yes
Variety Type: Breeding Population
Description
The goal of breeding the Wisconsin Open Source Composite populations was to take commercially available cultivars that had freedom to operate for breeding and create diverse carrot populations based on market class and root color. These composite populations are meant to represent some of the diversity present in commercially available carrot germplasm that is available to use in breeding. The WI-OSC Red population is characterized by the accumulation of lycopene in the roots, creating an intense red or rose color. Roots are generally ‘Danvers’ or ‘Nantes’ in shape, so there is variation in the definition of the root’s shoulders, as well as the amount of taper in the roots and tips. Some roots are quite tapered while others are more cylindrical. There is variation in smoothness of roots. Some roots are quite smooth but others have very large lenticels or are prone to branching. Additionally, seed production has proved difficult with this population with many roots rotting during storage or producing unviable seed. Parental material included: Atomic Red, Nutri-Red, and Red Samurai.This population has been developed for two generations under organic growing conditions.