Sovereign
Crop: Carrot (Daucus carota)
Use/Type: Standard
Breeder: Irwin Goldman University of Wisconsin-Madison
OSSI Pledge Date: 4/17/2014
Release Date: 4/17/2014
Bred for Organic Systems: No
Commercial Availability: Yes
Variety Type: Finished Variety
Description
Sovereign carrot is an open pollinated Chantenay type for processing, derived from crosses between selections made out of Gold King and Danvers. Gold King and Danvers are open pollinated varieties that have been in common use in processing carrot production for many decades. Different versions of Gold King and Danvers were grown in the mid 1990s on several Wisconsin carrot farms, and selections were performed by farmers for superior root types over a period of two years, and five selections were identified for seed production. Seed was produced on these selections by Larry Baker of the Asgrow Seed Company in DeForest, Wisconsin, and shared with Irwin Goldman’s carrot breeding program in Wisconsin as well as with the farmers who originally grew the varieties. Pedigree selection following crosses among the selections was practiced for ten years in the Wisconsin carrot breeding program. Sovereign has characteristics of both Danvers and Chantenay but is more typical of a Chantenay type. It has tapered roots, wide shoulders, and a slightly concave crown. Tops are short and dark green. Eating quality is similar to other dicing and processing carrot varieties, and in fact Soverign is most suited to canning and processing. Soverign is bolt-resistant and can be planted early in the spring in Midwestern US conditions. Sovereign was released through the Open Source Seed Initiative in 2014.
Availability from OSSI Seed Company Partners
