Vegetable Variety Names Hold Hidden Meanings

Among letter designations of some vegetable names we can find EH, VFN, or VFFNTA. Descriptions may use symbols such as F. or OP. These letters are an indication of special characteristics of the variety, and are often worth consideration. One of the newest designations of this type is EH, found behind the names of some varieties of sweet corn. The letters stand for Everlasting Heritage. It is a part of such varieties as Kandy Korn, Mainliner, and Tendetreat.

EH refers to the gene factor of sugary-floury corn crosses. This results in corn which has high natural sugar content that holds well both before and after picking. In addition, the kernels are normal and not shrunken as were some of the earlier very sugary types. Older very sweet varieties did not germinate well in cool soil, but these newer varieties germinate well under cool conditions. They, also do not need to be isolated from other corn varieties. The kernels are more tender, and overall EH indicates a big improvement.

Tomato varieties may have a long string of letters behind their names. The best examples of this are two new varieties, Big Pick VFFNTA and Quick Pick VFFNTA. In other varieties letters may appear singly, or in other combinations, with the most common combination being VFN. These symbols indicate resistance to certain tomato diseases. VFN indicates resistance to two wilt diseases: verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt. Both diseases kill by plugging the vascular system of the plant, causing it to wilt and eventually die. There is no chemical control for these diseases, so plant resistance becomes very important where soils have been infected.

Nematodes are extremely small worm-like organisms that infect some soils and may attack roots. They are also difficult to control, and therefore resist plants should be used where they exist. Diseases may exist in different strains or races. When a single F is replaced by FF, this means that a variety is resistant to both Race 1 and Race 2 of fusarium wilt. When a T is included, resistance to tobacco mosaic is indicated, and an A indicates alternaria resistance.

There may be no need for resistance if the diseases are not present, but once these problems have been introduced into the garden, the use of resistant varieties is the best solution. The abbreviation F. is no longer as commonly used as it once was although the word "hybrid" in a description often implies a "first generation" hybrid. This is a valuable asset for many plants. It indicates a variety developed from two carefully controlled plant lines. Such varieties are very uniform in growth and fruiting, and have greater vigor.

The pollination to form F. varieties has to be done carefully so only the two parent lines are crossed. This is in contrast to OP. or open pollinted varieties, that have no carefully controlled pollination. Another symbol you may encounter is PVP. This does not indicate disease resistance, or special characteristics of the variety. It means "plant variety protected." and indicates that the variety can not be propagated and sold without special arrangements. A new plant in this category is Novella, a garden pea classed as semi-leafless that promises to be a real novelty in the garden.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, by Edward C. Smith.