April 2022 - 6

INDUSTRY NEWS
DÜMMEN ORANGE TO DEBUT
INTRINSA VARIETIES
Dümmen Orange is introducing the world's
first TMV-resistant petunia collection at 2022
California Spring Trials (CAST).
The company has developed a new brand,
Intrinsa, that takes advantage of a plant's natural
disease resistance to tobacco mosaic virus.
For several years now, researchers at
Dümmen's Breeding Technology Centre in the
Netherlands have been working to develop
superior and sustainable genetics for growers,
retailers, and global consumers. Using predictive
breeding technology and artificial intelligence
technology, Dümmen's researchers have
identified more than 50 traits for breeding for
natural resistance and resilience in Dümmen's
top selling crops. They are now integrating them
into their breeding pipeline.
Intrinsa varieties refer to a segment of the
commercial portfolio that harbor unique new
traits. These varieties are developed by using a
combination of natural genetics and computer
algorithms that predict the fastest breeding
path to commercial products to systemically
improve and extend the crucial traits of a plant.
In this way, deficiencies are cured from
within, making use of the plant's intrinsic
and natural capabilities. No GMOs are
involved in the process. The result is
that plants can withstand a multitude
of biotic and abiotic stresses.
Intrinsa plants are stronger and more
resistant, resulting in less production loss,
more reliability in the supply chain, and greater
security for the grower's bottom line.
The Smartunia Windmill collection of Intrinsa
petunias will make its debut at CAST. The
collection features five solid colors and three
new two-toned colors - Burgundy (pictured),
Hot Pink and Purple - with a distinctive
windmill pattern that pays homage to Dümmen
Orange's Dutch heritage. Smartunia Windmills
are moderately vigorous with a well-branched
and semi-upright habit, and blend perfectly
together to create colorful mixed containers or
hanging baskets.
These petunias have developed a natural
resistance to tobacco mosaic virus - the
most common and troubling petunia virus that
growers face.
In addition to the Smartunia line, Dümmen
Orange is developing other disease-resistant
varieties like chrysanthemums versus white rust
and kalanchoe versus powdery mildew. More
varieties are being developed and are expected
to be introduced in the future.
According to the company, " Intrinsa brings
advanced hybridization techniques through
traditional breeding to create sustainable and
economically viable plants for a greener future. "
Dümmen Orange has created a video on
Intrinsa that can be viewed at https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=erjKENfm43I.
You can learn more about the Intrinsa
breeding technology at www.dummenorange.
com/intrinsa.
NGB, AAS AND HGSA TO HOST SUMMER
SUMMIT IN IOWA
National Garden Bureau, Home Garden Seed
Association and All-America Selections are teaming
up to host the 2022 Summer Summit in Iowa.
Des Moines and Ames are the perfect
destinations for three important industry
associations to explore with their agriculture and
horticulture rich environment.
The meeting will take place Aug. 2-4 at the
Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines. The Des
Moines International Airport is just a 15-minute
drive from the hotel.
One day will be spent in the greater Des Moines
area and the second day will be in Ames - home
of Iowa State University and alma mater of many
successful horticulture industry professionals.
Not only will 2022 be the first time any of the
organizations will have had an in-person meeting
since 2019, but it will also be a celebration of AllAmerica
Selections' 90th anniversary.
This event is open to anyone (growers, breeders,
retailers, brokers, industry reps, educators, media,
garden communicators, etc.) interested in any or
all of the three organizations, the trials and other
local sites.
To register, go to https://all-americaselections.
org/aas-meetings-events/.
6 APRIL 2022 GPNMAG.COM
COSTA FARMS UPDATES MONSTERA 'THAI CONSTELLATION' AVAILABILITY
In March, Costa Farms
announced that its Monstera
'Thai Constellation' will not be
commercially available this year.
The company posted the
following on its website:
" Here at Costa Farms, we know
you're excited about Monstera
'Thai Constellation' - and we are,
too. We also know that so many
of you are sad about the fact that
it's still not commercially available
since we unveiled it at TPIE, an industry trade show in 2020. The fact that we haven't been
able to release it for you has made our team equally sad.
" Ultimately, we can't release it into the marketplace until we have sufficient numbers.
Unfortunately, 'Thai Constellation' has some quirks that are preventing us from producing
the tens of thousands of baby plants we need from tissue culture. Now as we start 2022, we
can no longer give a release date for Thai Constellation. When we announced it in 2020, our
research and development team's early trials looked promising. But we still need to solve
for this issue of scale.
" We know many of you will be sad to read this - and we are sad too. We want you to
know our growers are still working on solving these challenges and we will provide an
update once we can more confidently do so.
" In the meantime, we will be offering 200 of our oldest mother plants to some of our
retailer partners and donating the sales of these plants to charities that support local
communities. Stay tuned - we'll be providing more details in the next few days about which
stores these 200 Thai Constellation plants will be available in. "

https://www http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erjKENfm43I http://www.dummenorange https://all-americaselections http://www.GPNMAG.COM

April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2022