OUTSTANDING QUALITIES

• UNIQUE BABY VEGETABLE PRODUCT
• VERY HEALHTY, PRODUCTIVE PLANTS
• OUTSTANDING QUALITY AND FLAVOUR

Barbara is an exciting tropical butternut variety. Plants are widely adapted and yield potential is high. The fruit set is excellent and covers a long bearing period. It has been observed that the plants’ strong vigour tends to make it less susceptible to diseases. Due to Barbara’s attractive rind colour and its ability to firm up at a very early stage, immature fruit can be used as a baby vegetable. The first fruits are harvestable as baby squashes at around 45 days after transplant. Barbara may be used for mature fruit production due to exceptional quality and can be harvested around 85 – 95 days from transplant. Mature fruit weighs around 1 000 –  1 500 g. The rind colour of the immature (baby) fruit is dark green with lighter green stripes and when mature have a medium-dark green colour with tan coloured thinner stripes running from the stem base through to the blossom end.

SPECIAL VARIETAL REQUIREMENTS

• Make sure that mature fruit are ripe before picking. Light green stripes must have discoloured into a normal tan colour before picking

DESCRIPTION

CHARACTERISTIC*: BARBARA
KIND: F1 hybrid squash (Cucurbita moschata (Duchesne) Duchesne ex Poiret)
TYPE: Tropical butternut squash
MATURITY: 85 – 95 days to harvest as mature fruit and 45 days to maturity if harvesting for baby
SEASON: Widely adapted for production after danger of frost has passed
PLANT TYPE: Full vine
FRUIT SHAPE: Cylindrical, with a bulbous blossom end
RIND COLOUR: Dark green thick and thin tan coloured stripes running vertically to the blossom end
YIELD POTENTIAL: 25 – 35 t/ha (mature fruit)
BABY SIZE: 2.5 x 8 cm
MATURE HARVEST MASS: 1 000 – 1 500 g
SHELF LIFE (MATURE FRUIT): Good
UNIFORMITY: Excellent
POPULATION GUIDE:
Baby: Final stand of 15 000 plants per ha
Mature: Final stand of 15 000 plants per ha
DISEASE REACTION (SCIENTIFIC): –
MARKETS / END USE: Pre-pack as baby vegetable and fresh market
SPECIAL FEATURES: Unique baby vegetable, superior quality flesh and exceptional flavour