From the Ground Up Blog

2023 Short Crops & Recommended Substitutes

2023 Short Crops & Recommended Substitutes

Below are some of our bestselling products with late arrival or short supply for the 2023 season, along with our suggested alternatives for your consideration. We appreciate your understanding and adaptability and welcome you to contact us for any other recommendations or questions.

What Are Short Crops?

Like all aspects of agriculture, seed production is subject to the same pressures of weather, pests and diseases, logistics, and perishable products. Unfortunately, this can result in situations where new seed crops are delayed, the supply is less than anticipated, or the seed is unable to be sold. These situations are what the industry refers to as late crops, short crops, or crop failures, respectively.

Why Do Crops Fail?

Crop failures can be caused by delays in seed processing due to poor weather conditions or logistical issues like transportation and labor shortages, poor crop yields due to weather or pest pressures, or low-quality products that cannot be sold due to low germination rates or the presence of viruses. Typically these situations are not anticipated and require an industry-wide shift to alternative products with good supply and seed quality.

Harris Seeds recognizes that our growers depend on the quality and reliability of the products they choose, and we want to help ease any concerns about selecting the best substitutes for items that are unavailable.

Review some of our most popular pumpkin and corn short crops below along with our recommended alternatives:

Short Crop: Pumpkin Kratos

100 day 20-30 lb. Jack-o-lantern with Powdery Mildew Protection

Recommended Substitutes:

Kratos Pumpkin Substitutes



Gladiator >

Gladiator pumpkin
The same classic Harris Moran stem, color, and appearance with reliable uniformity and Powdery Mildew Protection. Gladiator matures around 15 days later than Kratos and can be slightly smaller at 20-25 lbs.

Big Doris >

Big Doris pumpkin
A large jack-o-lantern with the same maturity and Powdery Mildew Protection. Big Doris reaches a slightly larger average size of 28-30 lbs., has strong stems, and a more upright shape than Kratos. Performs better than Kratos in tighter plantings.

Justify >

Justify pumpkin
A large jack-o-lantern with the same maturity and Powdery Mildew Protection. Justify can be slightly smaller at 20-25 lbs. and has a more upright shape and burnt orange color than Kratos.

Bayhorse Gold > 

Bayhorse Gold pumpkin
A large jack-o-lantern with the same maturity and Powdery Mildew Protection. Bayhorse Gold has a similar deep orange color and uniform appearance as Kratos but can be slightly smaller at 15-20 lbs. average. Larger 30-count fruit size can be achieved with wider spacing.

 



Short Crop: Sweet Corn Kate

77 day bicolor supersweet with large ear and high sweetness, resistance to Rust

Recommended Substitutes:

Kate Sweet Corn Substitutes

Flagler >

Flagler corn

A supersweet bicolor with the same maturity, agronomic performance, and Rust resistance as Kate, Flagler has a slightly longer ear and a similar husk and kernel appearance. It will be slightly less sweet, but comparable in tenderness, quality, and field-holding ability.

Troubadour XR >

Troubador corn

A high-quality supersweet bicolor from the IFSI ReserveTM line-up, Troubadour XR has the same maturity and Rust resistance as Kate. Troubadour XR will have a longer, more slender ear, more tender and refined kernel than Kate, and excellent flavor with a balanced sweetness.

Crave >

Crave Corn

Crave is a supersweet bicolor with later maturity and comparable ear appearance to Kate. It does not carry resistance to Rust, but offers a good husk package and high eating quality for the late season slot. It will be slightly less sweet than Kate with a similar kernel quality and appearance.

Epiphany >

Epiphany corn


Epiphany is two days earlier than Kate and has a stronger disease package that includes Rust, NCLB, and MDMV. The ear is more slender with more refined kernel appearance and comparable texture and eating quality, though a more balanced sweetness.

 


Short Crop: Sweet Corn Vision MXR

73 day yellow supersweet with high eating quality, resistance to Rust and MDMV


Recommended Substitutes:

Vision Sweet Corn Substitutes

Icon XR >

Sweet corn Icon

Maturing at 72 days and offering Rust resistance, Icon XR has comparable agronomic traits as Vision MXR. Both are part of the IFSI ReserveTM line-up with excellent eating quality, tenderness and sweetness.

XTH1273 >

XTH1273 corn

XTH1273 matches Vision MXR in maturity and quality with IFSI ReserveTM tenderness and sweetness. While it does not carry disease resistance, it offers an attractive husk package and reliable agronomics.

Summer Celebration >

Summer Celebration corn

Maturing slightly later than Vision MXR at 74 days, Summer Celebration has a slightly shorter and wider ear, and resistance to MDMV only. It has excellent eating quality and sweetness with slightly less tenderness than Vision MXR.

Candice >

Candice Corn


A high quality yellow supersweet that matures just after Vision MXR at 74 days, Candice has a slightly shorter and wider ear and excellent eating quality with slightly less tenderness. While it does not carry disease resistance, it offers an attractive husk package and reliable agronomics.

 

Sunflowers for Ukraine: Harris Seeds Donates $20,000 to Ukrainian Relief Efforts

Sunflowers for Ukraine: Harris Seeds Donates $20,000 to Ukrainian Relief Efforts

Beginning in March 2022, Harris Seeds assisted in the Ukrainian relief effort through a new campaign, Sunflowers for Ukraine.  

Through the campaign, which ran for the entire month of March before picking back up mid-April, Harris Seeds has donated 100% of proceeds from their online Sunflowers for Ukraine collection to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine due to the Russian Invasion.  

“Hearing what’s been happening and seeing the stories has been heartbreaking for everyone here,” said Kendall Brittingham, Harris’ Marketing Director. “A lot of growers and gardeners come to us for their flowers, so we felt it would be a great fit. It symbolizes more than just a beautiful flower. Now it’s symbolizing the strength and hope of the people of Ukraine.”  

The idea for the campaign was generated during a brainstorming meeting, where Harris Seeds’ Germination Lab Manager noted that sunflowers have become the unofficial flower of Ukraine. From there, the campaign materialized quickly and was officially launched on March 10. Since the release of the campaign, Harris Seeds has donated over $20,000 dollars in humanitarian aid. 

In May 2022, the campaign took on new legs with the specialized Sunflowers for Ukraine packet which was available on the Harris Seeds app and website. The company donated over $2,000 to Ukrainian humanitarian aid from these packet sales.

Sunflowers for Ukraine Packet

 

Read More Sunflower-Related Articles

Pumpkin Growers Panel: Answering All Your Pumpkin Growing Questions

Pumpkin Growers Panel: Answering All Your Pumpkin Growing Questions

Join Harris Seeds and Harris Moran as we present the Pumpkin Growers Panel: Answering All Your Pumpkin Growing Questions! We've gathered professional pumpkin growers and breeders from across the country to share their experience and insight into pumpkin growing. We'll cover topics around no-till, crop rotation, cover crops, best storage practices, and more.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome!
05:25 New pumpkins from Harris Moran – Olympus, Adonis, Popcorn, Pixie, Lemonade, and Fireball
12:30 Panel introduction
17:45 Panel discussion
18:00 Fertilizing, spacing, and seed starting
28:20 Crop rotation
33:07 Pollination and fruit set
42:40 Weed management (traditional and no-till)
51:20 Disease management
59:46 Insect management
1:03:36 Mammal management
1:07:15 Harvesting timing and storage
1:15:29 Wholesale strategies
1:21:42 Roadside stands and farm market strategies
1:30:30 Audience Q&A
1:38:53 Final comments and thank you

Adonis Pumpkin Popcorn Pumpkin 
Adonis Pumpkin & Popcorn Pumpkin

Fireball Pumpkin
Fireball Pumpkin

For additional questions, please refer to the following resources:

Plasticulture

Pumpkin Production, Penn State University – see specifically the sections about planting and fertilization and the Sample Budgets for Plasticulture vs No-till.  

Irrigation

Squash and Pumpkin Production: Oklahoma State University – see specifically the section about Irrigation 

Fertilizer

Squash and Pumpkin Production: Oklahoma State University – see specifically the section about Fertilizer 
Pumpkin Production, Penn State University – see specifically the sections about planting and fertilization. 

Insect Pests

Disease

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