Vegetable breeding (2)

Meanwhile, Fery for 19 years has led USVL efforts to develop greener peas. Working with southernpea (Vigna unguiculata)--also known as cowpea, crowder pea, and black-eyed pea--he and colleagues used a gene called green cotyledon (gc) to breed varieties that have now been widely accepted by the frozen-food industry.

Now, bolstered by a $20 million state-of-the-art facility that opened in Charleston in 2003, Farnham and Fery are pushing their work to new levels, while other USVL scientists pursue other breakthroughs. Fery says that with the new facility, which ARS shares with Clemson University scientists, USVL researchers "now have all the tools necessary to continue bringing new and improved varieties to consumers."