Jan 6, 2012
AAS, UGA Create National Plant Trials DatabaseSource: All-America Selections

All-America Selections and the University of Georgia have announced the creation of a web-based National Plant Trials Database that will serve as a repository for data from participating flower trials throughout North America – with options to expand globally in the future. All-America Selections and the University of Georgia have announced the creation of a web-based National Plant Trials Database (www.PlantTrials.org) that will serve as a repository for data from participating flower trials throughout North America – with options to expand globally in the future.

After identifying the need for standardized trialing protocol as well as a centralized database for the results of those trials, AAS and UGA, along with Clarity Connect, a web technology firm from North Carolina, are collaborating to create the database.

For breeders, it will provide data for their plants from the trial grounds they support on a single website. This will allow trial results from various geographic areas to easily be compared. For trial managers, the database has been created with ease of data entry as a topmost priority. In the future, brokers, growers and retailers will be provided access.

Commenting on the project, the University of Georgia’s Dr. Allan Armitage said, “This project has been mulling around in my head for a long time because it is time for more collaboration among the trial grounds and breeders. The trial grounds do an excellent job but for the breeders who support our trials, there needs to be a more complete side-by-side picture of how their plants perform all across North America.”

These breeding companies have committed to support and participate in the project:

  • Ernst Benary of America
  • Fides Oro
  • Floranova Ltd.
  • PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticultural
  • Proven Winners
  • Sakata Seed
  • Syngenta Flowers

There are currently 19 trial gardens, www.PlantTrials.org/TrialGardens that have agreed to participate and use designated standard trial garden procedures.

For more information about the National Plant Trials Database, contact Diane Blazek at [email protected] or Allan Armitage at [email protected].