The Exhibitor (1953)

EP-8 EXTRA PROFITS The Profit Margin (Continued from page EP-3 ) lessons of genetics applied in a practical fashion could be of immense commercial benefit. It has been unfortunate that all the Purdue hybrids all belong to the same maturity group, and this a rather late group. This means that they cannot be satisfactorily matured in the northern parts of the popcorn growing area. Also, as popcorn production has moved farther south, there have been areas in which the hybrids do not utilize the full growing season as is desirable for maximum yield. A great deal of work has been done here with a view to obtaining hybrids of dif¬ ferent maturities. As a result we have developed No. 9202, an early, large-kernelled, yellow hybrid with excellent ex¬ pansion and good yield for an early variety. This line will be available com¬ mercially for planting this year. It is expected that No. 9202 will fill a niche for which no corn has hitherto been available. At the same time, other new lines have been combined into experimental hybrids which are later than the standard Purdue hybrids. In limited tests, these new lines have shown themselves to have satisfactory expansions and better yield potentials than the hybrids available now. If further tests are satisfactory, these hybrids will soon be placed in production. The reason that so many hybrids are made experimentally and so few are really satisfactory commercially can be accounted for by the number of segments of the popcorn industry who must be satisfied. The primary producer, or farmer, wants yield and standing ability; the manufacturer wants expansion, first and foremost. The processor, of course, is in the position of having to have hybrids with the qualities that both groups want together with the ability to withstand the handling necessary for processing. No hybrid can be successful or even be released without meeting the approval of all these groups. Any new hybrid which has immediate importance for one group will be of benefit to all the components of the industry. If we were to release a new hybrid with as good expansion as P32 and greatly improved yield, it would be welcomed most enthusiastically by the farmer, but its beneficial effects would be felt by the entire popcorn industry. To a certain extent, the yield in which a farmer is primarily interested and the expansion which most concerns the manu¬ facturer are two factors which are antag¬ onistic in most varieties. To put this another way, the highest yielding hybrids tend to have lower expansions; the lines with the best expansions are apt to have low yields. Fortunately, this is not invari¬ ably true. There are conspicuous excep¬ tions (like P32) with both good yield and excellent expansion, and since they are the exceptions much material must be tested to find them. The most obvious improvements to be made in the future follow the lines of those made in the past, better expansions, yields, and agronomic characteristics. This approach has certainly been of tremendous value to the industry in the past, and will continue to be in the future. But this would be a rigid and unimaginative program if we did not realize the pos¬ sibilities of other types of advances and if we were not already working on these possibilities. Some preliminary results at Purdue point up the possibility of breeding hy¬ brids that would be somewhat more resistant to mishandling in processing and storage. Hybrids of this type might be able to pop very well at moisture contents well below those now considered optimum. There is no substitute for good processing, but such a corn would be a great addition to the commercial field. It would be entirely feasible to breed popcoi'n for specific uses such as making carmel-corn, or for a central popping oper¬ ation, or for home use exclusively. We have the inbreds on hand which would enable us to synthetize hybrids for any one of these particular uses. A program well under way here at Pur¬ due is the conversion of the existing Purdue hybrids to a genetic type which is resistant to dent corn contamination. Dent corn contamination of popcorn fields, which is due to dent corn pollen drifting over into the seed production fields, has been a source of considerable loss to the popcorn processors. There is inherent ability in some popcorns to exclude this type of outcrossing, and its incorporation in the existing and new Purdue hybrids is being eagerly awaited by the processors. It could be briefly mentioned that in addition to these advances taking place through a breeding program, there are other lines of research that could well be carried on with a good deal of benefit to the popcorn industry. Among these might be investigations into the methods and conditions of storing, moisture equi¬ libriums at different temperatures, the optimum moisture percentages for dif¬ ferent hybrids or types of hybrids to pop their best, and the problem of the best means of restoration of moisture to dried out corn. This article has been written, as stated in the introduction, not only to acquaint the reader briefly with our program in popcorn improvement but also to empha¬ size the fact that good popcorn hybrids don’t materialize from the thin air. They are the culmination of a long range project which has been carefully planned to lead towards certain definite improvements in the hybrids which are available. We have also attempted to show why such a program must be carried out on a large scale. The accomplishments in a project such as this are in direct proportion to the size of the project that can be carried, and this is, in turn, dependent upon the support available. In a state experiment station, there must be necessarily some limitations upon this support. Some of the expenses of the popcorn breeding program at Purdue are met by a grant from the Popcorn Processors Association. At this time we should like to express our appreciation for its interest and support. It is a fine example of the manner in which a group having first realized the value of research to its in¬ dustry has taken definite steps to insure that research shall be sustained and con¬ tinue to grow. Sala New Dad's Ad. Chief Chicago — Dad’s Root Beer Company re¬ cently announced the appointment of Walter Sala as national advertising man¬ ager. Prior to joining Dad’s, Sala was a partner in Consumer Contact Service, a merchandising and research firm. He will coordinate advertising, merchandising, and promotional activities between the parent company and the bottlers. ATTH£ imams -pi -aajgjfe (A n */<<■« I / NUt 5«0P 1 fasfaA-..^ Before and after shots of the Refreshery at the Community, Walter Reade house in Morristown, N. J., are shown. The left photo was taken before the new concession stand was installed. Sales were limited to only a few items in the belief that the calibre of the theatre's audience would object to popcorn, ice cream, etc. However, the new Refreshery proved this theory all wrong, with receipts more than doubled. The present "interim" stand was relocated and designed by James Loeb, Walter Reade Theatres con¬ cession department chief, with the assistance of Ralph Lanterman, who is veteran city manager, Walter Reade Morristown theatres, and local labor. The change is part of a progressive modernizing policy of the company. EXHIBITOR February 11, 1953