This is not your typical vegetable trial. An early morning call to prayer emanates from Islamic mosques and echoes throughout the countryside. Growers and dealers - some dressed in sheik-like robes - examine vegetables displayed in the shade of a Bedouin tent. And scorching summer field days melt into sweltering Arabian nights.

This Middle Eastern setting is a world away and cultures apart from the traditional field trials held each August in California by some of the major vegetable seed companies. But in a break with tradition, Harris Moran Seed Company has opted for regional trials, held around the globe in specialized growing areas, like Amman, Jordan. In the past, Harris Moran held its huge summer trial in Davis, California.

"Our domestic and international customers made the annual pilgrimage to California," says Franck Berger, vice president of sales and marketing of Modesto, CA-based Harris Moran. "They saw the new varieties but they didn't see them growing in their specific regions under their specific climates. It's like reading about the performance and handling of a new sports car versus actually test-driving one. The difference is night and day."

On their own turf

Designed to attract growers and dealers from specific climatic regions, the trials allow farmers to see the new varieties and the experimental varieties growing in their own dirt -- in a global sense, in their own backyards.

Harris Moran's first-ever Jordan trial featured the latest in vegetables developed especially for this dry, arid part of the world.

The 150 customers came from all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean Rim: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank but also Palestine, Greece, Morocco, Algeria, Oman, and Yemen. For four days, they inspected 75 varieties, including 25 experimental varieties of watermelon, cucumbers, melon, squash, tomatoes, corn, beans, eggplant, and peppers.

Short trip

The trials were a hit. "The regionalized trials save us money - our company doesn't have to fly us to the US. And seeing the localized conditions is invaluable," says Moheddine Doughan, manager of Debbane Freres Sal, Beirut, Lebanon. "We were particularly pleased with the squash. Harris Moran is coming along strong in squash. Additionally, we were impressed with the beans."

Squash mainstays like Barq and Goya - both white tapered types - were joined this year by experimental varieties that feature built-in disease resistance. Customers' attention was focused particularly on HMX 8723, a variety that has ZYMV and powdery mildew tolerance. Also on the roster was HMX 8724, a white cylindrical squash that features ZYMV tolerance.

In beans, growers eyed HM 5991, a new commercial fresh market bean variety with a 60-day maturity. HM 5991 is resistant to BCMV (l-Gene) and Halo Blight.

Worldwide tastes vary

Issa Rishmawi, managing director of National Industrial Co. in United Arab Emirates, also liked the regionalized flavor of the trials. He came to look at all the varieties, including melons.

"Our company does ag from A to Z, including seed," said Rishmawi. "For vegetables, we trial new varieties, invite farmers and government people then introduce our new products. This is a good place to see them."

In melons, Harris Moran displayed a new commercial Ananas-type melon called Rayyan, which is tolerant to powdery mildew and resistant to fusarium wilt (0 and 2). Rayyan has a small seed cavity, fruit uniformity, and ripens to a mottled green-orange color at harvest.

Along with touching, feeling, seeing, and tasting varieties, growers had the opportunity to meet with Harris Moran breeders. In-between rows, they discussed regional preferences in shape, size, color, texture, and taste.

"Tastes around the world are vastly different," said Khaled Kazzaz, HM's regional sales manager based in Cairo, Egypt. "What works in the US; what works in Honduras, will not necessarily work here. It is critical for our breeding team to be in direct contact with the market to drive their work in the right direction. Interaction with customers on their turf is a unique opportunity to gather first-hand information that translates into breeding action."

Harris Moran is owned by Group Limagrain, a farmer-owned French cooperative that's grown into one of the largest seed companies in the world. Harris Moran breeders tap into the Groupe's deep and diverse pool of germplasm to develop new varieties for the Middle East and other areas around the world.

Regional trials now the norm

So successful was the Jordan trial that regionalized trials have become standard operating procedure for Harris Moran. More are scheduled for Chile, Venezuela, and Mexico late this year.

"These work for everybody, including us" said Berger. "It strengthens our commitment to an area. We are very happy with the overwhelming satisfaction shown by our customers during this event."