Ag: Business: Quality lettuce starts with Dubas

Tag : lettuce

"I'm not only happy with where we are in the industry but also withour current size," Dubas said. "Lettuce is our expertise, and weare a small company committed to doing it well."
Reared in Nebraska, Dubas is the fourth generation of his family tobe involved in agriculture. The only radical departure he has takenfrom the path his ancestors followed is to say good-bye to farmlife to focus on seed propagation.
During his sophomore year at the University of Nebraska, apart-time job at the state seed laboratory helped Dubas decide thatthis was the direction he wanted to pursue.
Because he felt the plains winters were getting a "bit much," Dubassaid, a few years after he graduated he moved away from theMidwest. In 1965 he took a job in Fresno working for Northrup King.
A major career change for Dubas occurred when he transferred toArizona, where he moved from product development into plantbreeding.
Believing there were more opportunities in lettuce development thanwith other vegetables, Dubas joined Quali-Sel Seeds of Salinas in1977.
"There was a lot of work being done on iceberg (head) lettuce, butmixed lettuces were just attracting attention, so it was a goodtime to get into the field," Dubas said. "I initially becameinvolved in the breeding of Romaine and red leaf lettuces." 'Heatmaster' scores hit
Five years later Dubas became a part-owner of Genecorp Seeds, astart-up company that specialized in lettuce breeding. As thelettuce industry continued to expand, Genecorp was absorbed by alarger firm seven years later.
For awhile Dubas remained with the merged company as a lettucebreeder, but he retired in early 2001. Realizing he wasn't reallyready for a sedentary existence, the Salinas resident joinedanother start-up, 3 Star Lettuce, toward the end of that year.
Established shortly before Dubas arrived, 3 Star Lettuce's name isan indirect reference to the three types of lettuce (iceberg,Romaine, and mixed) that the firm initially intended to focus on inits breeding program.
The goal of the firm was to develop varieties of lettuce that would"have some value on the market," Dubas said. The original staff ofthree individuals has grown to 18, and the small office in Salinaswas replaced with a much larger facility in Gonzales three yearsago.
The first "big" development that 3 Star came up with wasHeatmaster, a variety of iceberg lettuce that has very goodtolerance to heat conditions in the San Joaquin Valley and desertareas.
"Our next homerun was a Romaine variety called Triple Play," Dubassaid. The variety got its name because it was adapted for use inthe processed, fresh and "hearts" packaging sectors.
Another variety of Romaine developed by 3 Star that scored a run iscalled Platinum. In its second year on the market, Platinum hasessentially the same color on the outside as the inside of thehead. This uniformity is popular with processed lettuce shipperswho are looking for the same color throughout the bag. The varietyalso has good weight, which is attractive to growers, and thelettuce hearts are nice and firm, Dubas said. Breeding baby lettuces
3 Star also has an exclusive breeding program for baby lettuce.
"Our objective is to develop varieties that have better shelf life,are mildew-resistant and are unique in leaf shape and texture,"Dubas said. "We have varieties that address all three of thesequalities."
Not only does 3 Star develop lettuce varieties and produce seed butthe firm also sells directly to growers rather than through adistributor network. The plant development takes place on theCentral Coast, in Florida, or in the specific region where the seedwill be used. Once a variety is ready for seed production, it isgrown either in Chile or the San Joaquin Valley.
When he visits Nebraska does Ken Dubas ever feel the urge to returnto his family's roots and raise livestock and grain?
"No way," he said with a laugh. He still vividly remembers thenumbing wind chill and minus-30- degree winters.