Monsanto, Dole in 5-year vegetable collaboration

Published: 23 Jun 2009 04:21:17 PST

CHICAGO, June 23 - Monsanto Co and Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc said on Tuesday that they would collaborate to develop vegetables that could be more attractive to consumers.

Monsanto and Dole said they would use plant breeding to improve the nutrition, flavor, color, texture, taste and aroma of the vegetables. The five-year collaboration will focus on broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and spinach, the companies said.

If new products were created under the collaboration, they could be commercialized by Dole in North America.