Top Seeds has extended its tomato portfolio with a plum tomato, Arondir. The variety has been on the market since April and it is characterised for having homogeneous fruit and a plum-shape from start to finish, with a good red colour that does not change, even when there are problems with cold weather.
Eva Mª Jerez, a sales representative in the Levant region also indicates that, in spite of its size, Arondir maintains its firmness, undoubtedly an advantage in the post-harvest phase.
Agronomically speaking, it has a very powerful root system. “For short cycles, it does not need to be grafted.” It sets well in the heat and it is harvested before other varieties in the same segment, with fruit that fill out well and have a high tolerance to blossom end rot. “Virtually all the fruit from Arondir are saleable.”
Last year, in the pre-commercial phase, it stood up to the test in very extreme temperatures. “It maintained its shape and all the fruit could be used, full and with high quality,” the sales representative recalls. For this reason, they have good sales prospects in Nijar, where it is already well-known. Likewise, it is working well in Los Gallardos and Alhama, in Almeria.
Regarding resistances, it brings IR to TYLCV, nematodes and HR for Ss and TSWV. And for those who opt for long cycles and want to graft, Top Seeds recommends using Top Gun, with a moderately hardy plant.
Alongside this new development, they plan to launch a plum tomato for the Spanish home market, large in size for short cycle (sowing at the beginning of August for short cycle, and from the end of December for the spring, depending on the region).
They are also working on materials with resistance to ToBRFV that will be launched in the near future. In Spain, they are carrying out compatibility trials in Murcia, which are already on the market in Israel and Italy and these are showing a very positive evolution.
New developments in rootstocks
In rootstock, the latest development is Carbonite, which encourages the growth of large fruit, improving this aspect compared to other rootstocks.
With an important hardiness, it stands out due to its vegetative-productive balance in stems, fruit and branches throughout the entire cycle, with an aerated plant that reduces the number of treatments and encourages high vegetable health.
In cherry tomato crops, Carbonite generates a “plentiful flowering”. And on vine tomato farms in Nijar, it improves the fattening on the wire part.
