The seed company Rijk Zwaan displayed the variety, already on the market, at its field days in Nijar
Rijk Zwaan carried out some field days to promote its new plum tomato variety, Atakama RZ, in the fields of Nijar (Almeria). A material that is already quite well known by the farmers due to the good results from its pre-commercial phase and which, now, is taking the plunge to mass selling with very good prospects.
Two farmers from the region that are already backing Atakama RZ confirm this. Manuel García Camacho states that “as a farmer I am more interested in it than the other varieties available” in its segment. “It is slightly more productive and is larger.”
On the other hand, the producer Juan Miguel Amezcua Fernández, points out that he likes Atakama RZ because it is living up to its reputation: “I have already harvested 1.5kg/m² and the fruits have a good size, consistency and are a nice red colour.” The vegetable health is clearly visible throughout his greenhouse. “There are no problems with tomato leafminer, whitefly, or viruses… even though we are in the middle of the fields of Nijar.”
From the seed company, the Tomato Crop manager, Manuel Hernández, explained to Fruit Today that the variety is for transplanting from the beginning of August and it is ideal for both short and long cycles, as it sets well in high temperatures and maintains its size and plum shape in colder conditions, when other materials tend to get rounder.
As the visitors to the field days were able to see for themselves, the strong points of Atakama RZ are the fruit quality (“highly homogeneous and with M calibre throughout the cycle”), its good colour and Brix level. Characteristics that are complemented with a great post-harvest. Regarding resistances, it has a high resistance to TYLCV or spotted virus.
Hernández recommends using it with Emperador RZ rootstock to give added strength to the plant. “It allows the size to be increased slightly and prevents a halt to production in winter.”
