Rijk Zwaan keeps extending its market share in California peppers with varieties such as Claque RZ and Arabesca RZ, which are showing an important sales evolution.
Agriculture in Almeria is opting for a longer production cycle, starting earlier with varieties that allow the harvest to end in April. The window is getting wider from the very beginning of the season, and to do this they need varieties that can give early production, with good setting (Rij) but maintaining a long production cycle, with quality fruit, but no wastage. In this context, if possible, quality is even more important. And to respond to these requirements, the seed company Rijk Zwaan is constantly developing and promoting its California pepper Lt Defense line with resistance to powdery mildew and nematodes, an umbrella brand that brings together materials that contain the characteristics demanded by the chain: firmness, uniformity and with attractive colour and shape.
Two clear examples are Claque RZ (for early transplanting) and Arabesca RZ (medium-late), which have shown outstanding quality and firmness and have reached a position as “the favourites on the market in Almeria, for both producers and distributors,” experiencing a “very good sales evolution”, according to José Luis Ruipérez, a specialist in pepper crops at Rijk Zwaan. Alongside the abovementioned resistances, the producers appreciate the high percentage of commercial kilos (there is no wastage), maximising the harvest.
For the late segment, the seed company offers Acustico RZ.
In general, all these varieties have an important resistance to cracking that means greater quality at the end of the campaign and they do not suffer from silvering, which along with resistance to nematodes and powdery mildew, ensure excellent vegetable health and safety for farmers, both in conventional and in ecological crops, as well as lower input costs and environmental benefits. All of this, giving greater quality to the fruit, which is appreciated throughout the entire chain.
