During the open days at its trial fields in Murcia, Enza Zaden presented its leaf and aromatic crops to a large number of producers.
The iceberg and the romana lettuces represent its main produce, and within the latter, the mini romana has a very strong presence on the market.
“In the search for new varieties, many parameters must be taken into account: the farmer’s requirements (resistance, production, weight), as well as the consumer’s requirements (size, colour), etc. We carry out our research simultaneously on several different lines at the same time” Beatriz López, head of marketing for the company, explains. “We can work on between 50 to 70 leaf numbers every year for Spain and Portugal”.
In mini romana, Xanadu is the company’s flagship, as it is a variety that has been implanted for many years, with great flavour, a high weight and important resistance.
On the other hand, in recent years, “we have kept up a significant interest in widening the range of varieties for the fresh cut range. Our customers can work together with us on the contents of all the bags” López qualifies.
Regarding ecological seeds, Vitalis offers 191 varieties in 24 different crops in Spain.
“Melones para ganar” (Melons to succeed)
The seed company Enza Zaden is using this slogan for its proposals in the fields of Murcia. Miguel Salinas, International Key-Account Manager for melons, explained to Fruit Today the important commitment that is being developed for piel de sapo melons; they are already a reference point in the Charentais and Galia varieties.
Carvajal is a very early piel de sapo for greenhouse growing that maintains a traditional flavour. It is followed on the calendar by the E25P.00203, a new variety for open air cultivation, with a weight between 2.5 and 3.5 kilos.
Salinas emphasises that “from April onwards, a point to be underscored as added value in the different varieties must be their resistances. And, for medium and late cycle melons, work must be carried out on the post-harvest preservation”.
Arenales already belongs to the late open air sector; it is suitable for both Murcia and Castilla La Mancha and it offers a high tolerance to powdery mildew and to soil diseases.
