Rychka RZ, Atakama RZ and Realsol RZ are recording important quantities in the autumn-winter segment and Alvalade RZ is finding its place in early spring.
Competitiveness has risen up as a fundamental factor for any crop and in the case of tomatoes, which have been in a delicate situation for several years now, looking for this competitiveness will be even more important in this 2020/21 pandemic campaign.
The seed company Rijk Zwaan has varieties on its portfolio that provide a ‘bonus’ for producers. Specifically, for this autumn-winter, three of its materials are seeing a good introduction with important amounts in the fields of Almeria (in general for long cycle). These are Rychka RZ, a long-life tomato for the large GG calibre; the plum tomato Atakama RZ, which is still on the rise in its second year of introduction; and Realsol RZ (74-225 RZ), a large G calibre vine tomato. In addition to the vine cherry tomato Deliquia RZ, focused on the “premium” segment, with recommendations for production with heating support in greenhouses in the winter months.
For the spring segment, the company has the white-neck beefsteak tomato, Alvalade RZ, which merely two years after its launch has managed to become positioned amongst the most outstanding references in the early spring segment in Almeria.
Manuel Hernández, in charge of Tomato Cultivation at Rijk Zwaan, assures that “in November transplants, it is the one that behaves best.” With a good setting in the cold months (it has no problems linked to a lack of light and/or high humidity), it has a wide range of resistances (TYLCV, spotted, fulvia and nematodes, amongst others). The high quality fruit, with GG calibre and 5 or 6 lobes, fill out well, with an “exceptional brightness” and they are very versatile, as they can be harvested either green or red.
For farmers who opt for grafting, Hernández recommends choosing the rootstock Embajador RZ. “It is the best combination with Alvalade RZ due to its medium-high robustness, which fills out the fruit well, because if a very robust rootstock is used, the plant can become unbalanced.”
