In recent years retailers have strengthened their commitment to ecological products, and they are increasingly demanding products that are 100% eco, from the seeds onwards. Vitalis, the 100% ecological brand from Enza Zaden, has been working for many years to get ahead of this trend, showing its strong commitment to bio crops. Currently, it has around 300 varieties that are 100% ecological, and in its Dutch cucumber portfolio it has incorporated its first reference with resistance to New Delhi (ToLNDV), Eslora, which also stands out for being “the only one on the market that, along with New Delhi, is resistant to powdery mildew, CGMMV, yellowing and vein yellowing virus,” Óscar Herrerías, Sales Manager for Cucumber, explains.
The 100% eco Dutch cucumber from Vitalis stands out for its very good resistance to powdery mildew and virus disease and it has a complete programme of varieties resistant to CGMMV: Oktan, E23L16527 and Eslora.
For Nijar, the Braganza variety stands out, which is very well adapted to the eco crop due to the strength of the plant, attitude with salinity and low environmental humidity and resistance to powdery mildew, vein yellowing virus and yellowing. This material is included in Vitalis’ catalogue along with Greencumbers, a new generation that stands out for its high post-harvest, perfect for the sale of ‘naked’ cucumbers. This is confirmed by María Dolmatova, a field technician from Níjar Green Bio: “it has a better post-harvest than varieties marketed by the competition; it becomes dehydrated a great deal less and this allows us to work with naked and loose cucumbers, in boxes of 3 kg, while this is not possible with other varieties.”
The company has been strongly committed to Braganza for 3 years, with 50 ha/year. “We were looking for a variety that adapted to Nijar, a cold region with highly conductive water and with a complete package of resistances, and Braganza has all this, because it includes resistance to powdery mildew and CGMMV. We have been able to verify that it stands up to virus incidence very well, it is easy to handle and there have been very few complaints about it. It gives very good quality, with ribbed fruit; very dark in colour, no yellow veins… it is very well accepted by our clients.”
Every year, the brand Vitalis, which guarantees the 100% ecological traceability of its seeds, extends its portfolio incorporating new varieties, and it continues working on varieties with resistance to mildew and aphids, which are in great demand by farmers.
