“We just don’t stop growing, we are taking huge steps.” This is how Ángel Pelegrina, General Manager of Top Seeds Ibérica, summarises the company’s present situation. The seed company is coming to Fruit Logistica (Hall 1.2, A-40) with some important new developments, a result of the extension of its range of products. To the improvement programme of cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, they have added broccoli. A strategy that is already showing highly positive results.
In Berlin they will present the worldwide tomato portfolio that includes intermediate resistance (IR) to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). In this first commercial year, they will have varieties of vine tomato and a few loose varieties that are more advanced in Italy. They also have rootstock with IR in a pre-commercial phase.
In Spain, they are carrying out compatibility trials with some of these materials with resistances to ToBRFV in the Murcia region. They are varieties that are already on sale in Israel and Italy, and are showing very positive results.
New developments
Parallel to this, Top Seeds is launching new materials such as the plum tomato ARONDIR for the Spanish market, aimed at short cycles in greenhouses. “Its strong point is that it has a real plum shape from the start to the finish of the cycle, with a fantastic colour, calibre and post-harvest.” With regard to resistances, it has IR to TYLCV + nematodes and HR to Ss and TSWV.
Another launch to be taken into account is the yellow cherry vine tomato ÚNICO. It is framed within the flavour range and it has IR to TYLCV and HR to Ss. On an agronomical level, it provides an “enormous production, with many branches and it easily reaches the calibre.”
In rootstock, CARBONITE is starting its first commercial year. This material, with very high robustness, is not very vegetative; its plant is open and it does not have any production problems. To the contrary, it encourages the growth of large fruit, improving this aspect compared to other rootstocks.
In the pepper segment, this year Top Seeds is bringing new varieties with resistance to powdery mildew: ARKANE (medium sowing) and VARANE (early), as well as the yellow SADOC (early-medium). All of them stand out due to their very good calibre from the very first setting and a fantastic yield, as their slogan indicates, ‘R€NPIMIENTO’ (a pun on ‘yield’ and ‘pepper’ in Spanish).
