Manatee County, FL – Enza Zaden’s 2017 Spring Variety Showcase was held May 18th at the company’s 10-year old research station in Myakka City, FL. Product headliners included new commercial varieties of tomatoes and peppers, a winning zucchini, and compelling displays of conventional and organically produced endive, fennel, squash, melon, and pumpkin. Well-known for its global breeding programs and leadership in more than 30 crops in the US, Enza Zaden is defining its East Coast presence with strong technical information for local growing conditions, and a dedicated team on the ground to serve the needs of growers and dealers.
“The field day was a great success overall, with dealers and professional growers from Florida to Quebec gaining insight into the depth of our current offering, and the exciting direction of our product pipeline,” said Rod Jorgensen, Area Sales Manager, Eastern US/Canada, Enza Zaden.
Tomato varieties on display featured mature green fruits with excellent resistance packages, including:
- Skyway, a high-quality, semi-determinate, open-field variety with a slightly heirloom appearance, strong virus and nematode resistance, and well-suited to spring and fall growing conditions in the southeast
- Suwannee, an early maturing beef with Fusarium crown root rot resistance, ideal for the fall season in Florida, and the warm night slots in other areas of the southeast
- Winterhaven, with Fusarium crown rot resistance, and ideal for the winter slot in Florida, and for cold night production in other southeast grower regions
Pipeline tomato varieties also on display included:
- A mature green market round beef hybrid with excellent virus and fungal resistances, adapted for the warm production slot (fall to late spring)
- Two determinate Roma type hybrids, one for Florida’s cold to warm (winter to spring) slot, and the other adapted to the warm to cold (fall) slot), and both with excellent virus, fungal and nematode resistance
“Our pipeline hybrids on display demonstrate the utilization of Enza Zaden’s global research infrastructure, and offers East Coast growers a long-term view of our dedication to create regionally adapted varieties with excellent resistance packages,” said Jeremy Sisson, Tomato Breeder, Enza Zaden USA.
Peppers on display included two open-field blocky bells with high resistance to bacterial leaf spot races 1-5, plus excellent performance under Phytophthora pressure.
- Triology, a main season bell, is ideal for hot southeastern growing conditions
- Ningun, an early season bell, is well-adapted to the cooler conditions of the northeast
The pepper display also included three pipeline blocky bells with high resistance to bacterial leaf spot races 1-10, plus a unique display of specialty peppers.
Green Machine, Enza Zaden’s widely-adaptable zucchini that grows well all along the Eastern Seaboard and into the Midwest, was also on display. The high-yielding variety produces medium green fruits of excellent quality and uniformity, and with excellent virus and powdery mildew resistances.
The company’s organic division, Vitalis Organic Seeds, showcased its second set of trials since obtaining organic certification for a portion of the Myakka research station in 2013. Organic products on display included endive, fennel and melon.
“We’re the largest breeder and producer of 100% organic varieties in the US. As we trial an increasing number of varieties at our Florida research station, we’re demonstrating our capacity to offer new organic crops that are well-adapted to East Coast growing conditions, and with top technical information,” said Adrienne Shelton, Organic Product Specialist, Northeast/Midwest US, Enza Zaden USA.
Enza Zaden also leverages its global breeding program to support emerging markets and occasionally smaller growers with unique products. Examples on display included:
- Bittergourd, a food that’s heavily sought out by the Asian population in the US and Canada
- Bellatrix, an early, high-yielding large round hybrid pumpkin with intermediate powdery mildew resistance, ideal for Halloween
“While products for large commercial operations remain the focus of our efforts, growers that market directly to local chains, farmers’ markets, auction houses or restaurants benefit from these niche products which are adapted for East Coast growing conditions,” said Jorgensen.
About Enza Zaden:
Enza Zaden is a global leader in vegetable seed breeding, with operations in 21 countries, and US research stations in San Juan Bautista, CA and Myakka City, FL. Well-known for leadership in lettuce, Enza Zaden also offers top breeding programs 30 other vegetables. Through its organic division, Vitalis Organic Seeds, the company also offers the largest assortment of 100% certified organic vegetable and culinary herb varieties.
Source: Enza Zaden
