Nunhems, the vegetable seed business of Bayer CropScience, has introduced its new crispy hydroponic ice lettuce variety, Finstar.
Lettuce salaes specialist Peter Does has been touring Scandinavia delivering Finstar to growers in special packaging, using the strapline 'Fast Finstar...Bursting with freshness'.
The variety is described by Nunhems as being a very stable and reliable leafy ice lettuce for year-round hydroponic production, growing quickly in cool conditions, reducing the production cycle.
'Finstar is suitable for the fresh market, both in flow pack and in a pot,' the group said. 'The uniform leaves are very crunchy and have a fresh, brilliant green colour. Its healthy base minimises waste at harvest. The variety is very strong against bolting and tip burn. Finstar is also suitable for open field cultivation.'
Finstar is the result of dedicated breeding and three years of screening and trialing in cooperation with local growers and Helle Oy, Nunhems’s distributor for Finland.
“This direct feedback from the market and the close relations with our customers allows us to understand and meet the market needs, giving growers the best from both end”, noted Matthew Beevers, crops sales manager for lettuce.
