Seed specialist showcases new varieties in the Cantaloupe, Galia, Piel de Sapo, yellow melon and watermelon segments
Semillas Fitó is expanding its catalogue of melon and watermelon varieties for Almeria’s greenhouse growers. With the new campaign about to begin, the Barcelona-based seed company is presenting new products in almost all segments.
These include the Callejon variety in the Piel de Sapo segment, known for its resistance to ear and aphids, as well as for its internal quality. Callejon is recommended for transplants from Almería in greenhouses from 10 February to mid-March.
“To add value to the chain, the best thing is to respond to the demands of the market, and Callejon does this by offering excellent plant health; an ideal size (3-4 kg); a golden external colour and beautiful writing; consistent flesh, with very good flavour and high Brix; homogeneity in production and good post-harvest,” Semillas Fitó said.
In the Cantaloupe segment, where Semillas Fitó’s Solmarin variety is already well established in the market, the company is set to launch Claudio, a cantaloupe with resistance to powdery mildew and aphids that it believes could become one of the stars of the market in the coming years.
“Claudio is a variety for transplanting from 15 February to 15 March; with excellent plant health, which stands out for its great precocity in production, reaching the market much earlier than competing varieties, as well as its high internal quality, great flavour, high Brix and its excellent good post-harvest shelf-life, even with the high temperatures of the greenhouse during the month of June,” the company said.
In yellow melons, Indurain, which launched last season, shows excellent potential due to its precocity, production and quality, Semillas Fitó continued.
“In addition, Indurain has positioned itself as a variety that offers the farmer a high resistance package, with a strong root system, giving rise to fruits that are homogeneous in size and shape with an average of 1.4 and 1.8kg. Its white flesh has allowed Indurain to be a perfect option for marketing both fresh and in the IV range, since its internal quality is very high and it offers a clean exterior, being another example of added value for the entire chain,” the seed company explained.
In the Galia segment for Almería, Semillas Fitó plays a leading role with varieties such as Grazalema and Mojacar, which cover the entire transplant cycle. “The two varieties offer a package of resistances that include powdery mildew and aphids, with an ideal flavour, without marking the bed and without post-harvest brown spots on the skin, as the chain demands,” the company said.
In watermelons, meanwhile, Semillas Fitó has two new offerings, Taylor and Leiva. “Taylor is a striped triploid watermelon that stands out for its high production, very homogeneous and good-sized fruits, a small pistil closure, high internal quality, great flavour with high brix degrees and a striking red flesh colour,” the company said.
“Leiva is a pollinator with a very small black microseed, of medium size (3kg), which stands out for the longer time of coincidence of its flowering with the triploid variety: for more days the pollen of the Leiva flower coincides with the female flower of the triploid watermelon. This is important for increased production and reducing the number of unmarketable fruits. In addition, Leiva has great internal quality, with red flesh, high brix (much higher than competing varieties) and very good flavour.”
