SEMINIS Vegetable Seeds UK is tipping success for a number of products for 2004.
Two new salad onion varieties, developed in the US and Mexico, are beginning to receive plenty of interest from major salad onion producers in the UK.
Greenbanner has a vigorous root system, which can cope with adverse weather conditions. Steve Parrott, special projects manager at Seminis, says: "Early indications are that Greenbanner has a bright future. Varieties normally take three to four years to obtain success. Last year was the first it was available, and demand outstripped supply. This year there should be full-scale availability for Greenbanner."
The second salad onion is Baja Verde, which is an early maturing variety that is fast to establish with vigorous growth and a uniform dark-leaved plant. It produces an attractive onion with high consumer appeal.
The carrot Torro F1 is a flexible variety, which offers healthy upright foliage giving high-yields of uniform strong carrots. The variety has also proved successful for early covered production giving high yields with early finish to the roots. Parrott says: "It was the Torro's first commercial year last year and there was a massive uptake of interest. It has very good taste qualities."
With rising UK interest in mini and baby vegetables, the cauliflower Freedom F1 is proving popular. Parrott says: "It is an established summer and autumn hybrid. With the market for baby vegetables growing rapidly, the feedback that we have received from growers has been positive and they are reporting success."
The broccoli variety Ironman is showing good early signs. It produces very good domed shaped heads with an impressive shelf life. Parrott says: "The early demand for Ironman is astronomical. Last year was the first semi-commercial year and it performed exceptionally well in the hot and dry summer."
Parrott also believes that the iceberg lettuce Stallion, which was introduced two years ago, will go from strength to strength. It is now a standard for pre-pack iceberg production. Stallion produces compact small to medium sized heads with a good shape. Parrott says: "In the two years since its launch it has performed well. It was the first iceberg with Bremia Resistance 1-23. It is particularly suited to spring and autumn. Our Dutch sales alone are expected to exceed 100 million heads this year."
Next week the Journal speaks to Seminis on its plans for the future, detailing some more of its latest innovations.
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