Harry Augustijn, manager of the Rijk Zwaan tomato demonstration greenhouse in the Netherlands
“I am strict in my assessment”

The demo greenhouse for Rijk Zwaan tomato varieties is a huge success. “This is already the fifth year for us. We started with 16 varieties, but we now have 48 trials on the go,” says manager Harry Augustijn.Visitors from China, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the UK, France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and, of course, Canada … Growers, merchants and supermarket chains from all corners of the world know the way to Steenbergen in the Netherlands. How does Augustijn explain this success?

“Five years ago Rijk Zwaan and I came up with this concept together. As an independent grower I try out new tomato varieties in practical conditions. I get paid for the work, naturally, but my agreement with Rijk Zwaan is that I am totally open, honest and clear about the positive and negative sides of a variety. I record just about everything, from plant length to man-hours per variety. On top of that I also assess the quality and shelf life on a weekly basis. I am strict in my assessment. All visitors get to see this information and they seem to appreciate it.”

Passport
The object of the trials is to get a good picture of the varieties. Augustijn: “I explain to visitors that I want to have a kind of passport of each variety by the end of the season. Some varieties do not make the grade; if that is the case my advice is to stop recording any further information. Of the varieties that go through to the commercial phase I write a crop recipe at the end of the season, in collaboration with the Rijk Zwaan crop advisors. That is not all that easy, because you cannot steer each variety separately in the trial glasshouse. But with our experience and using the recorded data we are able to build up a very good picture of
the ideal steering a crop requires.” Are the trials interesting to Canadian growers as well, taking into account that they are working with a different climate and a different market from those in the Netherlands? “A lot of tomato varieties are successfully grown in diverse conditions. And, do not forget, Rijk Zwaan thinks globally when choosing varieties. We are trialling large truss tomato 72-479 RZ, for instance, which has a very large fruit size and is aimed specifically at
the North-American and Canadian markets.”

Successes
So, has Augustijn ‘discovered’ a new top variety in those five years? “Certainly. Capricia RZ, a tomato variety for the ‘medium truss’ segment is the best example. Its vigour was above average. The variety was remarkably strong during extreme weather changes. Capricia also turned out to be almost insusceptible to splitting and in the end it was ahead in production by 2 kilos. It is now one of the main varieties in this segment.” And this year, too, Augustijn thinks there are a few very promising newcomers in the trials. Could he lift just a tip of the veil? “Midi plum tomato 72-141 RZ gives a very good production and has exceptionally
strong green parts. Loose cherry tomato variety 72-138 RZ also achieves an unprecedented production because it initiates double trusses very easily. In the large cocktail and large truss tomato segments I have also spotted promising varieties.”

Judge for yourself!
Harry Augustijn extends a warm welcome to anyone interested in visiting the demo greenhouse to judge the varieties for themselves. “Visitors
can make an appointment via Rijk Zwaan employees. They can come and visit any time throughout the season. Together with a Rijk Zwaan employee I
speak to foreign visitors in English. So perhaps I will see you in Steenbergen!”


Demo greenhouse in Steenbergen
- 48 trials on 7,000 mē with new or
commercial Rijk Zwaan tomato
varieties;
- segments: medium truss, small truss,
large truss, cherry truss, large cocktail,
small cocktail, midi plum truss, mini
plum loose, cherry loose, medium
loose;
- visitors can have sight of the
comprehensive records per variety
which include: plant length, fruit
load, fruit weight, production,
man-hours, Brix values and fruit
quality after 4 and 10 days;
- anyone interested in visiting the
demo greenhouse may do so by
making an appointment, any time
throughout the season.



Seeds & Services Canada, september 2008