Wim van der Torre, grower at Houweling’s Nursery:
“Brioso RZ and Emperador RZ: a great match”

Houweling is one of only a few North-American glasshouse growers producing tomatoes year-round. Grower Wim van der Torre: “I run 22 acres of the Delta Division, partially a propagation greenhouse. 7 acres are permanently used for propagation of greenhouse vegetables and 15 acres are used for 12 weeks
propagation and then we grow tomatoes for 40 weeks. This season we are trying out 600 Emperador rootstocks with Brioso grafted onto them. Brioso is a cocktail tomato with a very sweet taste. So far this seems very promising. Emperador is the first really good alternative to Maxifort and it brings out the
best in Brioso”. “I like to grow strong-generatively,” Van der Torre admits. “It is my style but it also fits the glasshouse best. Emperador is a highly generative
rootstock with a good capacity for growth. You do not notice these qualities at the
beginning of the season, when you still have enough tools to control growth, but they become of major importance at the end. Especially later in the season, when it is more difficult to get the temperatures down at night, Emperador makes a difference. It is good at transporting water and nutrients to Brioso, even at high temperatures.

Brioso RZ, a natural beauty
“At the beginning of the season we try to maintain some reserve capacity in generative Brioso. This does not create any problems when it is grafted onto
Emperador. Emperador gives Brioso the desired stem diameter and purple colouring which helps to obtain a better and even more stable yield, and it extends the
production season. Emperador and Brioso are a great match and it is difficult to go wrong with the crop. Brioso is also a very consistent perfomer. Setting is easy and very regular. We always get wonderful trusses of eight identical tomatoes. The average weight of the tomatoes is 43 grams. We never miss a fruit, we have no split fruits or green tail ends”. Van der Torre concludes that Brioso is doing very well and is a natural beauty.

Area: Sowing date: Planting date: Growing medium: Planting distance Planting system:

1.5 acres with a trial area of Emperador RZ rootstock beginning of December 2007 8 January 2008 coco fibre slabs 48 cm (3.9 stems/m2) alternating plants with two stems and one stem

Seeds & Services Canada, september 2008