Ruud Graat, grower at SunSelect Produce:
“Shelf life and Tm3 resistance major plus points of Orangery RZ”

“We grow for the American market and it demands large, glossy peppers of at least 200 grams, which also must have a long shelf life. Add to that Tm3 resistance and you will understand why we grow Orangery RZ,” says Ruud Graat, head grower at SunSelect Produce in Aldergrove, British
Columbia, not far from Vancouver.

“We grow all sorts of peppers here under 12 ha glass, 5.5 ha of which are down to Orangery. We are doing that for the third year running. The big advantage of this variety is its Tm3 resistance, which is an absolute must here. Last year, and now again this year, there are quite a few outbreaks on greenhouses in
the area. The virus is pretty aggressive,” Ruud Graat relates. “Other plus points of Orangery are the shape and colour. It is just a spectacularly beautiful pepper. It colours evenly, has that lovely gloss and a long shelf life. That last aspect is very important for us, as the peppers can sometimes be underway for five days.”

Keeping it generative
The growing regime is aimed at keeping Orangery generative. “We use a lower pre-midnight of 16ºC to get the size. We also keep the EC in the slab at around 3.0 and at 2.0 in the irrigation water. In order to encourage flowering we slightly reduce the amount of water we give as well. The night temperature is naturally low here, due to our proximity to the Pacific Ocean which is, of course, a good thing. But during the daytime the temperature can reach 30ºC for quite a while, so in summer we apply shading to the roof. That takes the temperature down by one degree but it also prevents blossom end rot. If you take that into account, Orangery performs outstandingly.” Graat expects a yield of 25 kg/m² by the end of the year, 5% of which for the domestic market. “But if we had not had that bad weather in April and May this year, the variety would have yielded 26 or 27 kilos.”

Area: Sowing date: Planting date: Growing medium: Stem density: Average fruit weight: Yield week 29: Yield up to 15 July:

5.5 ha 22 October and 28 November 2007 13 December and 29 December 2007 yellow/red cypress wood chips 3.3 plants/m2; 3-2-2-stem system (7.7 stems/m2) 220 - 230 g 10 kg/m2