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Growers understand that there are numerous challenges when it comes to producing great melons. To please consumers, a cantaloupe must have visual appeal and excellent flavor. To make retailers happy, a melon has to exhibit the kind of shelf life that delivers solid return on investment. In addition, both groups want year-round availability.

Rijk Zwaan shoulders its corporate social responsibility in terms of both production and consumption by continuously innovating its broad range of vegetables. In that context, the company’s stand at Fruit Logistica 2019 (Hall 1.2, D-04) is dedicated to the theme of ‘Innovating for sustainability’. The vegetable breeding company is presenting its latest contributions towards a sustainable and healthy future, including new snacks, new KnoxTM varieties, lettuce varieties for hydroponic production and many more innovations.

Winmar RZ is a Long English variety and quickly gaining traction with its consistent length and high fruit quality. Winmar RZ is a winter generative type that keeps a nice balance between vegetative growth and fruit setting. The result is a steady fruit load, which allows uniform fruit length. The fruits have strong ribbing with good color.

Snack Lettuce ©, an innovation in the lettuce category, has won the Accelera Fresh Produce Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award at the Fruit Attraction 2018. The fair was held from 23 to 25 October in Madrid.

Rijk Zwaan presents two new peppers that show great results in various trials. Good production combined with an excellent fruit quality makes both varieties very interesting for growers in the high tech segment. Read all about our new orange and yellow pepper.

Organic is still booming. In Europe and the USA, the market grew by 5-8% in 2017, and more and more organic vegetables are making their way onto supermarket shelves on the world’s other continents too. Around 40% of all Rijk Zwaan’s varieties are suitable for organic production. Some seeds are organically produced, and others are non-chemically treated (NCT).

Although Rijk Zwaan closed its most recent financial year with a slight drop in revenue and profit, largely due to the strength of the euro, the company is continuously expanding its workforce and investing heavily in research and breeding of vegetables.

The research on mildew resistance in lettuce has received a considerable boost. On October 10, the American Foundation of Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded the first research grant to the Crops of the Future Collaborative. This involves an amount of 2.5 million US dollars (2.2 million euros) for the next five years. The award was received at the UC Davis Genome Center in California.

It has been a wonderful year for Gordon Yakel, who is head grower at Delta View Farms in Delta, Canada. The family-owned company is growing 11 acres (3.6 hectares) of the beefsteak tomato Kivu RZ, a relatively new Rijk Zwaan variety. Yakel is very enthusiastic about the results. The yield is better, the tomatoes are bigger and mildew is no longer a problem.

Taste the colorful snacks of Rijk Zwaan