Special
Greenhouse Vegetables
NUN09398 tomatoes are intermediately resistant to ToBRFV
Erwin de Kok, Sales Specialist Tomaat BASF
“We’re fast-tracking this tomato variety” “This variety is actually the result of a problem,” says Erwin de Kok, Tomato Sales Specialist at BASF’s breeding company, about the NUN09398 tomato. This new cherry tomato has intermediate resistance (IR) against the dreaded Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). Erwin recently took the variety to Fruit Logistica, where, alongside the eye-catching tomato concept RedNoir, it attracted much attention from the experts. Resistant varieties, after all, are in demand after two years of ever-increasing virus issues
T
Erwin and Carlos with the RedNoir tomato concept at Fruit Logistica
his winter, a tomato grower from the October-November. “We have chosen to as the breeding company’s Adorion variBenelux planted no less than eight hec- fast-track this variety, supported by data. ety. “Market problems prompted us to tares of this yet-to- That means we are going for a quick mar- develop a unique solution that gives the be-named variety. ket introduction.” market the availability and reliability it It is to be christened demands,” Edwin explains. He says the in the summer. Plan- “ToBRFV is mainly a grower, not retailer, new variety is very uniform. “That, along ting at the grower problem,” says Edwin, who is familiar with with resistance, is an important breeding will follow in both sides of the market. “The growers point. A uniform variety saves on cultivawant certainty about being able to tion, processing, and packaging labour.” grow a variety that won’t fail BASF expects to present more resistant due to viruses. Supermar- varieties later this year. kets want tomatoes with stable, good quality LOW-TECH MARKET and flavour. We try Due to labour issues, smaller tomato varito offer both. When eties are more often grown in Southern adding resistanc- Europe and North Africa. Less so, TOVs. es, we don’t want “The vine stalk’s shelf life sometimes hinto compromise ders transport to Northern Europe. The on a variety’s green parts have to look fresh, so winter strengths.” crops are increasingly gaining ground over vine tomatoes from the South,” de This new toma- Kok continues. to is in the same segment Also, cultivation in Southern Europe and
68 68 AGF Primeur • Gewächshausgemüse • 2022 AGF Primeur 4 • Special Veredeling • 2022
