"Kenya: Amiran Hybrid Seeds "lead to advanced crop yield"

Seeds represent the beginning of life for a plant and its quality plays a crucial determining factor on yield and quality of the crop’s production. Thanks to Amiran’s partnership with seed companies such as Hazera Genetics, innovation and technology has been brought to Kenyan and East African farmers through seeds that counter challenges faced in the ever changing farming world.

Introduced into the Kenya market in 2006, Amiran’s Hybrid Seed varieties are a result of the deliberate crossing of two different parent varieties from the same species. Breeders begin by crossing two distinct parents of the same species in order to combine the best traits from each parent which forms the first filial generation also known as F-1.

"Superior genetic material enables the hybrid varieties to have excellent disease resistance which make it possible for farmers to produce healthy crops in times when Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) pose a challenge. With the F-1 seeds, the post harvest losses usually incurred by the farmers are drastically reduced due to the high fruit keeping quality that also ensures the produce reaches the market place in the desirable state. In addition, early maturity of the Amiran hybrid varieties reduces farm operational costs hence increasing the farmer’s net revenue. The adaptability to variable climatic conditions makes the hybrids suitable across a wide section. Most hybrids can be cultivated throughout the year irrespective of the season," explains Douglas Mwikya, Amiran’s Seed Technical Support Agronomist.

Tomato hybrid varieties
Amiran’s tomato hybrid varieties in the Kenyan market are:

Shanty F-1 Improved- For Open Field Production
Galilea F-1 Improved- For Opne Field Production
Corazon F-1 (Oval Shape)– For Greenhouse Production
Eva F-1 (Oval Shape)- For Greenhouse Production
Yaara (Round Shape)- For Greenhouse Production

The advantages of the above hybrid varieties compared to non-hybrid are:

Extended shelf life
Fruit uniformity
High yield
Disease resistance
Heat resistance

"It is important for farmers to know that for hybrids, flower setting is high. In addition, for hybrids there are; the determinate and the semi determinate varieties. The inter-determinate varieties give extended production and result in high yields. They can be grown in the greenhouse and also on open fields. The Shanty F-1 Variety Improved can be grown during rainy season as it is able to withstand the harsh weather," advises Zipporah Mweni, Deputy Seeds Manager, Amiran Kenya.

Other Amiran hybrid tomato varieties have six key resistances:

Verticilium Wilt
Fusarium Wilt Race
Nematodes
Tobacco Mosaic Virus
Bacterial Speck
Tomato Yellow Leaf Virus

“The expected yields per acre are between 20 and 25 tonnes with some farmers getting as low as 15 to 20 tonnes. The Open Pollinated or non-hybrids will give 10 to 12 tonnes. The hybrid variety bears more per unit area as compared to the non-hybrids. With a strong support system of Agronomic Services offered by Amiran, tomato farmers can comfortably achieve the optimum yields,” states Zipporah.

For more information:
www.amirankenya.com