"After the longest day Gina makes the difference"

In recent and coming weeks Syngena is organizing multiple tours in The Netherlands and Belgium in which growers and breeders can enter into conversation about their experiences with growing the new red bell pepper variety Gina. The first tour in the series took place on May 25 at 4Evergreen in Westdorpe and at Gemapa in Nevele.

In 4Evergreens's greenhouse, from left to right: Marcel Vis (Syngenta), Marc Lambrecht (Gemapa), Liesbeth Lambrecht (Gemapa), Kris Goen (Syngenta), Peter Colbers (Syngenta), Nick Vermeiren (Verpa), Martijn Heddes (Syngenta) and David Storme (4Evergreen).

4Evergreen

Between the main variety in 4Evergreen's greenhouse the test with Gina catches immediate attention. The Gina plants are clearly taller than the main variety. The planting date of the Gina test was November 22. David Storme, 4Evergreen: "It was the intention to graft at the fourth axilla, but because of the dark weather in the winter, that eventually became the sixth or seventh axilla, both in the main variety as in Gina. In hindsight we should have screened less, because Gina received too little light. Gina is now in stable growth."

The Gina test in 4Evergreen's greenhouse.

End May the production of Gina at 4Evergreen is lagging half a kilo behind the main variety, but according to Marijn Heddes of Syngenta that is not something to worry about. "In recent years we have seen again and again that when the longest day has passed, Gina makes up by a stable growth, also under severe summer conditions. The fruit weight and fruit quality remain good under those circumstances."

4Evergreen grows under diffuse glass. The thicker fruit rind of the Gina makes the fruit resistant against bright light and screening is not necessary until above 700 Watt. Martijn: "It does not harm to 'toughen the Gina up' a bit. It can stimulate production without immediately killing the plant."

The buds of the plants were also closely studied. The high number of flowers satisfied the growers and breeders present.

Gemapa

At Gemapa in Nevele the first complete greenhouse for red bell peppers are filled with Gina. After a test with Gina in 2017, Gina was chosen as main variety. Marc Lambrecht: "We see an improvement compared to last year. Now that we are controlling growth specifically for Gina, it grows even better. This year we have longer fruits which also have a nice shape. Last year we needed presorting for our previous main variety to select class 2, but that is no longer necessary. It saves a lot of labor."

According to Marc it is only possibly to draw definitive results about Gina until summer, it is looking perfectly well at the moment. Marc is at 7.5 kilo per square meter at mid-May. Nick Vermeiren, bell pepper nursery Verpa, is at 8 kilo. Some even manage to achieve 10 kilos, according to Peter Colbers. "The growth of bell peppers is hard to control, so these tours are an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience."

Tours

On Wednesday May 30 and Friday June 1 two more tours will take place.

Registering for the tours can be done via Marcel Vis and Peter Colbers.

For more information:
Syngenta
www.syngenta.nl

Peter Colbers
06 12 70 93 64
peter.colbers@syngenta.com

Marcel Vis
06 12 96 47 22
marcel.vis@syngenta.com