New Dutch seed breeder Axia starts with tomato variety trials this Summer
The location of Axia in Naaldwijk, opened in 2011
In his first week at Axia, head breeder Leo Braams combed both Holland and Belgium for as many different tomatoes as possible. "You want the widest possible gene pool," he explains. "Hopefully that way you get a beautiful new variety." A few years later, and the first line of hybrids proudly inhabits the Axia greenhouses in Naaldwijk. "Now the best varieties are selected and then the trials will begin around the end of August,” says Braams.
That's not the only thing: the company is currently looking at whether it is possible to expand from 12,000 to 18,000 meters of glass. In addition, the current office in Delft will be swapped for a durable and ultra-modern office in Naaldwijk, one that includes a research laboratory for seed germination research and technology.
Alois and Sandor van Vliet
To stand out, Axia focuses on a variety in which not only the productivity is important, but that also offers a distinctive level of healthy ingredients and flavour. "Compared to the large companies, we are small, fast and innovative," say founders and owners Sandor and Alois van Vliet. "The desire of the grower is central and the lines are short. This allows us to solve specific problems and respond quickly to opportunities."
In spite of the company’s current success, the breeding process hasn’t been easy. Remarkable is the small brown cherry tomato with a sweet taste and a red tomato with a dark discoloration on the top. "He changes colour when in sunlight," says Braams. "Do you think it will catch on? Most people don't think so." Commercially speaking, the processing of a particular race is barely profitable, explains Sandor van Vliet, especially for a start-up company. "But breeding is not only a combination of money and technology, but also of science and art. We like being creative.”
The Axia-team: Leo Braams, Renate van Vliet (daughter of Sandor), Alois van Vliet, Sandor van Vliet and Aida Rašić
Hybrides in corridor
Axia works with a small boiler, without CHP. "We are simply too small," says Alois.
The company opted for a wide corridor separating all six compartments.
One compartment houses parental lines, from which the final hybrid is crossed.
The propagation tables. Everything is arranged to provide each plant with the exact same treatment. Heat, water, light, plant spacing are only a few of them.
In the greenhouse with the hybrids, development is monitored carefully.
John Vijverberg points out the good and bad qualities of the plants
Because all plants grown under identical conditions, growth rate differences are quickly visible
Various specialties
“He changes colour in sunlight," says Leo Braams. " Do you reckon it will catch on? Most people don’t think so.”
More information:
Axia Seeds
Rotterdamseweg 400
2629HH Delft
Nederland
Tel: +31 15 257 6020
Email:[email protected]
Adres Kas
Monnikenlaan 6
2671NE Naaldwijk
Nederland
